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My Mom’s Been Gone a Year Today, But the Music She Left Me Lives On

And will forever

Paul Combs
Artisanal Article Machine

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Image: Wikimedia Commons

My mother died one year ago today, exactly two days before my birthday. I know if she had her way, she would have waited those two extra days, just like she married my stepfather on his birthday so he couldn’t forget their anniversary. What she didn’t consider is that I could never forget the day, and not because of its proximity to the day I arrived on Earth. Her father had drilled into me from a young age that January 19th was the birthday of Robert E. Lee, but she has now supplanted that in my memory.

No matter how I remember the day, the fact that it’s been a year without her is hard to get my head around. Even now, when something I know she would find amusing happens, I’ll reach for my phone to call her. It’s been far worse for my stepdad; I think part of him is still in the denial stage.

As for me, I have moved through all the stages to the final one: music. That’s because, as I have written before, though our musical tastes ended up being quite different, it was the music of her youth that laid the foundation for everything I love musically today. She didn’t do this intentionally though; it was the result of a kid snooping in places he wasn’t supposed to be.

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