Mom, I long to spend one more day with you.
I long to return to a time when the shadow of your Alzheimer’s diagnosis was still many years away - when life felt so free and innocent.
If I could choose a time to return to, I’d choose the cozy beach house in Stone Harbor, New Jersey that Nana and Poppop would rent during the summers.
The whole family would gather under one roof — your Mom and Dad, siblings, and their children—all coming together to create memories filled with laughter, love, and good times.
Those days spent on the shore are forever etched in my heart – the kids would build sandcastles, play paddleball, and splash in the ocean while the adults lounged and basked in the sun's warmth.
It was the best of times.
Mom, I long to go back to that time and spend one more day with you on the beach.
It would be a perfect day full of sunshine and blue skies. We'd walk hand-in-hand, scouring the shore for shells and giggling as we watched the crabs with their beady eggs emerge from the sand.
We'd eat pudding pops, collect seashells, and 'ooh' 'ahh' at the colorful kites flying in the distance as the day drew to a close.
Hand in hand, we’d return to the house at dusk to wind down for the night. After dessert, I’d change into my pajamas, and you would tuck me into bed. You’d embrace me in a warm hug, tell me you loved me, and say you’d see me in the morning, just like you did every night.
Mom, that special time in our lives comes to me in vibrant colors – bright, joyous, and filled with boundless love.
You were healthy, youthful, and so full of life. It was pure, it was special, and it was ours.
It occupies a sacred place in my heart—a moment frozen in time, one that I will forever remember with profound love, gratitude, and longing.
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