Remember
By Audrey W.
She was a confidant, a mentor, always the reassurer when times were rough or he had doubts.
She was the one who bandaged the occasional skinned up knee when he fell as a youngster. Who had the patience of a saint when he took chance after chance joining in sometimes stupid, sometimes risky stunts with his friends as he grew older.
It was she who checked the closet many nights for him when he was little to show him that the monster he was so certain was hiding inside was not there. Around that same point in time, it was her hugs in the middle of the night after a bad dream that allowed him to go back to sleep without worry or fear.
She was the one who helped him develop better study habits, any disappointment she may have had hidden, when his grades in high school started to slip. Who gave him rides to his first part time job until he could afford a used car of his own.
It was she who encouraged him to become whatever he wanted to be, assuring him he could break tradition and didn't have to follow in his dad's footsteps.
In all of the years he had her in his life, he couldn’t recall a time she ever had let him down. Not once.
She truly had been the best friend he’d ever had.
Since becoming a paramedic, whenever he and his partner Roy went on a rescue concerning someone’s mother, John Gage always thought of his own.
This time he could feel the family’s heartbreak when he and Roy lost the victim, a mother whose life had come to an end much too soon, just as his mother’s had. He’d looked at the woman’s children, the oldest just eighteen; the same age he’d been when his mother passed away.
It never mattered how young or old a mother was when her time came, though. He knew the loss of one’s mom, no matter what her age, left a huge heartache that time could only diminish but never take completely away.
The twenty-five year old paramedic leaned against the back wall of Station 51 with a sigh, then looked up at the night sky and twinkling stars.
Though not very religious, he’d always believe his mother was an angel in heaven. . .looking down at him as he made his way through life. It was a thought he’d never talked about with anyone else, one he preferred to keep to himself. Something that would always be between mother and son.
He thought about the other woman’s children again and wondered if they’d find comfort with the same or a similar kind of belief. He hoped so.
“Love you, Mom.”
John brought his gaze down, a hint of sadness on his face, then turned to go into the station to join the rest of the crew in the dayroom.
From ‘Remember Me This Way’:
Every now and then
We find a special friend
Who never lets us down
Who understands it all
Reaches out each time you fall
I know you can’t stay
But part of you will never ever go away
Your heart will stay
This is dedicated in loving memory of my mother, a remarkable lady who will be missed tremendously. She became an angel on March 5th 2013.
