rachelgblaine
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Taking Control
Dear Mom, Something unexpected happened to me this week. It might be due to some podcast episodes I’ve been listening to about habits and happiness, but I had a moment where everything changed for me. It’s as if suddenly I… Continue reading
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Connecting the Dots
Dear Mom, Recently, I had a conversation with Idris about some bad choices he had been making. Small instances of questionable behavior that I noticed. This is what my almost six-year-old boy said in response to my concerns. He told… Continue reading
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Flipping the Script
Dear Mom, “It’s exhausting taking care of me.” You wrote that in a journal entry titled A Day in the Life dated 3/21/13. I understand. Maybe not in the same way, but I get it. Your exhaustion was due to… Continue reading
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Beyond The Thread
Dear Mom, Each week when I write these letters to you, I inevitably type numerous sentences that don’t make it to the final draft. The nature of this style of writing, where I pick myself apart, leads to me going… Continue reading
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Searching for Authenticity
Dear Mom, I have always preferred running alone. On my own quiet trail. I’ve turned down running buddies. Said no to run clubs. I say it’s because it’s my time to be by myself and clear my head. And there… Continue reading
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Letting Go
Dear Mom, When you died, I went into your nightstand and, along with all the books you’d been reading, I took all your journals. All your handwritten notes. I am so like you. Almost every journal is unfinished. A few… Continue reading
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Loud and Proud
Dear Mom, Last week I wrote about the similarities my children have to you. So much about them that reminds me of my mother. This week I’ve been wondering what you would have been like if you were encouraged more… Continue reading
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Keeping Your Memory Alive
Dear Mom, I fear that I have failed you. Before you died, you asked us to never stop telling stories about you. It was, in my memory, your biggest dying wish. You wanted to make sure that your memory would… Continue reading
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Life, Death, and the Diagnosis That Came Between Us
Dear Mom, I’ve been writing a lot lately about my need and desire to forgive and move on from the mistakes I made as a teenager and young adult. All the moments when I screwed up and all the apologies… Continue reading
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Making Amends
Dear Mom, In the middle of the night. After you fall asleep. I leave my bedroom. I lock my door from the outside with my fingernail. I tiptoe slowly, with a great amount of stealth, down the hallway. I can’t… Continue reading
Sober Letters to Mom 