Mother's Chair

“What’s the deal with the tired old chair,” a friend politely asked...“it looks a little out of place with all your modern stuff?” “It adds a certain ambiance,” I started to explain. “Mixing contemporary furnishings with something slightly rough - “Something that is normally found in really tacky shops, lends a warm, nostalgic touch, as far as I’m concerned, But actually the reason why it’s there has more to do with what we’d done when Mother died, and something that I learned. “Having just had surgery, we’d postponed our mother’s funeral ‘til I was feeling strong enough for flying back from Rome, And, in the meantime, both my siblings worked with those required, each residing less than twenty miles from her home. “We lost our dad twelve years ago, then Mother passed this April, and - cooped up in a nursing home for nearly seven years - My brother, Dale, and sister, Jan, had sold her things at auction to pay off bills with which she’d been severely in arrears. “The meager home where we’d grown up was sold to pay her mortgage, and, once we’d paid her funeral costs, there were no funds to share, So, after her estate was settled...sad as it may be...the only trace of Mother left - in 3-D - was this chair! “She took it to the nursing home the Sunday that we moved her, reminding us of all it meant, while gently dabbing tears That fell for obvious reasons, and it...as you might have guessed...was where, we knew, she’d reminisced and taken naps for years. “I offered Dale and Jan a chance to have it in their homes...(being the youngest, doing so, to me seemed only fair)… But, obviously, both of them elected not to take it, and I feel absolutely blessed that I got my Mother’s chair! “The most important remnant of the most devoted woman any God has blessed a child with bought this chair brand new, And having been her favorite one where - sitting on her lap - she’d fill our minds with wisdom as to what we’d need to do “To be the sort of person that would fill our hearts with pride...well...that old thing means more to me than anything I own, And when I’m feeling lonely or afraid, I feel her presence...as though she’s right here with me...and I know I’m not alone.