Magic

This is a picture of me and my Mom. It's washed out and tattered because my Mom kept it in a frame for years and brought it with her everywhere she ever lived. When Mom died, I tucked it into my wallet so I can take it out and look at it wherever I go.

Here are just a few reasons why I love this picture.

When Mom and I were younger we used to laugh about how we were big floor-sitters. It seemed like we always ended us sitting on the floor - to talk, fold laundry or work on a project. It's funny - because even when Mom was younger, it wasn't easy for her to get up and down from the floor - but, just like this picture, there we always were.

In this picture Mom is wearing a red flannel nightgown that I remember vividly. She wore that nightgown for years, until it was threadbare....because that's what you do when you find a really good flannel nightgown.

I can still remember snuggling up to her like I'm doing in this picture. Snuggling was big. We used to have this thing where I'd get up and crawl in bed with her in the mornings - and she'd say "back to back" and we'd curl up touching, back to back.

In this picture I'm wearing my Jack Kemp pajamas. Jack Kemp was then quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, and not yet a Republican politician. Knowing how much I loved Jack Kemp, my Mom bought a pair of boys foot pajamas with little football players on the top and cut out Jack Kemp's number from a piece of felt and sewed it on the front. I wore them until they were threadbare, until my feet popped through because I got too tall...because that's what you do when you get a really great pair of pajamas like that.

So in this picture we're sitting on the floor, in our favorite pajamas snuggling in front of a crackling fire. It's magical.

Moms do and say millions of things that guide their children on their way. But the thing that proves they really are magic? Just a touch from them can make you feel better, safer, loved.

Actually, the magic is even more powerful than that. All I have to do is take out this picture and look at it. And I feel better.