My mother, Shiffy Glikman, passed away last February from breast cancer. She was extremely open about her diagnosis and spent her life helping others. Recently, I found a powerful article that she wrote and I would very much like to share it.
My mother has been gone over a year and it is only now that I am beginning to understand her and miss her more than ever.
As I move on in my life, there remains a large part of myself that resists. I want my mother to be here to cry with me while I am in pain and celebrate my successes.
The day I found the letter was especially rough. I woke up feeling unsettled and lost. While eating breakfast and reading the news, I felt the urge to peruse documents on my computer.
That is when I found a note written by my mother in 2007 titled “Learning from my experience.” As I opened the document and started reading, the tears starting flowing.
My beautiful mother, with stage four breast cancer that was immune to the strongest of chemotherapies and radiation, understood something so much deeper about life and purpose.
She understood so deeply things and concepts that I am only becoming open to now. Her love and gratitude for life are so evident in every word she wrote.
My mother made things look so effortless. Making Shabbos, hosting people, visiting sick people, giving rides to anyone who asked. Only now I really understand how hard all these things must have been for her. Her body was failing her, but her spirit was resilient.
I felt the desire to share her words. Not for me but for her. Her legacy lives on. Her message lives on. Be happy. Be grateful. God knows what he is doing. It is all happening for a reason. Life is so good. We are all in this together.
It is comforting to be reminded that she was so loved. I am grateful to live in a community where i can go to the doctor for a throat culture and have him tell me that he loved my mother and that she was a special person.
She was special and still is. I hope her words move you as much as they did me.