I remember the quiet moments
The times in which merely her presence was enough
To calm my fears
Of the monsters in the closet
And the bullies who beat
The weight of being unique
Into me
Watching the screen
As the tape plays back the common scenes
Birthdays and celebrations
All put together with the care seen in movies
I hold the memories so dearly
The love of a mother
Or I should say the love of my mother
Because I doubt any other could be the same
All of her actions inspired by the desire
To show us that
While we may, someday, doubt the world that we see
And find that life is harder than what we believed
That there would always be the love of our family
As I watch these home videos
She was always the one behind the camera
But her love was present in every scene
In the brightly colored balloons
And the creatively themed birthday parties
In the joy on our faces on Christmas Eve
The memories all playing one after another
And I find the care breathed into each of these
The beliefs that she nurtured in me
And I am truly thankful