In Her Shadow, With Honor

Dear Mama,

I still reach for the phone some days, just to hear your voice. Not because I need anything — only because I miss the sound of you breathing peace into my spirit like you always did.

You taught me early what responsibility looked like — not by words, but by your living example. I watched you rise before the sun, tie your apron, and head to work with weary bones and unwavering dignity. And when you came home, you still managed to pour love into a home that needed more than your two hands could hold.

So I tried to become the extra hands you never asked for. I swept, I cooked, I tended to my younger siblings — not out of duty, but out of reverence. Because I saw you. I saw how much you gave and how little you kept for yourself.

We never had to speak it aloud, but I know you leaned on me. Trusted me with your silences. Your exhaustion. Your small joys. I was your oldest son, yes — but more than that, I was the one who carried your stories quietly, who stood beside you when life asked for more than it gave.

I wish I could walk into your kitchen this morning with flowers in hand and say, “Happy 95th, Mama.” I wish I could sit beside you at the table again, watch the corners of your mouth rise as we talk about nothing and everything — the way we always did. I wish I could tell you in person how proud I am to be your son, how honored I was to walk this life as your shadow.

You didn’t have favorites, and I never needed to be one. I just needed to be yours. And I still am.

Thank you for making me into the kind of man you could be proud of. For trusting me with your heart. And for loving us all in the quiet, holy ways only a mother can.

With everything in me,

Your son — always— Charles

✨ Light What She Left Behind ✨

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