A Note to My Mom

My daughter, Erika, wrote this poem to me before she died.

A Note to My Mom
By Erika Whitmore Godwin

One of the best things we can do in our lives is this: Begin again.
Begin to see yourself as you were
When you were the happiest and strongest.
Begin to remember what worked for you
And what worked against you.
Try to capture the magic again.
Begin to remember how natural it was
When you were a child -- to live a lifetime each day.
Begin to release the baggage carried with you for years,
The problems that don’t matter anymore,
The tears that cried themselves away,
And the worries that will wash away
On the shore of tomorrow’s new beginning.
Tomorrow tells us it will be here
Every new day of our lives,
And, if we will be wise,
We will turn away from the problems of the past,
And give the future -- and ourselves -- a chance
To become the best of friends.
Sometimes all it takes
Is a wish in the heart
To let yourself
Begin again.