Marji's Story
"...I’m actually really lucky, my mom’s with me every day..."
Marji's Photos
Marji's Story... In Her Own Words.
"My mom passed 6 days before my 11th birthday, so my childhood was really great, with her.
She was my best friend.
So, you know, as any person knows going from young adolescence through teenage years and into college and even beyond there’s different challenges and moments in life that can be more difficult than others, and as a young girl not having my mom with me made those challenges a little harder. So, as a junior in college I transferred schools, I graduated where I was, and was moving on to a new school and was just not happy… was really have a difficult time being there. It was the first time I had really been away from my family; my dad and my two brothers and my sister and I was really struggling.
I used to never go in the school bookstore… wasn’t really on that part of campus, and just something told me to go that day and as soon as I walked into the bookstore there was a huge display right in the very front center of the store with a whole table full of this book called “Motherless Daughters”… And of course, I couldn’t help myself, but see what that was about. I had never really heard the term “motherless daughter” and I had to buy it, despite my college budget, I said I need to buy the book and it really helped guide me a little bit more to understanding that the loss wasn’t a loss, it reminded me that she is with me every day…
And many people, when they hear I lost my mother so young, they tell me how sorry they are and my response is… “don’t be sorry, I’m actually really lucky, my mom’s with me every day, no matter what I’m doing, no matter if it’s a good day, a bad day, emotional time, challenging time, she’s by my side and most people don’t actually get to have that through so many years of their life. She was there the day I got married, she was there the day I bought my house… all these great milestones in my life, every time I get a new job and excel in my career she is standing by my side holding my hand… and so I’m actually really lucky.
Some days I really wish she was here… pretty much every day… but it doesn’t stop me from talking with her and it doesn’t stop her from lending her strength when I need it. I ask that often, a lot, from her and she’s still my best friend because she’s gone through everything with me.
So moments we connect in different ways... and I’m grateful for that."
She was my best friend.
So, you know, as any person knows going from young adolescence through teenage years and into college and even beyond there’s different challenges and moments in life that can be more difficult than others, and as a young girl not having my mom with me made those challenges a little harder. So, as a junior in college I transferred schools, I graduated where I was, and was moving on to a new school and was just not happy… was really have a difficult time being there. It was the first time I had really been away from my family; my dad and my two brothers and my sister and I was really struggling.
I used to never go in the school bookstore… wasn’t really on that part of campus, and just something told me to go that day and as soon as I walked into the bookstore there was a huge display right in the very front center of the store with a whole table full of this book called “Motherless Daughters”… And of course, I couldn’t help myself, but see what that was about. I had never really heard the term “motherless daughter” and I had to buy it, despite my college budget, I said I need to buy the book and it really helped guide me a little bit more to understanding that the loss wasn’t a loss, it reminded me that she is with me every day…
And many people, when they hear I lost my mother so young, they tell me how sorry they are and my response is… “don’t be sorry, I’m actually really lucky, my mom’s with me every day, no matter what I’m doing, no matter if it’s a good day, a bad day, emotional time, challenging time, she’s by my side and most people don’t actually get to have that through so many years of their life. She was there the day I got married, she was there the day I bought my house… all these great milestones in my life, every time I get a new job and excel in my career she is standing by my side holding my hand… and so I’m actually really lucky.
Some days I really wish she was here… pretty much every day… but it doesn’t stop me from talking with her and it doesn’t stop her from lending her strength when I need it. I ask that often, a lot, from her and she’s still my best friend because she’s gone through everything with me.
So moments we connect in different ways... and I’m grateful for that."
-Marji
