09.17.09
11th Letter to a Future Daughter
(Love, The Scrabble Way)
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Dear Sofia,
Let me tell you about a mother’s love, so magnanimous and ubiquitous. I bore witness to this last night as Mama, Misha, and I were caught up in a game of scrabble. Misha was trailing behind us when suddenly, at the last round, he landed with a Z-word, on a triple word score square! He overtook us instantly, and with my pure futile vowels, I knew I had no chance of beating him. Mama on the other hand had a promising balance of consonants and vowels that could have busted Misha’s lead easily (I was not aware of this during the game), but she somehow ended up surrendering her lowest-scoring tiles on the board, acknowledging that it was the best she could do, and had her valuable consonants deducted from her total tally and added them to Misha’s winning score.
Mama’s eyes twinkled as we kissed Misha and cheered for his first and unexpected victory. He was all smiles and was absolutely basking in the moment. But I recognized that twinkle: Mama lost on purpose. All at once, amidst our squeals of excitement, Misha’s victory was my madeleine dipped in tea, it was my essential drop of remembrance, for it immediately brought to mind the many instances in my life when I felt like a winner, and I realized that there was always a uniform formula behind all those winning moments: A mother’s love.
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Sofia, I will love you in so many different ways… and yet, my mother has taught me a certain way – and I too, am looking towards the day when I can love you that way – the scrabble way.
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To read all Letters to a Future Daughter, Click Here.
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jonathan said,
September 17, 2009 at 7:49 am
This is such a dear note to your someday to be. You really do remind me of a great love that I know I missed as a child, but you blanket your Sophia with, even before she was conceived. She’s going to KNOW she was, is loved.
You know, ‘Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of all children…’
Eric Draven, the Crow (the movie)
jonathan said,
September 17, 2009 at 7:50 am
Sofia, not Sophia. :-)
Miracle ♪♫ said,
September 18, 2009 at 8:32 am
Aw, thank you, Jonathan. We all get to experience different kinds of love in our lifetime. I know you also have a “gold medal” though our benefactors may differ. =)
Yes, Sofia. Thanks for keeping that in mind. ;-)