Thank you. I love you, Mom!

In anticipation Valentine’ Day, I’d like to share with you the speech (translated from the original, German version) I held in honor of my mother during her memorial service on November 12, 2021. Please find the text below.
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Dear Mom,

This weekend, Marius and I would have celebrated your 87th birthday – which was on November 9th – with you.  Your birthday celebration has now become a memorial service.  Mom, I am deeply saddened by your loss and I miss your dearly.  However, and most of all, I want to take this opportunity to celebrate your life with a BIG “Thank you”!

Thank you for the German grammar and dictation lessons.  Due to our family constellation, you recognized how important it was for me to grow up bilingually.  Although I found the lessons to be cumbersome at times, you remained persistent and were an excellent teacher!  Due to my language skills, I was able to build a relationship with our relatives in Germany and Switzerland and fulfill my wish to live and work in a German-speaking area of the world!

Thank you for sitting next to me at the piano while I was a child.  Practice makes perfect, but being a child and practicing don’t always make a perfect match.  Due to your time and dedication, my love for classical music continuously grew, and the many lessons culminated in my own piano concert at the age of 18.  I also gained an invaluable life lesson, namely discipline.

Thank you for the many birthday celebrations and Christmas holidays which you always prepared with so much love and attention to details.  The gifts on the dining room table or under the Christmas tree weren’t even the most important things I remember.  What I do remember most is the deep affection I felt as a result of your actions.  By the way, Linzertorte, which you often baked for me, is still my favorite!

Thank you for the trips we enjoyed as a family, and which Chris and I helped to plan.  The trip that Chris and I took with you to Olsztyn and the surrounding area (formerly East Prussia, now Poland) during the summer of 1997 remains the most unforgettable of all.  After having heard your countless stories about the region, it was so impressive to see with our own eyes where you had spent your childhood.  

Thank you for the many discussions you and I had during our walks and visits.  I always admired your positive mindset.  Your advice reduced my worries and multiplied my joy and happiness!

Thank you too for your trust during the last few years.  I know it wasn’t easy for you to continuously give up your independence and entrust me with more and more responsibility.  After you had held my hand for so long, it was an honor for me to hold yours.

Mom, I am especially grateful to you for your unconditional love.  I will forever feel the void your loss has created. However, I’m sure you are now reunited with Dad, your mother and father, your sister, and the many others who have gone before you.  This gives me a great deal of comfort, and I’m certain you’ll have plenty to laugh about and discuss with them!

I love you, Mom!  Until we too are reunited, I will think of you and the time we spent together with a great deal of pride, thankfulness, and a smile on my face!

This is the photo Chris and I used for Mom’s memorial card