who does the future belong to?

the future belongs to those who are willing to fight for it.  the future belongs to those who say "i will take it"

too many times, we sit out.  that has stopped.
too many times, i take a backseat (let's be normal)
that time is gone.

my mom was special.  special to her core.  i was reading her journal today and just smiling at the prayers she wrote down, many were for me, many were for my dad, some were for the president and his wife by name.  never condescending, my mom was her own person.  i don't remember a lot about her, definitely not many details.

i remember what it felt like to watch her get ready when she would go out, i thought she was the most beautiful person i had ever seen
i remember her always reminding me how fortunate i was and how other children had less than me
i remember the feeling of her arms and how her smile would light up
i remember how we would always be late, because people were just drawn to her and she seemed to always have a crowd around her

there are hazy details that come together to make up my recollection of her as a person. she painted, she created, she was an excellent sewer, she loved music, she was cheap AF, she loved Jesus, but she loved everyone equally.

for a long time i struggled with whether my mom would like me if she knew me now.  would she like this girl in front of her with tattoos, who lets DAMN slip from her mouth when her daughter knocks the medicine out of her hand, who does life a little differently than most, would she love the girl who is a single mother?  would she love the girl who has struggled?  who has been depressed?  would she love all parts of me?

and today i realized, my mom was different too.  there is a general acceptance when you realize the person standing across from you also doesn't fit in.

so who does the future belong to?  it belongs to you.  it belongs to the person who thinks differently, who processes differently, who spends more time with a paintbrush or music or lithographs than their phone screen.  it belongs to the weird, the challenged, the gays, the losers.  it belongs to everyone who has felt the pressure of a category that doesn't fit their soul.  it belongs to the ones who go to school and get teased every day, it belongs to those that challenge their professors, it belongs to those who don't see any other options but to keep fighting.

it belongs to you.






and this is a list of the things that my mom and i have in common that i can list off, so when i am old and dementia sets in, addy and lane can reference it

painting
a love of music
a general distaste for conformity
being a single mom
struggling with self-confidence (this is from hearsay on her part, but i think it's a good guess)
healthy eating
distrust of big pharma (LOL)

i love you momma, happy mother's day.