Flash Mobs and Missing Moms

        Sometimes that ever-mysterious "they" have said, that when you miss someone who isn't there anymore, you can still talk to them.  Whether or not you believe in the mystical or other forms of believing, sometimes it does feel good to just let go of the obvious and just open your heart to the abyss.

So, here I go, demonstrating what I mean, to the abyss of the internet.

Ahem.

        Dear Mom,

        I had the "coolest" idea for a flash mob tonight.  I know the concept of "flash mobs" came along quite a while after you were gone, but if they have the internet where you are, look it up.  You'll love it, I just know it.

        In fact, this idea I had got me all excited about sharing it with - somebody? - and for some reason I could suddenly hear your excited voice in my mind, calling me "Maggie" like you used to.  Then my mind totally tangented and I was replaying how you would sometimes call me "Maggie", and at other times, "McGee", even though neither comes anywhere near my actual name!  I never did know where you got that ever-changing nickname.  I wish I could ask you, now.

        The idea for this flash mob was very fun, very innocent, but would likely leave many people changed for the better, if done properly.  That's probably why I thought of you.  You had more than one side to you: there was the sober, intelligent, straight-laced, all-business woman, yes; but depending on circumstances, there was also this sweet, funny, gentle, loving girl, too.  I'm sure there were aspects of you I never knew nor understood, which makes me so, very sad.  Too many people grow up and live and die without ever really, truly knowing where they came from.  But for me, growing up, it was there for the reaching, but just out of reach, always.

        The idea I had, I know I could never pull off, myself, but I would imagine that if it hasn't been done yet, someone would love to take the idea and fly with it!  I hope if they did, they would send me video and pics lol.

        Basically, it was just to go out and buy a bunch of little bubble bottles - you know, little bottles with the wand you use to blow bubbles.  Haha "Basically, buy a bunch of bitty bubble bottles to blow bubbles"!  LOL!  I wonder where I got my sense of humor! ;-)

        So you get the bubble bottles, and you put labels on them.  On the labels, have things written on them, like, "Embrace the day," or "Keep hope that things will get better."  Just little ideas that might touch a heart, just when it needs it most.

        Next, after a gazillion are ready (lol it is a flash mob, after all), you have a group of people go around a crowded, open area, and very subtly, start silently (what's with the alliteration tonight, PB?) handing the bottles out, but not saying a word.  So, let's say a guy in a business suit is sitting on a park bench.  Walk up to him, smile, and offer him a bottle, gently insistent, but not saying a word.

        This mob is gonna get weird looks.  That's all there is to that.  Mothers with crying toddlers, teenagers, old couples holding hands, runners with their dogs stopped for a break...whoever is out there, just give them a bottle.  Just do it subtly, so it isn't obvious it's happening to everyone.

        Then, have strategically-placed people who then "randomly" start blowing bubbles.  Because who's going to accept a bottle of bubble solution, then start blowing bubbles, if they're the only one?
                                              Then...
                                    
                                                          Watch.  
                                                                
                                                                          Smile.  

                                

                      Enjoy! 

        Can you just imagine, a park full of people blowing bubbles like every, single one of them is a kid again?  Can you imagine the wonder in those toddlers' eyes?  Can you just hear the laughter in the crowd as thousands of bubbles float up to the sky, momentarily taking everyone's troubles with them?

"Embrace the day."

"Keep hope that things will get better."

Can you imagine?

       So, Mom, I was in awe, picturing such a moment in my mind, and that's about when your voice came to me, so full of light and joy as it was at times when things made you genuinely smile.  That voice is one of the most magical memories I have of you, and one of the most treasured memories of my life.  So thank you for being an example of someone who could carry massive burdens, and yet still be filled with the wonder and light of a childhood that never, quite faded completely.

        I love you.  Thank you for the gift of life that allows me to share what I can with others, and the gift of being able to embrace the quirks I've inherited (from both sides lol), both the light and the shadows, so I can let others see that not every shadow is completely full of darkness!

                                                              Much love,

                                                                     Your Phoenix and Butterfly, in one.

        Well, something like that, anyway.  Sometimes releasing gratitude can be as healing as releasing pain.  Feel free to try it, sometime.