It’s hard to believe that this will be the 17th year I’ve celebrated Mother’s Day without my mother.

She is as present to me as though she were still here – she just can’t answer my questions.

I knew for two years that my mother’s next hospitalization might be the last, yet I did not think to get the answers to questions that have cropped up since her death. The questions seem so obvious now; I can’t imagine that they didn’t come up during her lifetime. So, I’ve been kicking myself for 17 years, and will continue to do so.

For those of you fortunate enough to still have your mothers with you, take some time Mother’s Day to ask your mother questions for which only she will have the answers. The questions may be about her family, her childhood, relationships, her career path, her education or about your own childhood.

Mother’s Day would be a good time to give your mother something called a “Grandmother’s Book.” These books are a guided diary or journal of sorts, in which questions are posed and space is allowed for the grandmother to tell what fashions were popular when she was young, what music she enjoyed, what her hobbies were – questions that provide a personal glimpse into the life and times of a grandmother. I gave one to my mother, but by the time I did, arthritis had done enough damage that writing was painful for her, so it was never completed. What is there, though, is precious. And there is something that pulls at my heart when I look at her replies in her handwriting – far more personal than something that might be generated on a computer. Those words written in her hand provide a deep connection to her that technology cannot duplicate.

These books are available in a variety of formats through Hallmark stores, bookstores or online.

I hope this Mother’s Day will serve as a reminder that life is finite, and every day with your mother should be treasured.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Mary Henkel Judson is editor and copublisher of the South Jetty. Contact her at southjetty@centurytel.net, (361) 749-5131 or P.O. Box 1117, Port Aransas, TX 78373.