Mamma Mia

So, I finally got around to seeing the movie Mamma Mia which I received as a Mother's Day gift. I grew up with the music of Abba and love it but the movie had an unexpected effect. It made me miss my own Mom who passed 19 years ago. Perhaps the combination of impending hormonal issues, as well as the stress of financial hardship brought on by the loss of my husband's job figure into the impact but there you have it. I was overwhelmed and still am a little.

I think I have resolved an issue but I suppose those big emotional items have to be taken out, dusted off and re-evaluated. You really can't just "get over it". Or at least, I can't seem to.

It is so difficult to watch, even a funny musical with a great soundtrack and not feel a tinge of sadness that my mother missed my wedding and since I never knew him, so did my father.

The joy of having no parental intervention or family drama is tempered by the fact that I didn't get to share it. Ironically, I can't even say we were close, although I think I was as close to my Mom as any one of her 8 children. I guess I am nostalgic for what I wished had been, a closeness and a love that is so poignant in the scene where Donna readies Sophie for her wedding. I doubt Mom would have been very interested or involved, she had her own demons to wrestle, but it's a lovely thought.