How I’m Keeping My Mom’s Memory Alive with My Daughter

THIS POST IS SPONSORED BY ADIDAS.

When I lost my mom to cancer at 18, I knew that going through all the big milestones in life would be hard – my college graduation, my wedding day, the birth of my daughter. As exciting as these and future big events are, they’re a painful reminder that she’s not here. When I became a mom, I knew that keeping my mom’s memory alive for my daughter was really important to me.

When adidas asked me to be part of their International Women’s Day campaign, I couldn’t say no. I’ve been a huge fan of the brand since I was in middle school. Back then, I loved rocking their hoodies on dress down days (thank you private school!). Now, I basically live in their cropped t-shirts and joggers when I’m lounging around or running errands.

International Women’s Day on March 8th aims to celebrate all women who inspire, empower, and break barriers. This year I’m celebrating my mom. She was my biggest cheerleader, always supportive of my dreams, was completely selfless, and pushed me to be the best I could possibly be. I know she’s looking down on me and proud of the woman and mom I’ve become. Actually, she’s honestly probably laughing and shaking her head, because Vienna is a spitting image of me in every single way. When I was a teenager, my mom would always tell me, “I hope you have a daughter who gives you a run for your money like you do to me.” Well… I think she got her wish.

As much as it upsets me that my mom isn’t here, I made a promise to myself and my aunts and uncles to make sure Vienna knows all about her. Below are just a few ways I’m keeping her memory alive.

Pass along stories and memories.

When appropriate, I bring my mom up in conversations with Vienna. Talking about her has never been easy for me because I hate feeling vulnerable, but I try to do my best. For instance, when I read Vienna a story that I used to love as a child, I tell her, “This was mommy’s favorite book! My mommy used to read this book to me all the time when I was a baby.” If we’re eating one of my mom’s favorite dishes, I laugh and tell Vienna that her Grandmom never loved to cook, but made this for me at least a few times a month.

Show photos.

Vienna absolutely loves looking at photographs of people. It sounds funny, but she prefers looking at photos over reading normal books sometimes. She opens up our wedding album and enjoys pointing out all of her family members in the photos. Recently, I started showing Vienna photos of me as a baby. She gets so giddy and says, “Baby! Baby!” I made sure to point out my mom and say, “This is mommy’s mom. This is your Grandmom. We named you Vienna Rose after her!” It makes me so happy to see her face light up as she flips through the photos.

Listen to her favorite music.

My mom was the biggest Rolling Stones fan. I think if it was feasible, she would have married Mick Jagger in a heartbeat. That being said, I grew up listening to the Stones on repeat. Any time I hear their music on the radio, I instantly think about my mom blasting it in the car and dancing. Back then it made me so embarrassed to have that mom, but now I can’t help but smile because I do the same exact thing. Occasionally when I’m cooking dinner, I’ll put on the Stones and dance around the kitchen with Vienna. She loves all music, but there’s something special about sharing this piece of my mom with her.

So that’s how I’m celebrating International Women’s Day this year. How are you celebrating?