Rhi Reynolds

            10 years ago today, I was 15 years old and confused. I was confused as to why I had been suddenly awoken at 4:30am on a school day, to have my Aunt tell me “mom took a turn for the worse.” I was bewildered when myself, Aunt, Uncle, and sister were sat down by a doctor in the ICU waiting room and told my mother was going to die. 10 years ago, I remember being led through a dark hallway to a bed where my mother lay. I remember nurses breathing for her, looking up at us as if to say they were sorry. No need to be sorry, this was the moment that mom had prepared me for after a two year struggle.

The doctor led my sister and me aside, and asked the question. The question that mom had told me I was going to be asked. The question that no one ever wants to hear. “If she lives, she will live on machines the rest of her life. But you have the choice. You can let her go now, she’s not in any pain. Do you want to take her off life support?” My heart sunk in my chest. 10 years ago today, I said goodbye to my mother; my best friend and inspiration. I gave her a kiss, and told her how much I love her.

“What would I do without you, Rhi girl?” she used to ask me. And my response always was, “I don’t know, Mom, what would I do without you?”

Each year, this anniversary isn’t easy, but 10 years seems a particularly hard realization for me. For the past 10 years I’ve thought about her every single day. I’ve reminisced about the great times and talk about her as if she were right next to me. For a decade, this has kept her alive inside of me. Although it seems a gloomy day, I’ve managed to hold onto a most positive outlook…

For 10 years, I’ve been able to take care of myself because she taught me how. I’ve been able to carry out and display every quality she ingrained in me. In the 10 years of her absence, I’ve been able to accomplish anything I put my mind to because she told me I CAN. She told me, every day, that I was going to be something. She told me it was ok to dream. She told me to follow my heart. She told me that life is always going to be tough, but you can NEVER GIVE UP. You have to get up after you get knocked down. 10 years ago, she sat me down and told me what the game plan was going to be when her time was up. And for the past 10 years, those values have been put to the test. I’ll be honest with you: it’s been hard, but 10 years didn’t stand a chance against the teachings and willpower that June L. Reynolds has imparted in me.

So today, I will train with the same ferocity I’ve been training with; chasing my dreams to the World Weightlifting Championships. I will work long hours because I’m building myself a future. I will laugh and joke with my friends, because she wouldn’t want me to be sad. I will wake up and thank God that I was so privileged to have such an amazing mother. Most of all, I will thank her, again, for everything she taught me, and for every experience we had together. And I will continue to thank her, year after year, because she gave me everything I need to succeed in life. And she will be by my side every year until we see each other again.

R.I.P. June Lee Reynolds, 6/12/48-9/8/04 – You will always be my heart