| Greetings!
At heart my mother was a city girl, having grown up in Montréal. She loved going in to Boston and soaking up the city. When I moved to Cambridge and joined the Museum of Fine Arts, she was thrilled, because she loved going to museums as much as she loved the city.
The best perk of MFA membership was preview days, when members could visit new exhibits before they were open to the public. And we never missed a one! She'd drive in from the suburbs for one of our "MFA Days." I lived just a short walk to the Central and Harvard Square Red Line T stops, so in a matter of minutes, we'd be on a subway into Boston.
Once in the exhibit, sometimes we would stay together; more often we'd wander off on our own. At the end, however, we'd reconnect and take each other to our favorite pieces to share just why they captivated us. Then it was on to lunch (and a glass of wine, mais oui!) in the elegant upstairs dining room. We'd get back to Cambridge just in time for her to avoid the afternoon rush hour traffic.
The ritual would be complete when I'd find a gracious, loving thank you note waiting for me in my mailbox the very next day. I'd call and we'd share our amazement at how fast the mail was and revel in the pleasure of such a wonderful day.
For a long time after my mom died, I couldn't visit the MFA without tears welling up in my heart. Last month, though, for the first time in a long time, I set out on an artist's date and attended the member preview for the new Dale Chihuly exhibit. Nostalgia washed over me as once again I took the Red Line in to Park Street and boarded the E train to Huntington Avenue and the MFA.
My mother would have been tickled to find the artist himself being interviewed by a TV crew for the evening news! She would have been dazzled by the color and the artistry in glass that filled each of the galleries. Wait -- she was dazzled. She was with me, in my heart and in my memories of all our other visits.
As I interviewed this month's Quest Maker, Linda Varone, I realized that just as there is a common thread that weaves through her own journey, she and I share a common thread, too. Like me, Linda holds her mother in her heart. Both of us are blessed. In memories and via the treasures we have both inherited, our mothers enhance our positive energy (or as they say in Feng Shui, our chi!).
PS. One of Linda's favorite flowers is a variegated tulip.
Tulip photo: © missyredboots, morgueFile
Photos from the MFA Chihuly exhibit: © candyschwartz, Flikr
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