From Here to the Great Unknown

by Lisa Marie Presley

Thank you for being my mother in this life. I am eternally grateful to have spent thirty-three years with you. I am certain I chose the best mother for me in this world, and I knew that as far back as I can remember you. I remember everything. I remember you giving me baths as a baby. I remember you driving me in my car seat, listening to Aretha Franklin. I remember the way you’d cuddle me when I’d come to your bed at night, and the way you smelled. I remember you taking me for ice cream after school in Florida. I remember you singing me and my brother lullabies at night, and how you’d lay with us until we fell asleep. I remember how, every time you’d leave town, you’d bring me a new tea set from Cracker Barrel. I remember all the notes you’d leave in my lunch box every day. I remember the feeling I’d get when I’d see you picking me up from school, and the way your hand felt on my forehead. I remember how it felt to be loved by the most loving mother I’ve ever known. I remember how safe it felt to be in your arms. I remember that feeling as a child and I remember it two weeks ago on your couch. Thank you for showing me that love is the only thing that matters in this life. I hope I can love my daughter the way you loved me, and the way you loved my brother and my sisters. Thank you for giving me strength, my heart, my empathy, my courage, my sense of humor, my manners, my temper, my wildness, my tenacity. I am a product of your heart. My sisters are a product of your heart...