Hi, Mom! It’s your favorite daughter. I’m just calling to say happy Mother’s Day. I love you, and I’m just so grateful for all you do for our family. I love you so much. See you soon.

Hi Mom, it’s me. I know that you’re losing your mom right now to dementia, but you still are there for me and my old age to help me navigate one of the worst seasons of my life. And, in turn, helping me be a better mom for my kids. So thank you. I love you.

This message is for my mom, Kelly. This feels kinda weird because I call you all the time to rant or just chat. So I guess I want to say I always feel lucky to hear your voice on the other end of the link when I call. Happy Mother’s Day, I love you so much and I can’t wait to see you for real soon.

Hey, Mom, it’s me. Whew. I can’t believe you’ve been gone almost 10 years. It’s funny because the thing I miss most is calling you on the phone. Well, seeing you in person, too. But this feels like a little treat to get to pretend that I’m calling you. I love you, and I think of you all the time. Thank you for giving me life, and creating such a beautiful foundation for me as a human. I love you, and, needless to say, I miss you. Bye.

Hey, Mom. Um, I haven’t spoken to you in a couple years. I really don’t know why things got so twisted, but I live in Indianapolis now. And it was really hard at first, but I have really good support from my friends in the Indianapolis community. I really miss home, and I really miss our family. And sometimes even though I’m still angry at you, I miss you, too.

My husband is doing well, our animals are doing well, my husband gets paid to take care of me. Finally got a diagnosis that makes sense to my illness, and I’m getting good medical care. I started making more art and displaying it around town. I wrote a memoir and self-published it. And people seem to be really really related to it, really enjoying it. Maybe if you read it, you’d kind of understand things a little more. Maybe we could figure out how to go forward.

I kind of just wanted you to know where I am. So, I hope you’re doing well. I hope your life is good. And, you know, I think at this point, I’m just kind of evolving as I’m able. And I really hope you are too. And I hope someday, we can connect again. Maybe one day, the hurt won’t still be so painful.

I hope you have a good Mothers Day with my sister, and I wish you the best.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. This is the third Mother’s Day that I can’t call you directly. Thankfully Mirror Indy has made it possible for me to leave you a message. So thank you for the life you gave me. I think you’d be very proud. Since you passed, I’ve since started my own company doing the work that I shared with you. You’ve been an amazing inspiration. I’m just thankful for the life you gave me growing up to set me on a path that’s put me here today. I love you so much. Thank you again. Happy Mother’s Day.

Good morning, wonderful mom! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all the things that you’ve done, not just for me, but for everyone around me. All my friends look up to you. And somehow, wherever you go, you just seem to bring out kindness in people. And I love the way you sing songs when you ride your trike down the trail. Love you, Mom.

Hi, this message is for my mother, Sylvia.

A ti, que me diste tu vida, tu amor y tu espacio
A ti, que cargaste en tu vientre dolor y cansancio
A ti, que peleaste con uñas y dientes
Valiente en tu casa en cualquier lugar
A ti, rosa fresca de abril
A ti, mi fiel querubín

Happy Mother’s Day!

Hi. I just want to wish the best granny in the world a happy Mother’s Day. The matriarch of our family! I can’t wait to be able to spend more time with you. At least once a week, we’ll have our weekly dates. Love you so much.

Hello, Mirror Indy. This message is for your managing editor of innovation, Amanda, who happens to be my mother. And, no, this is not me calling about the random things I did during my day at college like usual. I wanted to say: Breaking news! You’re the best and coolest mom out there. I can’t wait to be at home with you again for the summer for many more ice cream family nights on the couch with the cats. Happy Mother’s Day! I love you. Bye.

This message is for Joy, or Jeffrey. (Inside joke – if you know you know). I am so lucky that you’re my mom. You’re my dancing partner and my shopping buddy and my best friend, who I can be both silly and serious with. Thank you for being my biggest cheerleader, for telling me often that you are proud of me, and yes, I even thank you for worrying about me.

Your good morning texts and pictures always make me smile and remind me how loved I am, even when I get busy and don’t reply. You are one of the most selfless people I’ve ever met, and I hope you know it is OK to put yourself first and take care of you. You deserve all of the care you’ve given to everyone else around you, and more. You deserve to rest right here, right now, just because. And I love you, more than I can say in this 60-second voicemail. Happy Mother’s Day.

Hi there! Thanks for doing this. I am calling to wish two very important moms a happy Mother’s Day, neither of whom are my mom, but two of my friends.

I wanted to say happy Mother’s Day to my friend Tracy. She and her husband faced many setbacks on their way to becoming parents, and this will be her first time celebrating Mother’s Day since her daughter was born. So I wanted to say happy Mother’s Day to Tracy, and I wanted to say happy Mother’s Day to my friend, Anne. Anne is the mom of two children, and in the last year, she’s had some challenges including a big job change and also a divorce. She’s funny and she’s smart. And the two of them, Tracy and Anne, even though they don’t know each other, are my friends and they’re two of the best moms I know. So happy Mother’s day to Tracy and happy Mother’s Day to Anne. Thanks for doing this.

Happy Mother’s Day, mama bear! There’s no one else I’d rather watch Vampire Diaries and Gilmore Girls with. You’re an amazing mom, not just to me and Jacob, but to your fur babies Max and Annabelle, as well and the people you take care of in your community. You’re one of the most caring, kind, giving people I know. And you’ve taught me so much about how to be a good person, how to take care of myself and how to be a toughie from a long line of toughies, even on the hard days. Anyway, I love you so much, and I hope you have a great day.

Hey, mama. Happy 30th Mother’s Day. Every year you become a greater and greater mom, and I love you so much. Love you. Have a wonderful, wonderful weekend. Bye.

Although my mom will be 80 soon, and has advanced dementia Alzheimers, I hold dear so many wonderful memories of her.

As I was growing up, she worked full-time, but she always made time for me. She taught me to show love to others through cooking and spending time talking to each other around the kitchen table. In fact, the kitchen was the hub of our house because that’s where Mom could be found, often whipping up beef stroganoff, homemade mashed potatoes, a homemade pie, or making Christmas cookies and hard tack. She also gave me my love of flowers, showed me how to make a house a home and how to care for my three babies. She taught me the importance of establishing family traditions and modeled the art of taking care of a family, even if that meant personal sacrifice.

Now as a mother of three grown children, and soon-to-be grammy, I am blessed to be able to take care of my mom. Some days, she knows my name, and other days, she doesn’t. But I remember the memories for both of us. Happy Mother’s Day, mom. I love you so much.

Hey, mama. I created this story for you, so I figured I should leave a voicemail. Most people know you as Mrs. Huffman, the teacher who was the school mom, a really smart and caring figure in their life. You come off really confident and capable, and you are all of those things.

But I also want people to understand how funny you are. You’ve got a one-inch vertical, really got to work on that jump. And you have potty humor and the silliest nicknames for all of us. I’m so excited to watch you become a grandma to Ben’s baby. I know your kids are the joy of your life, and your grandkid will be, too.

Thanks for always supporting and loving me, and taking care of everyone. I hope you take care of yourself, too. I’ll always love you, Mom. Happy Mother’s Day.

Hi, this is John Sherman calling from Indianapolis.

My sisters and I had wonderful parents. Our dad passed away first, leaving Mom to try to cope for another four years, in a sad state. After she died, I wrote the following poem, reflecting on our lack of money but our overabundance of love. The poem is entitled…

Five Thousand Ninety Four Point Eighty Two

I have not yet been to the bank
 
how such a small check consumes the space around me
 
a little piece of paper folded once so neatly
and then handed over to me weeks ago
my share of her estate: five thousand ninety four point eighty two
the balance of her life
begun nearly a century ago
on a farm two crowflown miles from his
 
if when we die we live a scene repetitively
I would choose going barefoot in thick mud
squishing it between my toes at the edge of the corn
the end of the row where the stalks are shorter more yellow
called to supper I would shout back
wash off my feet in a puddle
run up the lane leading to her kitchen where
fried chicken mashed potatoes crisscrossed pies and laughter await
 
in real life in that same field
I would never have dreamed of sitting in an office chair
staring at a folded piece of pink paper
saying the amount to myself too many times:
five thousand ninety four point eighty two
touching its cold crispness
never not wanting a check so badly
never wanting to let go
 
tomorrow I will go to the bank
slide the unfolded check to the teller
who will have no idea of the enormous balance
our mother left to each of us
 
 envied children in a house needing paint
who lived lives of luxury
 
I will depart the bank holding a deposit slip
for five thousand ninety four point eight two
 
a millionaire of memories