After losing her mother, Margaret “Peggy” Summers, on Halloween to her battle with kidney cancer, Hannah Summers found comfort and healing in a piece of paper that many don’t get the privilege of having.
“Before my mom passed she wrote us all letters. This is mine,” Hannah wrote with a photo posted to Twitter November 1, revealing the two-page note her mom had left for her just the day prior.
before my mom passed she wrote us all letters. this is mine. please hug your parents a little closer and never take them for granted because you never know when you could lose them. I love you momma. 💗 pic.twitter.com/e2TZtg92bK
— hannah summers (@_hannahsummers) November 1, 2017
Peggy starts the letter by telling her daughter that if she’s reading this, “the surgery did not go well.”
The heart-wrenching final words of 55-year-old Peggy Summers are that of any caring mother—looking out for her college-student daughter’s best interests, and reminding her of all the things she’ll no longer be around to nag about as moms do.
“Use your common sense about things like not going anywhere by yourself and having an emergency kit in your car in the winter,” she writes. “If you can carpool to school do it, stay away from parties because they are usually bad, not all boys are bad but most will tell you anything to try and get you to do things, try to hang out with people who have the same beliefs as you because they will make you stronger.”
After all of her advice, Peggy reminds her daughter that she is still with her, and she’s never been more proud of the woman she’s become.
“Keep God in your life and never be ashamed to let others know you love God.”
Peggy says she’s thankful for what God allowed them to do in their lives over the past year—growing them closer together, and creating opportunities for quality time.
“Hang on to those good memories and tell everyone you love them as often as you can. Enjoy life and live each day as if it is your last because none of us know if today will be the last. And most of all remember that I love you more than you will ever know.”
Hannah shared the letter from her mom on Twitter where it’s since been retweeted over 102,000 times. Echoing her mother’s profoundly simple advice, Hannah encourages everyone to make an effort to love the people in their lives today:
“Please hug your parents a little closer and never take them for granted because you never know when you could lose them. I love you momma.”
Our continued prayers go out to the Summers family. Even in the midst of such heartbreak, my heart is happy knowing that Hannah forever has this tangible letter to remember her mother by, and to reference in those moments when she longs to talk to her mom again.
