I was about ten years old when I watched Mamma Mia – The Movie for the first time and fell in love with ABBA’s music. Growing up with parents who love music and would listen to not only local artists, but the foreign ones as well, I was already somewhat familiar with the songs featured in this musical.
ABBA’s songs, in particular, reflect so much of my mom’s personality—not just in their vibrant, poetic, and harmonic melodies, but also in the band’s 70s and 80s style. Denim jeans, long skirts, elegant blouses, tall boots, plaid shirts, and various scarves were all part of her wardrobe when she was younger. I’m sure she was a fashionista.
Even today, when I ask her to help me choose an outfit, she always comes up with something stylish and well-matched. Simple, but always practical—like blue on red, blue on black, blue on blue. She loves blue. And she loves ABBA. So falling in love with the music of Mamma Mia felt easy and natural. It made me feel closer to her.
Whenever we talk about her youth, I keep imagining how nice it would’ve been to have a friend like my mom. I wish I got to go to school with her, and stay by her side. Wish we could have had lunch together and she would never be alone during recess. Wish she had me as a friend she could spend the afternoons with, hanging out at my place, so I would get all the fashion tips from her.
Destiny didn’t allow us to grow up together, but thankfully, it made us mother and daughter. As time passed by, singing ABBA songs with her became one of my favorite things. She thinks the songs are beautiful and I think she looks best when she listens to them.
Slipping Through My fingers is the one we love most. We sing it to each other at random moments. If I hear it alone, I instantly miss her.
In the movie, the song plays during a tender scene between Donna (Meryl Streep) and her daughter, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried). Watching Donna help Sophie prep for her wedding is a sequence of how honest and blessed a mother-and-daughter relationship is. Donna knows her daughter is about to break free and begin a new chapter, and she’s getting her ready for this very moment. This, only, is beautiful and, again, very honest.
I’ve witnessed my mom do the same for me and my sisters many times. Always trying to be the best, most supportive mother she could be. She’s cared for all three of us with patience and love. When it comes to writing, the profession I chose to follow, my mom inspires me a lot. There are words of hers that secretly live in my texts and there’s so much music she and my dad shared with me that keeps my love for writing alive.
Mamma Mia is one of those movies that I can watch a thousand times and still feel emotional. I saw a lot of my mom in that movie the first time I watched it and now, ABBA has become a symbol of creativity and poetry to me—all because of her. It makes me realize how powerful childhood references are. Someday, when you grow up, you’ll look back at those songs or movies as parts of the roots that nourished you.
“Sometimes, I wish that I could freeze the picture
And save it from the funny tricks of time
Slipping through my fingers”(Slipping Through My Fingers – ABBA)
For me, Slipping Through My Fingers is the type of song that warms the heart and reminds us of life’s precious moments.
I’m writing this now, hoping I’m not realizing too late how lucky I am to have the best mom in the world. I’m grateful to the universe and the angels above who crossed our paths.
If I had to explain her, I’d say she’s a combination of every loving mom from every story I’ve loved. She’s as mindful as Donna from Mamma Mia, friendly and funny as Lorelai from Gilmore Girls, tender as Miss Honey from Matilda, and altruistic and selfless as Marmee March from Little Women.
I know I can’t save us from the funny tricks of time, but I know that every moment I spend with my mom is healing. These are the moments that will not slip through our fingers; they will remain with us forever, despite mortality and the passage of time. I promise.
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