Naomi and Ashley Judd.Photo: Beth Gwinn/Getty Images
The star noted that she and her country singer mom celebrated so many birthdays together, but last year’s lingered in her mind, as it was “more muted, being so close to her end.”
“We had cake and in spite of being weak and preoccupied with the disease that was eating at her, she had a gorgeous card for me and I knew, as ever, how much she loved me,” she wrote. “I know that today, too, even as she breathes in the infinite mercy of God.”
RELATED VIDEO: Ashley Judd Says She Can ‘Understand’ That Mom Naomi Was in ‘Pain’ and ‘Doing the Best She Could’
Ashley concluded her post with a thank you to Naomi “for all my birthdays so far, and for celebrating with me,” and recalled the way her mother would hold her at bedtime and tell her, “Ashley, you are an extraordinary woman.”
“What more does a birthday girl need, than memories of a mother like that? And this is how she saw and loved me, first awake, hair never brushed, ready to share our dreams,” she concluded. “For you, Mom. For you.”
The actress’s sweet tribute received an outpouring of love from fans and friends alike, includingDebra MessingandLindsey Vonn, wholost her own motherin August.
Ashley has been open about her grieving process in the year since losing Naomi, and said in a July podcast appearance that she’s gained a new perspective on mental illness, understanding that her mother’s pain was a product of her disease.
Ashley Judd and Naomi Judd.Michael Tran/FilmMagic
“I look back on my childhood and I realize I grew up with a mom who had an undiagnosed and untreated mental illness,” she said on theHealing with David Kesslerpodcast. “And there are different behavioral expressions, interactions, flights of fancy, choices that she made that I understand were an expression of the disease and I understand that and know that she was in pain and can today understand that she was absolutely doing the best she could, and if she could have done it differently, she would have.”
Earlier in the conversation, Ashley also explained that something she’d learned over the years was that she “didn’t cause” her mother’s illness, “couldn’t control it” and also “couldn’t cure it.”
With that in mind, theShe Saidactress noted she hoped that Naomi’s death brought with it a sense of peace for the “Love Can Build a Bridge” singer.
“My most ardent wish for my mother is that when she transitioned, she was hopefully able to let go of any guilt or shame that she carried for any shortcomings she may have had in her parenting of my sister and me. Because certainly on my end, all was forgiven long ago, all was forgiven long ago,” Ashley said.
source: people.com
