This Day Still Hurts

This Day Still Hurts
A Mother’s Day Letter from DeLano Cain-Watson

Mother’s Day has never been easy for me. I lost my mom to a brain aneurysm in 2007—I was just six years old. One day she was there, and the next… she was gone. No warning. No goodbye. Just an aching silence that never really leaves.

Grief like that doesn’t just disappear. It shapes you. It sits with you at graduations, holidays, random Tuesdays. It taught me early that life doesn’t play fair. That you can love someone with your whole heart, and still lose them in a heartbeat.

I carry my mom with me every damn day. In my grit. In the way I show up for people. In the way I fight to make sure no child grows up feeling like they’ve got to face the world alone. This campaign? It’s more than politics—it’s me trying to make sure no one gets left behind. That families—especially Black families—feel supported, heard, and protected.

To every mother who is out here showing up for their kids—whether you birthed them, raised them, or held them down through life’s messiness—I see you. I honor you. And to anyone who’s grieving today, just trying to make it through without breaking down—I see you too.

This day still hurts. But I keep going. For her.

Happy Mother’s Day.
And to my mom—I hope I’m making you proud.

With all my heart,
DeLano D. Cain-Watson
Candidate for Dubuque City Council – Ward 1