Cherish your family!

[Funbrunette]

My Grandmother past away this week...Her funeral was today! It was beautiful! It was the first time in years that my whole family got together. I just realized what a great family I have and how lucky I am to have such wondeful people in my life! Cherish the ones you love and don't be afraid to tell them you love them everyday!


When life starts without me...

When tomorrow starts without me, and I'm not there to see;
If the sun should rise and find your eyes all filled with tears for me;
I wish so much you wouldn't cry the way you did today,
while thinking of the many things we didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me, as much as I love you,
And each time you think of me I know you'll miss me too;
But when tomorrow starts without me, please try to understand,
that an angel came and called my name and took me by the hand,
And said my place was ready in heaven far above
and that I'd have to leave behind all those I dearly love.


But as I turned to walk away, a tear fell from my eye,
for all life, I'd always thought I didn't want to die.
I had so much to live for and so much yet to do,
it seemed almost impossible that I was leaving you .
I thought of all the yesterdays, the good ones and the bad,
I thought of all the love we shared and all the fun we had

If I could relive yesterday I thought just for awhile
I'd say good bye and kiss you and maybe see you smile.
But then I fully realized that this could never be,
for emptiness and memories would take the place of me.
And when I thought of worldly things that I'd miss come tomorrow,
I thought of you, and when I did, my heart was filled with sorrow

But when I walked through heaven's gate, I felt so much at home.
When God looked down and smiles at me, from His great golden throne,
He said, " This is eternity and all I've promised you".
Today for life on what is past but here it starts anew.
I promise no tomorrow, but today will always last,
and since each day's the same day, there's no longing for the past.

But you have been so faithful, so trusting, so true.
Though there were times you did some things you knew you shouldn't do.
But you have been forgiven and now at last you're free.
So won't you take my hand and share my life with me?
So when tomorrow starts without me. don't think we're far apart.
for everytime you think of me, I'm right here in your heart

:)

[Brad Mitchell]

So very sorry to hear about your loss. Grandmas are so special, I know I miss mine more than ever. That was a beautiful poem too.

What you said about cherishing family and quality time is so true. I don't know how many times I've heard the saying about if you die you won't wish that you had worked more... something for all of us to think about.

Just this evening Melissa and I went out and had a special dinner with my parents about an hour north of Detroit in a quaint little Bavarian village called Frankenmuth (home of the largest Christmas store on earth). I think it's so important to make a conscious effort to slow down and spend time with the people that are important to you. I know that in my life, if I didn't make an effort the fact that I am always going at 100mph means I'd rarely stop to smell the roses.

That was a beautiful poem... made me think about one that I wrote for my parents Christmas morning, 2000. The best presents... and the only thing you can give people that have everything... is something from the heart. It's personal but I'm feeling inclined to share... so here goes:

OUR LOVE

my parents have shown me a love that is peaceful and everlasting, eternal
this love is my blanket and oh how it covers my heart and warms my soul

they taught me to open my heart to the world and let the sun shine into me
and on the dark days they taught me of a little candle that burns inside
it is a small wisdom that there is always hope and light even admidst the darkest of nights

time passes and years escape us
loved ones fly off to heaven leaving us memories to cherish and spirits to guide us
and as they go we behold new gifts, the young ones appearing in rich innocence
and the new husbands and wives join our family
our love grows
for that which we share once is with us forever and when we leave it too remains

our love is our legacy to the world
and just as we share it with each other we must equally share it with everyone
love conquers, love is remembered, love heals and most of all love fulfills

i rather like my modified serenity prayer
because in it I am not alone I am with family
and together we are so much stronger than by ourselves

God grant our family the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,
the courage to change the things we can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

our love has courage and our love forgives
sometimes forgiving is the hardest of all things because hurt can scar so deeply
but I am thankful
thankful everyday for family that loves unconditionally in good times and in bad

may we always return to centered life when we’re astray
that the bonds which hold us together so tightly when times are good
bring us back home, warm our heart
receive us again with open arms and heartfelt hugs and kisses
when we return from lonliness and need each other the most

our parents, grandparents, kin long since passed away
they live both in us and among us
when we LOVE, their legacy lives and breathes every day through us
they taught us that what we must cherish most is the goodness in life
life on earth and life everafter - all the time we have

and so each day from now until my last I shall wake with:
the heartfelt excitement of a child,
the wisdom of my elders and siblings past and present,
an appreciation of nature’s beauty,
energy powerful like sunlight,
the persistence of an unrelenting student,
the comfort of our love shared by a strong family united.


BBJM

[wired4porn]

So sorry to hear about your grandmother FB and what a very special poem. It is so true as to how short life can be and how most of us take it for granted. I lost 7 family mambers this year to cancer and it just reminds me of how presious life really is

I live far away from my family and miss and love them very much.... I keep this song in mind when i think of them or when thinking of my wife and step kids.

Sometimes late at night
I lie awake and watch her sleeping
She's lost in peaceful dreams
So I turn out the lights and lay there in the dark
And the thought crosses my mind
If I never wake up in the morning
Would she ever doubt the way I feel
About her in my heart

If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way to show her every day
That she's my only one
And if my time on earth were through
And she must face the world without me
Is the love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last
If tomorrow never comes

'Cause I've lost loved ones in my life
Who never knew how much I loved them
Now I live with the regret
That my true feelings for them never were revealed
So I made a promise to myself
To say each day how much she means to me
And avoid that circumstance
Where there's no second chance to tell her how I feel....

[modF]

Very sorry to hear for your loss. Although I can not contribute poetry, or any real wisdom, I can agree. This past weekend was spent with my wife and her grandparents in (inthemiddleofnowhereville) PA. Her grandfather is very sick, just started radiation treatments. Being 82, and still full of spunk (and stubbornness). Well, lets just say that it was good to spend sometime unplugged and with the family.