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
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