Sunday, January 18, 2009

A Hero in Grandpa

This weekend our family traveled out of state to attend the funeral of my husband's Grandfather. The Catholic memorial service and eulogy were so inspiring and moving.

Grandpa was a WWII veteran and so the priest talked about hero's, but not just hero's in the sense of fighting for our country. He talked about every day hero's. The kind that made commitments and promises and kept them. The kind that stayed married for 62 years through the good and the bad. The kind that stayed present in his children's lives and took the shaping of their character seriously. The kind that provided for his family and taught them the value of hard work. Our country needs hero's like that, too. It was inspiring to see the culmination of one's life summed up as someone who kept his promises.

Grandpa had a stroke six years ago but with the help of Grandma he was able to stay living in the comfort of his own home, the one he built for his family. So, Grandma too, was mentioned as a hero for unselfishly caring for her husband and giving the children those additional 'bonus' years with their father.

How will we be remembered at the end of our days? We don't think about this very often but we should take the time to do so. Decisions we have to make today may be decided differently when we take the time to think about what kind of legacy we want to leave our children and grandchildren. Maybe we can stand stronger today, maybe we can give our marriage another shot, or maybe we decide to live for tomorrow instead of today.

May you take the time today to give thought to the things you would like said about you at your funeral, and then may you find the courage and perseverance to live up to those words every day!

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