A Day Worth Remembering

Today has been full of emotions for me. Now, I am pondering my life and what I want the second half to look like. I've been experiencing crotchety-ness the last couple of weeks, tired of playing games with people who are not kind and tired of being questioned for the things I do. Plain out angry that people in general don't look out for others and are very selfish (which makes me feel like being selfish too). Then I had today.

I woke up with a call from my dear mom in law who needed a ride to her doctors appointment today. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I am not a morning person. At all. But she is past 80 and is just now needing help so I set the kidos to tasks and head on down the road. While driving her in her car, she tells me stories and shares the things going on in her life and I smile as she tells me to slow down and to take this turn and that.

Her husband was prior military and so we were at the army medical center. I had one of my dear children in this hospital many moons ago. It hasn't changed a bit. It was comfortable being around all the soldiers and their families walking the halls. As I waited for her to come out of her appointment, I saw a few things that made me smile

In the area she was in there were a lot of old retired soldiers. They almost all wore black baseball caps with pins and patches depicting their branch of service, the units they served and the conflicts they were in. I over heard more than one conversation that started "where were you during..." This generation is very different from mine. They were all dressed up to go to the doctor. Slacks, jackets and not a sneaker to be seen. For the most part they were all happy.

There were two couples that made me feel deeply though. One couple had the wife in a wheelchair who obviously had some amount of dementia happening. The tenderness and love her husband had for her as he buttoned her sweater for her and held her hand was amazing. The love was palatable. The other couple were the most outgoing people I have seen in a long time. The lady was German and had a lovely accent. Her husband was tall and distinguished looking. I could see that they would have been a great looking couple in their day. She smiled and talked to everyone around her. When the person she was talking to would get up for their appointment she would say to her husband, "that was a nice person". He would nod and agree. How could anyone not be nice to such a sweet smile and happy disposition.

Then later in the day, I got word that a dear man that we have known for 18 years had passed away last night. How my heart broke. This man was an amazing person. I have heard his life story many times and am always amazed by his great wisdom. He gave of himself like no one else I have ever known. He raised a beautiful family that has carried on his love of others, that are passionate about life and helping others. I can't even imagine the grief they are experiencing right now. His leadership has touched my family very profoundly, more than any church we have attended in the last 18 years. I will miss him very much.

I don't want to be the crotchety old lady who yelled at the kids to get out of her yard. I don't want to be another name in an obituary remembered for liking crossword puzzles. I want to be the person who touched others profoundly, who helped them to be better than they were before they met me, not because I taught them patience and endurance, but because I loved them deeply. I want to be the smiling old lady who sees the niceness in others and brings that out in others. I pray that God allows me to remember this day the next time I feel fed up with the world.