Last week I had the honor of attending two different funeral services. One was for the father of a family member, and the other was for the mother of a coworker whom I’ve know for about 9 yrs. I don’t know if I was expected to attend either of the services, but both made it clear they appreciated my presence and that of my family.
The people whose lives we were honoring were two different people, with different lives. I didn’t know them. And I only became aware of their situations very close to the time of their passing. While I won’t go into details of either to respect the families in their time of grief, I felt drawn to lives of both. Each of the eulogies read described what kind of people they were. How they helped their families and raised their children. How wise they were with their words and how even their grandchildren learned life’s lessons just by being around them.
I looked at pictures of these distinguished people with their families, at parties, at family dinners, holidays and the like. They left a positive mark on the lives of their children and grandchildren and they will truly be missed.
I wept secretly on both occasions, for them …..and for myself. I wept because when I’m gone, I also want to be remembered like these people. How they saved the day in the children’s lives. How they said the right things when someone needed it most. How they made everything right and ‘all was well with the world’ as one eulogy read. They weren’t perfect. But in the eyes of their children, they were exactly what was needed.
I strive to be a better wife, a better mom, a better friend. To impact those around me in a positive way. And I realized that to be remembered like this correlates directly to the kind of person that I am today. I am not perfect. Far from it. But my intentions needs to be true…to my husband, to my children, to friends and family, and to total strangers. I have a lot of work to do, but I can start today. If your eulogy was read tomorrow, how would you be remembered? If you’re reading this, it’s not too late to have a positive impact on someone today. <3
