My beautiful Memere (or Meme as we affectionately called her) was frail as my Uncle helped her down a set of stairs to a car awaiting to take her to the hospital. She had been diagnosed with cancer and it was ravaging her entire body. At the time, my husband and I were engaged to be married and he did not know Meme very well, but she touched his life that day. Even though filled with pain, she looked up at him, smiled, and said “oh hi Jason”. He could not believe that in her time of need and pain, she took the time to acknowledge his presence. I remember my Meme’s smile was radiant. Her smile had the ability to warm a stranger’s heart. She could make a person feel valuable and worthy of all the world had to offer just by the way she spoke to them. She spoke to Jason in that manner that day. I can still remember the love that filled her voice whenever she spoke to us grandchildren. She loved people, all people, all the time. She never had a bad word to speak and if she ever had a bad day, us grandchildren never knew it. Though she left this earth 17 years ago, the memory of her still makes me weep with tears of extreme loss.
There is much that I carry with me from spending time with my Meme as a child, teenager and into my 20’s. She taught me to value the needs of others above my own needs. She showed me how a smile could make someone feel welcome and valued. She demonstrated how to see the best in others and to not dwell on the flaws. After all, we all have our share of flaws. In this “selfie” obsessed world, people are too inwardly focused on what they need, think, desire, and believe.
My sweet Meme would have given up her last meal to save the life of another. She would have sacrificed her own comfort to provide comfort to another. Putting others first is the only way to find true joy. Meme was filled with joy and she passed that joy on to everyone she met. She will forever be an example for me of a life well lived in the service to others. I hope someday my grandchildren feel as much love for me as I still feel for my Meme. I want to leave a legacy of love, acceptance, truth, and kindness.
I started writing this back in July 2020, before many of the recent events following the Presidential Election. I was not certain that I wanted to post to my web page, however, the need for people to hear these truths are more evident to me than ever. We are all called to be a light and a hope to one another while traveling in this lost and broken world. We are called to serve.
"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier." Mother Teresa