Good-bye

Today we said good-bye to my husband's grandma. She was the last grandparent that my husband and I had left. It was a tough service to attend (of course they all are), but to me it was hard because Granny Velma was so much like my grandmother who has been gone for over 2 years now. It was kind of like it happening all over again.

At Granny's service, the pastor read a poem, to which I was surprised I had never heard before given the number of funerals I've been to in my life. I thought it was so perfect -- at life and death. Hopefully we can all strive to be better people....to be like the Granny Velmas and the Grandma Neumanns.



The Dash
by Linda Ellis

I read of a man, who stood to speak,
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone,
from the beginning, to the end.

He noted that first came her date of birth,
and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all,
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time,
that she spent alive on earth...
and now only those who loved her,
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own;
the cars... the house... the cash.
What matters is how we live and love,
and how we spend our dash.

So think about this long and hard...
are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough,
to consider what's true and real,
and always try to understand,
the way other people feel.

Be less quick to anger,
and show appreciation more,
and love the people in our lives,
like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash,
may last only a little while.

So, when your eulogy's being read,
with your life's actions to rehash,
would you be proud of the things they say,
about how you spent your dash?