A Storm is Rolling In...

It's evening here in Ohio and a spring storm is rolling in. The kind of storm that you can hear coming for a half hour before it actually arrives. When I was very, very young I developed an immense love for weather. It all started because one of the most important men in my life, my PaPa, would take me on the front porch of their beautiful home and we would sit and watch the storms roll in. The thunder and lightning, pounding rain and wind, would make my heart beat fast. It would make me smile, as I sat cuddled up on my PaPa's lap, rubbing his soft gray hair. I was so young, Alec's age probably. It was only a few years later when I lost my PaPa and my world came crashing around me for the first time. Ask anyone in my family and they will all tell you that PaPa and I had a relationship that lasts a lifetime...even though it was cut way too short. Over the years I have cried many, many times for my PaPa, who made such an impact on my life at such a tender age. I talk to him all the time..sharing my thoughts, feelings, achievements, and stories. When Alec was born....I felt him with me. He was there...I just know it. My grandma was equally, as you all now know, this important to me. Some of my fondest memories of the two of them were back at that house, or our many dinners at the Country Club, or our summer family vacations to Cedar Point. Soon after PaPa passed away, my grandma moved away, back to Florida. She loved it there. But I was left behind. This affected me for a number of years. But even though there was distance between us, I still could feel her close by. She made sure that she knew of every single thing going on in my life. She was so smart...I don't know how she kept track of all that I did...but somehow she managed the task perfectly.

Grandma loved life and she loved me. :-) She also loved my husband and reminded me on a regular basis of how he was the best man out there and that love like ours was rare. She was full of advice and wisdom and unconditional love. She was a grandma, afterall, and she played that role well.

So here is one thing she told me that I wish I would have listened to. She would always tell me to enjoy each day. Even the small things, because you may not have tomorrow. She loved it when I would tell her the "small stuff" that didn't seem all that important. How many times have you heard this advice? My guess is many. I know I have heard it over and over again. And I can remember each time I was given this advice that I would stop and think about how I SHOULD slow down more to "smell the roses" but somehow, in the busy life of a mother, I didn't do it too much. I can tell you that I will do it more often now. We don't know what tomorrow will bring. Life can change in a moments notice and we will NOT always be prepared. In fact, it's hard to EVER be prepared. But, when life changes, for the worst, wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to look back and know that "at least you took the time to praise your child one extra time, that at least you went downstairs when your husband was leaving for work to kiss him goodbye, that at least you took that last minute vacation and made those memories, that at least you made the cupcakes in the middle of the night when your child was dying to make them, that at least you called so and so even though you were tired and wanted to go to bed, that at least you took the time to tuck your child into bed every single night...that at least you lived. And you lived well. And you didn't let opportunity after opportunity pass you by.

So as this storm rolls in and thunder softly booms outside my window...I am remembering. I am remembering my life, my memories, and two of the most influential people in my life, my Grandma Rosie and my PaPa...who now are together in heaven.

Much Love,

Mindy