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Monday, April 21, 2008

My grandma's dash


I've been thinking about my grandmother, Reba V. Davison, this week...she would have turned 100 this Saturday. She almost made it too, but i think losing her son and having to go into a nursing home was more then she could bare.
I was trying to think of a way to honor her, being that the cherry tree i planted in her honor didn't make it, further proof that her green thumb skipped my generation! A wonderful listener of my show emailed me this poem written by the awesome Linda Ellis whose wise words both comforted me, and made me cry!
Warning: Keep the tissues nearby as you read this...you will need them.
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 the date of her birth, and spoke of 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. And 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, might only last a little while. So when your eulogy is being read, with your life's actions to rehash, would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?


My grandmother would be very proud of what we have to say about her dash.

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