The Dash!

 In light of my Great Grandmother's passing today (my Mom's Mom's Mom!), I thought I'd share this great poem that I have hanging on my wall. It sums it up perfectly. 

While I never knew my Great Grandmother well, I knew it was amazing to have her around at all! 102! Yep, she was 102! Amazing. That is a lot of life she was witness to! So, with no further ado, let me say this: I love to be part of your dashes and really feel truly blessed to have you as part of mine. And while I will always wish I had a picture of my children with their great, great grandmother...I do have pictures of them with all their Great Grandmothers--that is AWESOME! What a gift at Christmas when I realize we have 4 Great Grandmothers and 2 Grandmothers, and 2 Grandfathers to think about! And still many Great Great Aunts & Uncles and so on! Read on, enjoy, and make your dash count...

          

GG (Trent's Mom's Mom)

         The Dash

by Linda Ellis copyright 1996

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.

 

Great Gram (my Mom's Mom)

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.

Great Grandma Sally (Trent's Dad's Mom)

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.

Great Grandma Rosie (my Dad's Mom)

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?