I spoke with a friend today. She recently moved to Wisconsin to be near her family. She's starting her life over again. She is a brave and remarkable person with an even more amazing heart. People with heart are our caregivers. They lighten our loads, often at the expense of their own needs. Oddly, this doesn't seem to trouble them at all.
My ex husband passed away suddenly in March of this year. He left behind four wonderful children and dozens of people who knew him personally, and undoubtedly hundreds of others whose lives he graced along the way. He was a "holy" man when the concept of holy is falling out of favor. We were divorced far longer then we were married, but we raised four children together, across the miles in later years, he in Illinois and I in Colorado. He was never "not" there for me or for anyone in need. The day of his funeral the Catholic church that had become his home away from home after retirement, was full. The eighth graders from the attached school asked to attend the mass. The visitation was held in the vestibule of the church. We had to bring it to a close before the line ended.
Larry was human thru and thru. Imperfect like all of us and constantly trying to smooth out his rough edges up to the time of his death. On the other hand, he was the volunteer who got up in the middle of night to serve at a soup kitchen, took the wheelchair and otherwise housebound to church and out to a meal, and visited local retirement homes to talk about his passion, flowers and plants. He cooked constantly. His meals were legendary.
He was a family man. Family was everything to him. He was the glue that held us all together. He never judged, never felt better than, never nitpicked over the small stuff, and drove a thousand miles across country at the drop of a hat when I broke my arm and whenever any emergency called for his big bear hug, cranberry chicken, and secret coleslaw. Christmas always arrived with a giant box of gifts, all carefully chosen and lovingly sent.
This man of Illinois never stood on the world stage, but his impact on his corner of our planet was and remains immense.
Of such as he the world is made and because of him and others like him, it rotates safely on its axis. This post today is in honor of Larry who never looked for praise, who thought record keeping was for his music CDs (of which he had quite a collection), that religion was for doing, and that love was free to all open to receive it.
Thank you, Larry. Wherever you are, know that you are deeply loved now and forever.
No comments:
Post a Comment