THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

As my family is awaiting the births of a couple new members of our family (both my cousin Shauna and I are due soon), we are saying good-bye to the matriarch of our family.  Today, my family is gathered in Wyoming to lay her ashes in their final resting place.  I wish I could be there.  I am sad that Priya will not get a chance to meet three of her great-grandmas, Grandma Duvall, Grandma Bonnie, and Granny (Mike's grandma).

My Grandma Bonnie and Granddad Don were married for 68 years.  I can't help but think today how my grandparents were once at the place in life where Mike and I are at now, building up their lives, becoming new parents...  They built a good life together and passed on a legacy of love, values, and great family memories to me.  I respect and admire my grandparents and hope my children and grandchildren will be able to look back at my life and feel I left them with the same.

I wrote a little something on Facebook the day my Grandma died to honor her memory, but I think it is worth reposting to give her the respect due her, so I am reposting it here.  Hearing news of my grandma's hospitalization and then death made me so sad, but also grateful for the life and memories I have, really good ones.

My Grandma Bonnie was one of those people you just can't say anything bad about. She was an AMAZING woman...wife, mother, grandmother, teacher, storyteller, friend, human being. My grandma had a great smile, and she did it often. She was intelligent and kind and full of love. She had many interests and talents, and she had many friends. She helped many people. Her mind was sharp, she had a great sense of humor, and she lived her life well. She knew how to make her home "home" for everyone, full of love and comfort, good food, warm memories. She was the kind of woman you would want to be like. This world has been blessed by her presence. May we all live our lives in such a way that leaves a trail of goodness in peoples' lives. She definitely set the bar high.