{"id":13812,"date":"2015-08-26T11:50:44","date_gmt":"2015-08-26T18:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.momservations.com\/?p=13812"},"modified":"2015-08-26T11:50:44","modified_gmt":"2015-08-26T18:50:44","slug":"legacy-of-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/momservations.com\/index.php\/2015\/08\/26\/legacy-of-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Legacy of Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

Momservation: <\/strong>Mother Teresa\u2019s instructions for making a difference in this world: \u201cStart at home. Start with your own family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u263a\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u263a\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u263a<\/p>\n

My grandma just turned 89. Love that woman to pieces.<\/p>\n

\"Me
Me and Gram. 4’11 AND 3\/4″ of unconditional love.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite not feeling great the doctor gave her a clean bill of health\u2014must be the Spanish way of drinking coffee from birth and wine with every meal. My 66 year-old Aunt Sandie who is battling a case of the Shingles took Gram to the doctor reporting back: \u201cShe\u2019s healthier than I am! On less medications too!\u201d<\/p>\n

But we knew that. The trouble Gram is having I think we\u2019ve all struggled with. Our bodies age quicker than our minds. We feel betrayed when our 45 year-old bodies can\u2019t keep pace with our 25 year-old mental self. It\u2019s no different when you\u2019re 89. You still want to drive the new car that you think you are instead of the vintage model you\u2019ve become.<\/p>\n

There is a bigger issue though that I believe is impeding her well-being. She is in the sunset of her life. And as she stares across the horizon lit brilliant with a lifetime of memories, she cannot help reflecting upon the yesterdays when the tomorrows are fading in the sun\u2019s setting light.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve done so much with your life, Kelli,\u201d she said to me. \u201cI haven\u2019t done anything.\u201d<\/p>\n

It pained my heart to hear her say this, and obviously, I didn\u2019t see it that way.<\/p>\n

I am blessed to have an amazing family. Funny uncles, wonderful aunts, cousins like siblings, parents who adore me, a brother who would do anything for me, grandparents who think I can do no wrong. It is a gift that I know not everyone has. And that gift would not be ours if it weren\u2019t for Gram\u2019s legacy of love.<\/p>\n

Back when Gram became a mother, that was the only job expected of women. Raise the family. It was a time when the parenting philosophy was to not spare the rod and children were to been seen and not heard. But Gram was so thrilled, so tickled to be a mother to her three children she went another route. She smothered them with love.<\/p>\n

And those children, secure in who they were, raised in an environment of forgiveness and unconditional love, went and feathered their nests with these values. The children who were born to them not only thrived under this nurturing, they believed they could do anything when they had the inexhaustible love and support of two generations. When those children went out into the world they found friends and mates who completed their strong foundation of family, love, and support. The great-grandchildren they brought into the world now stand on a platform three generations strong telling them they can do anything, they will be there if they fall, they will be there to celebrate their successes.<\/p>\n

And we are indeed changing the world. One act of love, kindness, and compassion at a time. Because like Mother Teresa told the downtrodden, overwhelmed by the problems of the world, those who felt helpless to do anything\u2014it was still possible to make a difference.<\/p>\n

How?<\/p>\n

\u201cStart at home. Start with your own family,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what Gram has done. There is no greater contribution to this life than unconditional love. She has sown it. We are reaping it. And it is a good life. A very, very good life.<\/p>\n

She won\u2019t see this tribute to her legacy of love because she doesn\u2019t have a computer. For her birthday I used my gift to give her a gift. I wrote her a poem I hoped would help convince her of her indelible and most valuable mark on this world. I called it \u201cYour Legacy of Love.\u201d Below is an excerpt I hope many can relate to. And if you feel the same way about your grandmothers, or anyone who has given you the gift of their love, feel free to give this to them too.<\/p>\n

When someone loves you so completely<\/h5>\n
Just because you are you<\/h5>\n
It gives them wings to fly<\/h5>\n
And believe there\u2019s nothing they can\u2019t do<\/h5>\n
When someone loves you so selflessly<\/h5>\n
Putting your needs before their own<\/h5>\n
It gives you the freedom to sail away<\/h5>\n
Knowing there\u2019s always a safe haven waiting at home<\/h5>\n
When someone loves you so easily<\/h5>\n
Making your flaws seem to disappear<\/h5>\n
It gives you the courage to be yourself<\/h5>\n
Knowing at least one person will always hold you dear<\/h5>\n
When someone loves you so gratefully<\/h5>\n
Like your very presence is a gift<\/h5>\n
It keeps you grounded in what really matters<\/h5>\n
Saving you from floating adrift<\/h5>\n
When someone loves you without measure<\/h5>\n
So big and so deep a heart can\u2019t contain it<\/h5>\n
You sense the other worldly magnitude of it<\/h5>\n
Even though you can\u2019t explain it<\/h5>\n
When someone loves you because they believe<\/h5>\n
It\u2019s what they\u2019ve been put on this earth to do<\/h5>\n
How can you not believe<\/h5>\n
That it is so lucky to be you?<\/h5>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 KMW<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 8\/21\/15<\/strong><\/p>\n

#Legacyoflove<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A touching tribute to an 89 year-old grandmother who believed her life didn’t matter. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13814,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1774,1271,2,86,3,1775,5,1776,1777,6,1778,1361,1779,1780],"class_list":["post-13812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting-2","tag-best-gift-you-can-give","tag-best-mom-blogs","tag-family","tag-kelli-wheeler","tag-kids","tag-legacy-of-love","tag-momservations","tag-mother-teresa","tag-mother-teresa-quotes","tag-parenting","tag-stories-of-unconditional-love","tag-teens","tag-the-power-of-uncdonditional-love","tag-unconditional-love"],"yoast_head":"\nLegacy of Love - Kelli M. 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