RIP: Ted Kennedy

I've never known the full extent of Ted Kennedy's presence, his life, his impact but I've always heard his name pretty much my entire life. My mother loved it whenever she'd hear about him or see him on TV. "There goes Teddy" or "Poor Teddy" or "What has he done now?" would always echo in the house. As I watched some of the tribute and memorial service today, I kept thinking how sad and how glued to the TV my mother would be right now if she were here. Pretty much everything makes me think of my mom after her recent passing but this one really makes me picture her face, her eyes, her shaking her head because of life's twists and turns but I know she'd be the first out there in line collecting any magazines or newspapers that might have a tribute to Ted Kennedy. I am truly amazed by his life, how full and how varied the experiences have been. The tragedies are tremendous though the strength and resiliency of he and his family is even more tremendous by far.. Sometimes you can measure a life by the stories left behind, falling from the lips of friends, acquaintances, family, and even to a very small extent; enemies, jealous foes, and advantage takers. Ted Kennedy's measuring stick seems quite long and with that, it's kind of cool to see a smile attached to a tearful eye from so many that he touched regardless of the closeness or distances between he and them... Aint no more pain for him; he's smiling and perhaps being welcomed home by his brothers....

Bittersweet Discovery

Eight years ago I discovered an old letter hidden deep inside the bedroom closet of my grandmother's house in Mt. Pleasant, Texas. It was a love letter written by her to my grandfather in 1930 something. Just a couple days ago I discovered another letter. This time it was written by my father in 1971 and addressed to my mother. What a find; a bittersweet discovery because in the letter my father talked about being so thankful and claiming that "someone up there likes us!" when speaking about doing so well with roof over head, a wife and a son. He wrote in the letter, "I look forward to spending the next 100 years together..." A few years after that, I can recall when my mother ran crying into my room, telling me that my father no longer wanted to be with us. It was kind of a shattering moment. One of those times that changes everything... I'm amazed my mother continued to hold onto this letter and kept it close by for all these years... Despite the heartache, her love remained forever. Now I suppose she's in heaven looking for him. Perhaps hoping to share something about life that she learned and join in a whole lot of prayer, hoping their son does alright...

So Many Memories..