What do you want to be known for in this world?
My grandmother, Alice, will forever be known for her resilience and humor.
These were the characteristics myself and her daughter (my Aunt) eulogized during her services.
She was a survivor.
Growing up with trauma and poverty didn’t stop her from being the only woman to graduate in her high school class, going on to establishing a successful real estate business.
Her son (my dad) and ex-husband (my grandfather) died by suicide. The love of her life, her second husband Joe, died of cancer in 1998.
She spent the last 3 years of life confined to a wheelchair without much physical activity.
Yet she still was the strongest energy in the room in every space she occupied – making her loved ones laugh, cracking jokes at the senior home and pulling pranks on her very patient caregivers.
She also still had the “spit and vinegar” energy of her youth – or as she would say, “Doing what I want and taking shit from no one.”
Last month, as our family gathered to pay our respects, we were united not just as blood but also from the example she set for each of us to roll up your sleeves and get to work….and laugh your ass off while you’re at it.
How will you be remembered- as the person who worked hard and didn’t let anyone get in your way? Or the person will still put a smile on peoples’ faces at age 90?
Perhaps, if you’re lucky enough, you’ll be remembered for both – like my Grandma Alice ❤
