not just a dash......
Several weeks ago, a headstone was placed at my mothers grave.
It's very pretty... Soft grey with angels engraved at each upper corner..
Of course her name is engraved, along with the date of her birth, and that of her death.
As I looked at this memorial I thought of something I once read. How interesting it is that a person's entire life is summed up by a dash between two numbers.
It represents the joy her parents felt when their firstborn child entered the world, and the sorrow my mother felt when she was just a young child and her parents died. Her happiness when she became a mother, a grandmother, and then a great-grandmother...
In just that small dash, are years of memories, happiness, sorrow, joy, tears.... Lives changed by her words, her touch....
The image in my mind when I see that tiny dash is much more than any photograph could ever show....
It's very pretty... Soft grey with angels engraved at each upper corner..
Of course her name is engraved, along with the date of her birth, and that of her death.
As I looked at this memorial I thought of something I once read. How interesting it is that a person's entire life is summed up by a dash between two numbers.
It represents the joy her parents felt when their firstborn child entered the world, and the sorrow my mother felt when she was just a young child and her parents died. Her happiness when she became a mother, a grandmother, and then a great-grandmother...
In just that small dash, are years of memories, happiness, sorrow, joy, tears.... Lives changed by her words, her touch....
The image in my mind when I see that tiny dash is much more than any photograph could ever show....
posted by jsdaughter at 10:07 AM
9 Comments:
I read this post, and I feel for you. My mother is very sick right now, and I guess it hit me pretty close to home right now. I will come back and read more. Michele sent me tonight, and I'm glad she did. Thank you for your words. They are beautiful.
Wow, what an insight! I will not read markers in the same way again. thanks
Hi here via Michele's
Hi!
This post means so much to me, as only this week, we lost my dear Aunt. Yes, life is more than a "dash" but we'll never know how long (or short) it is destined to be.
Thanks for your words.
Hello, Michele sent me.
I've heard this concept before and it makes me wonder, how would you try to convey the idea of someone's life with more than a dash? You can't carve the story of their life on the stone but maybe a symbol or image or a short phrase...
Thank you for sharing your story with us. Ovarian cancer is present in my life also. My grandmother was diagnoised with it 10 years ago & survived. It came back about 2 years ago & again she survived. We recently found out that it is back again & this time they can not operate. I'm feeling so many different emotions right now about it all. The worst part is not knowing just how much time we have left with her. By the way, I'm here via Michele.
Truly an eye-opening insight...I never thought of it that way, but it is unmistakeably true. Thanks for sharing this.
I'm here from Michele's...
thankyou so much for the courage to share your mothers battle with us all...
the question i want to ask is...
how are you?
here via micheles today
praying for you xox
Wow... I never thought about it that way.
Stopping by via Michele!
I find myself exploring your older entries, absorbing your wisdom about life, loss and healing.
When I was younger, I would often walk through the graveyard in my neighborhood. Every stone had a story of a life, and I would always try to project in my imagination what that stone was telling me about that person.
It led me to eventually hunt down my relative's graves and ultimately learn more about myself and where I came from.
Your words are powerful testament to our need to make a difference with whatever time we've got.
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