I prepared some thoughts to share at meems memorial service today, and wanted to share them here as well, for those of you reading, as well as for my family, in the future.
10 things I want you to know about my Meems:
- My Meems was famous for her spaghetti and meatballs.
She made 60 or more at one time.
She cooked her sauce for hours at a time with lots of pinches of this and dashes of that,
and it always turned out perfect, but never quite the same.
There was a written recipe, but there must have been a missing special ingredient,
because we have tried the recipe, and no one’s are as good as hers were. - My Meems knew more about football than anyone I know.
She was known during certain years to keep poster boards behind her couch
with NFL bracket information, so that she could keep track.
She was the Dallas Cowboys #1 fan.
And not a fair weather fan.
In good times and in bad. (And there were bad times). - My Meems smelled of Estee Lauder Youth Dew perfume all the time.
I never knew her to wear any other scent.
I never smell Youth Dew without thinking of her. - My Meems favorite ice cream was Double Strawberry.
- My Meems favorite type of food was Mexican,
but always with NO cheese. Not melted, not shredded, not any. - During my college years (and before),
my Meems and Granddaddy’s favorite restaurant was Mr. Gatti’s pizza.
They frequented it, made friends with managers and staff,
and even other patrons of the restaurant.
I went with them often in those years.
Everyone knew their name.
It was their “Cheers”. - My Meems went to “coffee” for years with her swimming friends after swim class.
She never drank coffee, and always ordered a diet coke.
Even after all those years, anytime she would reference “coffee with the swimming girls”,
she would ALWAYS mention to me, “Well, you know I don’t drink coffee, I had a diet coke”. Every time. - My Meems was a fighter.
She fought heart disease and cancer with lots of complications like a true champion,
and with a smile on her face and a kind word for others.
She fought both times to meet my children, her great grandchildren,
which was the best gift she ever gave me.
Her presence in their lives. - My Meems had no sense of direction,
and was often looking for her car in the mall parking lot. - My Meems lived her life to the fullest, making her date of birth
and now her date of death, seem almost “insignificant” in relation to her DASH.
The dash I am referring to is from the poem, THE DASH, by LINDA ELLIS,
which I would like to share:
I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of his friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
from the beginning...to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth
and spoke of the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time
that she spent alive on earth…
and now only those who loved her
know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own;
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard…
are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left.
That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real,
and always try to understand
the way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger,
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect,
and more often wear a smile…
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy’s being read
with your life’s actions to rehash...
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent your dash?
Meems spent her dash well.
She had a life well lived.
She was a person well loved.
She will be greatly missed.
