Expressions of Love
Today I want to dedicate this love holiday to the people I love. I want to express what each person means to me and to open my heart up completely. I want to honor the people who have loved me and been a part of molding the person I am today. It is my hope that by my sharing my own intimate feelings that all of you will dedicate some time to honoring those you love.
Isabel was my maternal grandmother who we lived with after my parents were separated and divorced. She took my mother and all four of us kids in when we were in need, making sure that we were fed, clothed and loved. She was a task master and she ran the home. What she said was usually what was done and my experience was that my grandfather appreciated her. He knew that he could depend on her and so did us children. For my grandma every day was a day to serve by making great meals, keeping a home beautiful, washing clothes, ironing and even baking a pound cake from scratch. I think that my grandma was the very first empowered woman I knew and she taught me that women were just as smart and just as strong as any man, in many ways. I think what I loved the most about her was that she seemed to think so little of herself and focused on us day after day. Her love was abundant and without conditions.
My great grandmother was someone I did not know for a long time span. She died when I was a small boy. Yet I remember her vividly in every detail of her physical being and her spiritual energy. I remember that she would close her bedroom door every day to pray. I recall teasing her because I knew she could not run after me and the times when she'd catch me off guard and give me a little wack on the butt. I knew I deserved it for teasing her so often. The thing I remember the most is how she'd sit on the long front porch in a chair waiting for me to get home from school. I could see her white long hair from a distance and although now I understand why she waited each day, I felt completely loved by her and honored that she would wait for me every day. She barely spoke but I could see in her face how much she loved me.
My grandfather was a large man with big hands. He was a self-made carpenter. He could do anything in a house even build it from scratch. At my grandmother's request he would redo the bathrooms in a different color. His work was meticulous and frankly that is putting it mildly. My grandfather was a great provider and like many women in that era my grandmother the person who take care of all the things in the home. My grandfather was an affectionate man who had a wonderful sense of humor. He would think nothing of hugging me and holding me closely while we watched TV. He too was a man that was focused on serving his family and doing the best he could at everything he did. I think that I learned so much about life and of love from him because he was always there with an open heart.
My mother was a women who suffered from mental illness yet she was one of the strongest people I know. She barely had a high school education yet she was a successful realtor for many years. She was impeccable in the way she dressed and loved her home. She prided herself in having a beautiful and clean home. Her love was inconsistent because she suffered so much from her emotional experiences in life including her divorce from my biological father. I was the recipient of some abuse yet what I know is that she taught me a lot about life. I too am impeccable with my dressing and my home. I was determined to get my degrees and today I know that my mothers' stubborn nature is what made me stronger. Today I know she loves me and as I shared with her on her death bed, I have forgiven her flaws knowing fully that on one is perfect. I think that love comes in many forms and although we'd like love to be pure and simple, it is not always the case. I learned to cherish the form of love my mother was capable of giving me.
So on this Love Day I want to share with all of you that love comes in many forms and that we cannot decide how people love us. In the end we can either accept it the way it is offered or not. Happy Love Day.
Isabel was my maternal grandmother who we lived with after my parents were separated and divorced. She took my mother and all four of us kids in when we were in need, making sure that we were fed, clothed and loved. She was a task master and she ran the home. What she said was usually what was done and my experience was that my grandfather appreciated her. He knew that he could depend on her and so did us children. For my grandma every day was a day to serve by making great meals, keeping a home beautiful, washing clothes, ironing and even baking a pound cake from scratch. I think that my grandma was the very first empowered woman I knew and she taught me that women were just as smart and just as strong as any man, in many ways. I think what I loved the most about her was that she seemed to think so little of herself and focused on us day after day. Her love was abundant and without conditions.
My great grandmother was someone I did not know for a long time span. She died when I was a small boy. Yet I remember her vividly in every detail of her physical being and her spiritual energy. I remember that she would close her bedroom door every day to pray. I recall teasing her because I knew she could not run after me and the times when she'd catch me off guard and give me a little wack on the butt. I knew I deserved it for teasing her so often. The thing I remember the most is how she'd sit on the long front porch in a chair waiting for me to get home from school. I could see her white long hair from a distance and although now I understand why she waited each day, I felt completely loved by her and honored that she would wait for me every day. She barely spoke but I could see in her face how much she loved me.
My grandfather was a large man with big hands. He was a self-made carpenter. He could do anything in a house even build it from scratch. At my grandmother's request he would redo the bathrooms in a different color. His work was meticulous and frankly that is putting it mildly. My grandfather was a great provider and like many women in that era my grandmother the person who take care of all the things in the home. My grandfather was an affectionate man who had a wonderful sense of humor. He would think nothing of hugging me and holding me closely while we watched TV. He too was a man that was focused on serving his family and doing the best he could at everything he did. I think that I learned so much about life and of love from him because he was always there with an open heart.
My mother was a women who suffered from mental illness yet she was one of the strongest people I know. She barely had a high school education yet she was a successful realtor for many years. She was impeccable in the way she dressed and loved her home. She prided herself in having a beautiful and clean home. Her love was inconsistent because she suffered so much from her emotional experiences in life including her divorce from my biological father. I was the recipient of some abuse yet what I know is that she taught me a lot about life. I too am impeccable with my dressing and my home. I was determined to get my degrees and today I know that my mothers' stubborn nature is what made me stronger. Today I know she loves me and as I shared with her on her death bed, I have forgiven her flaws knowing fully that on one is perfect. I think that love comes in many forms and although we'd like love to be pure and simple, it is not always the case. I learned to cherish the form of love my mother was capable of giving me.
So on this Love Day I want to share with all of you that love comes in many forms and that we cannot decide how people love us. In the end we can either accept it the way it is offered or not. Happy Love Day.
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