The sun sets on another day…
Sunset was magnificent, and I enjoyed the setting sun with new adoration for the day, new feelings for every day.
I was fortunate to have 2 very good grandfathers. One I saw often, the other I saw rarely.
One of my Grandfathers was a teacher, and a carpenter. He was a professor of mathematics at a college and took time with students to make sure they understood more than just the numbers, but how to interpret the numbers. I spent my summers with this grandfather and each day when he left he would leave me a math problem. They were advanced and I loved taking my time to solve them. I was thrilled with the challenge to my mind. He taught me to work hard and with him I learned how to lay brick, to work with wood, and to garden. He spent time teaching me to shoot and understood how to challenge me. I worked to be better and was at anything that was given to me. He gave me strength through my splitting wood in the summer, but more he gave me strength of character and humor as he pushed me to be a better person. He taught me manners and how to be a good man, and often I wonder if I lived up to his expectations. He sang, he did not have a super voice but he sang like no one card, and his faith was strong, and his convictions stronger. He was a good man.
The other Grandfather taught me patience. I did not see him as much because of unique situations but he was strong and more silent. He spoke to me as a man when I was young, and taught me to not rush forward. He gave me all he could when he could, and there are times I saw him as a symbol of how people should be. HE could repair most anything, and worked on cars and engines often. In his 90s he was still mowing the lawn with a push mower, and keeping his grounds immaculate. When he spoke with conviction people listened. He was respected always.
I thought about this a lot today, with a tear in my eyes. It is there still as I consider my father as well. He died young, and missed a great deal in my children’s lives. He too was a man of conviction. He too pushed for what he thought was right. It was not always right, but it was his right.
I know a lot of grandfathers. Some are there and make a difference, some when they can, and some are never there. It is all dependent on how they see themselves, and how they see the world. I would like to believe they all try to make a difference.
As of earlier today I became a grandfather and I wonder in this challenging world if I will be good enough. I had amazing teachers, and I have great children, and now there is another that I will try to show the good in the world, and how to be better and best. I will challenge myself to be more each day, not just for me, but for my children, and now my grandson.
So as the sun sets on another day, I hope you all had someone who showed you a good path. I hope you all know the way, even when the way is almost blocked, and find the right way always, even if it doesn’t seem right at the time. Make a difference in someone’s life if you can, every day, no matter what.
Sleep sweet, love with all your heart, and be there…