100… This is the age I thought for sure my Pop-pop would live to. Never thought he would be gone at 80. Today is his 81st birthday and he is getting to spend it with Jesus, at the true 19th hole. 233 days have passed since he took his last breath. I can say a day has not passed that I have not thought of him. Most of the time those thoughts are just fond memories and sometimes those thoughts are met with deep ache and tears.
I have learned a lot about myself in these 233 days and I have learned a lot about him and his influence on others. The influence a person can have on you, can drive you to do better and strive for goals. I can say he was one of my reasons to strive for success. To make Pop-pop proud was important. For the first few weeks after he passed, I felt a little lost in the fact that I would not hear him say “that’s great!”. Even though I know he was little confused in the fact that I had a real estate licenses but I did not sell houses. I do residential property management, regardless, he was proud.
One of the greatest life lessons he gave me was on leadership. This is one of the things I said at his memorial “Some people are born leaders and that is what Pop-pop was. People often confuse leaders as people who tell others what to do. But true leaders are the ones that serve and do their part for the betterment of others… not just themselves.” Last few years I started seeking more leadership roles in my local association of REALTORS. Last year I was asked to be a committee chair and then was nominated to run for board of directors. Pop-pop had served on the board for his retirement community, so I was ecstatic to tell him I had been nominated to run. Even when I did not make it on the board, he was still proud “that I had put myself out there”. I really wish I could talk to him about what I am doing now to pursue a leadership role.
I have made the choice that even though he is not a phone call away to share with him what is going on, that I want to be able to tell him a lot has happened since the last time we talked. I may not be able to hear those words now, but I will. Life is going to be full of great years, with a few difficult days. During the message today at church, they said "You may not choose the struggles you go through, but you decide how you go through them." Meaning you have the choice to how you react, how you overcome and how you let that struggle effect you. You must make the choice to have a happy and purposeful life, it does not just happen by chance.
A legacy is more than just being remembered when you are gone. "What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal." Albert Pine
We have each been given life lessons, had our lives touched by someone's words, time and/or actions... What have you done to carry on that legacy? What will you DO to carry on that legacy?
