Message from Grandma and Grandpa

I have been cleaning things out and sorting stuff to keep, do something with or throw away. The stuff that gets into the "to keep" pile has to be organized and no longer just shoved conveniently into a box and put under the bed. (Under the bed is full. So is the master closet. And the hall closets. And the cabinets in the garage...)

Part of the urge to sort and clean and organize came from moving a dear friend recently. For some weird reason, helping other people move gets me into the mood to declutter, reorganize, throw away, redecorate... change. :) The other motivator, I think, is that I am trying to assimilate much of the treasured items that I brought home from my grandparents' house after they passed away these last couple of years. I keep finding myself stuck in memory land as I browse through old treasures, hearing the whisper of their voices in my heart and man, do I miss them today.

This morning, I ran across the card my Grandma and Grandpa Bryan gave me for my high school graduation 20 years ago. Above the personal message written in my Grandma's neat script is a poem by Barbara Burrow. I probably didn't even read the poem when I graduated. But today as I read it, I realized that this was a special message for me from them. I realized that this is how they would want me to live my life because it is how they lived theirs: loving God, loving others, living with integrity and honor, staying the course even in difficult times. While the whole "womanhood" thing is a little cheesy at the end there, I think these words sum up a profound and wise way of living - one I hope to be able to manage to some fraction in my life.

Thank you, Gramma and Grampa Bryan, for this message... I love you.

If you can trust yourself though others doubt you
And conquer fears that limit what you dare
So you can freely give to those about you
The skills and talents that are yours to share;
If you can live, not for your pleasure only,
But gladly lend your gentleness and grace
To warm the hearts of those whose lives are lonely
And help to make their world a better place;
If you can balance dreams with practicality
And deal in facts, but never lose ideals,
If you can face the harshness of reality
And find the truths that prejudice conceals;
If you can be courageous when defeated
And humble in the face of victory,
Or give your best until a task's completed,
However difficult that task may be;
If you can temper facts with understanding
And seek to gently guide, not to control,
And neither be too lax nor too demanding,
But keep in mind the worth of every soul...

If you can strive, not caring who gets credit,
And work at building bridges and not walls,
Or hearing idle slander, just forget it
And never fail to help someone who falls;
If you can give your help without begrudging
The patience, time and effort you impart,
Or look at others' weakness without judging
And see, not with your eyes, but with your heart;
If you can take resources that surround you
And use them in the way you feel you should,
You'll be a woman...and all those around you
Will be richer for your womanhood!

(Barbara Burrow)