A recent TV show prompted me to think on these lines. Who would I pick if I could have one more day with anyone? It took some thinking. I spent most of the day thinking about all the different people who have left this life and who I wanted to talk to the most. I actually surprised myself when I finally came to my answer.
My great-grandmother Mary Elizabeth Long-McSherry. I thought about posting a picture of her, but I only have pic's when she was very old. The last picture I have of her is with our 1st dd when we took her to visit Grandma McSherry. Dd was only 2 months old. I wish I had a picture of her as a young woman. Shortly after taking those pictures, Grandma McSherry died, one month shy of her 100th birthday. I was thinking yesterday that I didn't know very much about her life. I wonder what kind of a girl she was, the things she played with. Was she from a upper, middle or lower class family? What was life like for her? I don't know why I've never thought of these things before, I guess I never took the time to stop and think about it. The greatest compliment I have ever been given was by my father when I told him that baby #5 was coming, he said, "Well, Grandma McSherry is probably very proud of you having such a large family!" When we announced our happy news, our family members were not as happy as we would have hoped, so my father's declaration was just what I needed to be bold in our decision to have a large family.
If I had one more day with her, I would love to put a jigsaw puzzle together with her, drink hot tea, talk all day, and maybe go to McDonald's with her. (I don't know if she liked McDonald's, but she always gave my brother and I McDonald's coupons for Christmas. Hopefully, you know what I'm talking about...I know, I'm dating myself with this one!) I'd ask so many questions. Questions about all sort of things. What was it like for her to become a widow and how did she survive the pain of it all? From the information I've gleaned from my father, she was a devout Catholic. I want to know more...what was her spiritual life like? What did she believe about God? I was really taken off guard as I sat and thought about all the things I'd like to ask her. By the end of the evening, I was sad. Sad, because I was too young to be interested in these questions when she was alive. Mad at myself for being so self-centered. If I had thought about these things 15 years ago, I might have been able to ask her. Just thinking about her brings me comfort. I think she would have understood me, not many do. She would have "got me", I think.
But, what about you? Who would you want to see again and spend one more day with? Why?
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