A Sad Day

Today I received one of those phone calls that nobody likes to get.  My brother-in-law called to let me know that his Mother had died.  I knew that she had been in the hospital with pneumonia and that she had been put on a ventilator.  It had been nearly a week since she was admitted and I had hoped that no news was indeed good news, but it was not to be.  The decision to take her off the ventilator was made yesterday and she passed peacefully early this afternoon.

She had been my mother-in-law for the 20 years I was married to her son.  After Mike died, she stayed in touch and although it was difficult for us to get together, we talked by phone often.  She told me all about her great-grandchildren, who were the light of her life, and always asked about my family and laughed at the stories I told her about the things my grandchildren had done.  She always ended each conversation by telling me that she loved me.

I am so very glad that the last words I said to her were "I love you."

Rest in peace, Peg.  I will miss you.

The Legend of the Starfish

"The Legend of the Starfish"
Author Unknown

"A vacationing businessman was walking along a beach when he saw a young boy. Along the shore were many starfish that had been washed up by the tide and were sure to die before the tide returned. The boy was walking slowly along the shore and occasionally reached down and tossed a beached starfish back into the ocean.

The businessman, hoping to teach the boy a little lesson in common sense, walked up to the boy and said, “I have been watching what you are doing, son. You have a good heart, and I know you mean well, but do you realize how many beaches there are around here and how many starfish are dying on every beach every day. Surely such an industrious and kind hearted boy such as yourself could find something better to do with your time. Do you really think that what you are doing is going to make a difference?”

The boy looked up at the man, and then he looked down at a starfish by his feet. He picked up the starfish, and as he gently tossed it back into the ocean, he said, “It makes a difference to that one.”