As many of you know, I work at Nashua Monument Works selling cemetery memorials to those who have lost loved ones. I never in a million years have ever thought I would work at a place like this, but here I am! Today, I had a woman come in with her mother looking at stones. The woman was looking for a stone for her and her late husband. Her mother had told me over the phone that her daughter's husband had passed away, so they were starting to look. This woman was almost in a daze. She had a look on her face of grief to a degree I have NEVER seen. She didn't cry, but she didn't smile either. She brought along a photo of the family photo she wanted etched on the stone, a mom, a dad, and a son. They looked so happy, it pained me to see her sitting in front of me with the exact opposite expression. Sandness, emptiness, was all she had left. My heart hurts to think about it. I figured out after she had left that her husband had passed away last week.
This job has taught me to live. To live with all I have all the time. To love those who mean so much to me with all my heart, and to tell them how much they mean to me. To appreciate all that God has given to me.
Life is so short, so why hold grudges? Why not say I love you? Why not live in the moment...because in a split second, your life could change, live for today because you may never have tommorow.
I found this poem hanging up in the office I work in the first day I started...I think it's great....
HOW DO YOU LIVE YOUR DASH
by Linda Ellis
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning…to the end.
He noted that first came her date of birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth…
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own;
The cars…the house…the cash,
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard…
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real,
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile…
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy’s being read
With your life’s actions to rehash…
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?
