Makes me stop and think.....

What a weekend! The game of Life....you just can't play it sometimes. Hub came in for a long weekend and actually stretched it until he was here most of the week and then came back Thursday night. Pretty sweet! He leaves again tomorrow. :(

I had a house cleaner come in and do a "Spring Cleaning" on Friday. Hub was to re-stain the deck and a couple of honey-do type things while he in town. Then I planned to have a realtor over on Saturday and get the house re-listed. That was the plan anyway. The house was cleaned on Friday; it was too cold to stain the deck and I was gone Saturday to come home to Hubby asleep on the sofa and three boys having a blast upstairs. Then Hub decided to sand and repaint a window sill in the kitchen. There was a cloud of dust in the air. Need I say more? Sometimes you just can't win.

I got word on Wednesday that my cousin's husband had died. He was only 57 and they think that a virus hit his heart. No warning. He was fine Sunday morning and then he started feeling bad and shortly thereafter, gone. I went to his funeral on Saturday. (Hence no realtor visit and Hubby asleep on the couch.) What a legacy the man had left. He left his mark on his community and his family. His accomplishments were many. Close to 600 people signed the book at his wake and more than that to the funeral.

Came home from church today to get an e-mail that my 90 year old aunt, that I was named after. had pneumonia and was not suppose to hang on much longer. We had only recently found out where she was and my brother and sister visited her the weekend I was in Arkansas. We have been gone so much lately that I had not been able to go see her. I drove over to Dallas to visit her today and the hospice nurse said that she probably would not make it until the next work shift. I stayed and talked to her as long as I could. Not sure if she heard me, but at this stage it was probably more for my own peace. She and her husband were extremely wealthy and lived a privileged life; yet there she was in her nice retirement center with no one here but a hospice nurse. Everyone has either died or is crazy. Literally. What a legacy!

Really makes me stop and think. Both of these people lived the life that the world today thinks would make you happy. By worldly standards, they were big successes. My uncle was in the ground floor many years ago of the Alaskan pipeline. He made a killing. They had three children. Money took their toll on them. The oldest turned into an alcoholic that doesn't have a relationship with his lonely overachieving daughter. He is off living by himself in a hotel. Howard Hughes on a much smaller scale. Another died last year after living a life scarred by greed. His children seem to have learned the same. The daughter took her money and brains and made herself a big success. Several years ago, she was murdered by her husband that married her for her money. He almost got away with it, too. So there is my aunt....passing by herself....leaving a next generation with their own wealth issues. Some want it, but can't get it; some get it but let it ruin their own lives.

Two very good people with such different endings. I'm not sure where to go with this, but it does make me stop and think. My aunt's wealth took the souls and even the lives of her children. My cousin's wealth afforded him the means to serve and make a lasting difference on the lives of his children and others. A lasting difference......that's what I hope to choose.

Later.