What a Wonderful Example

This weekend was hard. For those of you who didn't already know, my grandfather passed on Monday. Yesterday was the viewing, and today was the funeral.

It was an amazing occasion. Joyous and sad all at the same time. 13 children and their spouses, ALL 55 grandchildren (for some reason I thought there were more than that), most of the 35 great grandchildren and many more friends and family all gathered in remembrance of an amazing man, my grandfather. I talked about all of his accomplishments and impact in an earlier post, but there is something that is worth mentioning. My uncle, one of the many, got up in front of everyone at the wake and talked about how one of the most important things that my grandfather was concerned about was instilling his faith into his children. In turn, he prayed that his children would instill that same faith into their children, and so on. Looking around the room, while as a family we prayed one last rosary with grandpa, I realized that his mission had been accomplished. I then started to drift off into my own thoughts as the familiar words were flowing from my lips.

Not only had my grandfather influenced his children and grandchildren, but his example reached far beyond that. One of the main reasons Foster even decided to inquire about the Catholic faith is because of the example my family has set.  My parents and my family in general are proud of their Christian/Catholic faith, and we practice it regularly. We try to live good lives and treat people properly. Foster noticed this early on in our relationship. He realized that regardless of what religion he was, I would remain faithful to mine. I would never judge him or tell him he was wrong, but he knew better than to ask me to change my faith. He realized that the traditions within my family were ones to be appreciated, and he looked up to the example we set. I have to give credit to my grandparents, on both sides. If they had not instilled these values into my parents, my sisters and I would not be continuing on the faith and traditions. Foster started to realize and appreciate his grandmother who was catholic, and started to look at her in a totally different light. He became Catholic last April, and has become a better parishioner than  me! He is knowledgeable of the faith and insists on attending mass and special events, regardless of the excuses I give. He has dedicated himself to giving back to the community by participating in Meals on wheels, Joseph's Coat, and a local soup kitchen. He has truly embraced Christ and faith, and has made me proud every step of the way.

I so badly wanted to get up and tell the story of how Grandpa has reached beyond his children and grandchildren. It has reached FAR beyond that. However, for those of you who know me, something very rare happened yesterday. I lost my voice, and I am not talking figuratively. I literally lost my voice. I was supposed to lead my family in "Danny Boy", and in the last few days, I have been warming up my voice and practicing. I have also had a severe cold/flu. I must have practiced just a little too much, because after 5 hours of talking to family and socializing at the funeral home, I arrived at my hotel room with no voice! I know I talk a lot, but I have never had my voice give up on me. Luckily for you, it hasn't affected my fingers...hahaha. As expected, I was unable to lead my family in "Danny Boy", but was glad when I heard the bagpipes playing it, because I probably would have been  off key and off rhythm.

Thank you all for all of your kind words and support over the past few days. I really REALLY appreciate it!
God Bless you all, and "May God hold you in the palm of his hands".

 

 

 

 

Grandma and Grandpa

66 yrs of marriage, 13 children, 55 grandchildren, and 35 great-grandchildren, and still as in love as the day they got married....if not more!

 Oh, by the way, can I tell you how AMAZING he looked this weekend! They did an amazing job!!

A Close Call!!

I pulled  a no-no. I have been taking classes this quarter. I know I don't speak much of school much because it has become such a constant in my life, that I do what I need to do and not think twice about it. I am the eternal college student. Obstacle after obstacle has been set in my way in my pursuit to graduate, and as soon as I see the light at the end of the tunnel, something blows it out. For instance, change in curriculum, change in schools, money issues, and then the death of my daughter.

This quarter is my second to last. If all goes well next quarter, I will be graduating in March of 2011. I almost blew it this week. One of the major classes I have to pass to graduate is my foreign language. I have taken up American Sign Language. I have had fun, excelled, and enjoyed every minute of it. Classes such as Philosphy, which I am also taking this quarter, I know I can squeak by with a B with little effort. I know, why would I accept a "B" when I could easily get an "A"? Well, my lack of motivation and major case of "senioritis" has caused my brain to go with the philosophy that "C's get degrees". I have been a fairly good student, minus a few choice classes, and I am pretty self reliant. If I keep up with the readings, do the homework, and keep up with the online slide shows, I can pull off a B in classes like Philosophy without regularly attending classes. ASL is a totally different story. A language needs to be practiced, finessed, and ASL is no exception. If anything, class attendance is more pertinent than other foreign languages because it is visual language, and in order to "speak" the language, you must be able to understand what it looks like. So, I attend. I am on time with every homework assignment, and put effort into it. However, this past Thursday, Veteran's Day, we had an assignment due. It was a paper that was worth 10% of our final grade. It was based off of a Deaf Event that we were required to attend. I chose a very inspiring lecture by one Dr. Joseph Valente. He wrote a book entitled “d/Deaf and d/Dumb: A Portrait of a Deaf Kid as a Young Superhero”, and was on campus to speak about it, and promote it's release in a few months. I was entranced in his words. He read sections from his book, and spoke on what it was like being deaf in a hearing world. The astounding part of it was that he spoke with such eloquence and clarity that one would never know he was deaf from meeting him. The traditional "deaf accent" was not present. He was so skilled at reading lips, he could read people's lips from the back of the classroom.

I was sitting next to Foster on Friday as he donated blood at the Red Cross when I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to submit the assignment.  I had attended the event weeks ago, should have done the assignment and submitted it right after attending, but for some reason procrastinated. I was instantly mad at myself. I have been holding a High B in this class. I have worked hard, put all effort into it, and now my grade would automatically drop to a C. 10% of my grade would be a BIG FAT ZERO!! I was devastated. I was beating myself up for the next hour and a half. It had been blatantly expressed multiple times that there would be NO late submissions accepted.

Foster suggested that I submit the paper regardless of whether it would be accepted, and explain to my professor the circumstances. He figured I would at least receive partial credit. I explained to him that I didn't see the point in this, because it wasn't like I was sick, in an accident, had a funeral, or any other acceptable excuse. I did however feel it was necessary for me to at least submit my paper so that she was aware that I didn't just refuse to do the assignment all together, and that I actually got something out of the lecture. I emailed her and told her what happened, and understood if she gave me no credit, but wanted her to know I had been inspired by the experience and took it seriously. This was the response I received about 8 hours later:

"Glad you attended the event. You are correct no late submissions are accepted but since your paper was good, I will give you a grade but it will be one lower grade." 90/100

 

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!! She has complimented my writing in the past, mentioning that I have a way with words and express my feelings well, incorporating emotional and personal experiences into my papers, but I never thought this would benefit me any further than receiving an A on a paper. I am sooooooo thankful and could not hold back my excitement and gratitude from her. I thanked her profusely, and preceded to call Foster, "I told you so," he replied. He was right. I had actually thought for a moment to accept defeat, accept my fate, and not even submit the paper. Thank God I listened to him, even if it was not for the reason he suggested. And God Bless my ASL teacher!