The Passing - My Grandfather, Time, and Life

I was standing in the store, and my phone began to ring.

My aunt was calling me.

"Hey Britt, what's going on?"

In the background, I could hear...

Her voice was shaky.

I could tell that she had been crying.

I knew what she was about to tell me.

"Grandad just passed away."

I have been processing this for a large part of the day.

What do I need to do?

When do I need to leave?

How am I going to get to the rest of my family?

I don't have a lot of answers, but I know I will be figuring it out shortly.

My Grandfather was a Fighter.

He had been in his Second Major Battle with Cancer, and he put in a Strong Effort.

He is Not the first person in my Life who has been in a Battle with Cancer, He is Not the first person I've Lost to Cancer, and there is a possibility that He will Not be the Last.

My Mind feels like a Storm of Thoughts Crashing In.

Thinking about Different Types of Passing.

The Passing of My Grandfather.

The Passing of Time.

The Passing of a Legacy.

The Passing of Life.

Time is such a Beautiful and Terrible thing.

In many ways, it Feels like there is Never Enough Time.

When we Care about people, we want them to be with us in person Forever.

A Moment Less than that Feels like A Moment Stolen.

In the Same Breath, Each and Every Moment is Such a Gift.

I think about making a Wooden Sword with My Grandfather in the Garage.

I think about his Snoring on the Couch after spending the Day Together.

I think about how My Grandfather at Christmas and Thanksgiving Meals.

Always at the Head of the Table.

Always with his Brilliantly Dry Sense of Humor.

All the Little Moments he was there.

All the Large Things he did which allowed me to have the Life I have today.

Each of these Moments Priceless.

Each of these Moments Never to have Again.

Time still continues Passing.

Life comes and it goes.

Do we Appreciate the Moments?

Do we Understand their Value?

Often we are so Entangled with the Challenges we Face, and the Darkness in the World, that we Miss the Beauty and Wonderful things around us.

I had 31 Years with My Grandfather in my Life.

That is Nearly 1 Billion Seconds.

So often people talk about what they would do with 1 Billion Dollars.

But what is the Value of that Money?

No Amount of Money can ever match the Value of 1 Second with those we Love.

Even if we Know this, we often still Feel like the Time Passes Too Quickly.

That Life is Too Short.

However, it does Not matter what we "Feel" about the Passing of Time.

Time Passes.

This is Life.

We can Deny that, but it Accomplishes Nothing.

Life may Not always Work the Way We Wish, but Denying Life Accomplishes Nothing.

What do we Do Instead?

We Honor the Legacy that is Left Behind.

We Honor the Beautiful Time we have with each other.

We Value those Seconds We Have Had.

We Take those Seconds that have Positively Impacted Us, and We Discover how to Bring that Value to Others.

We May Not Have Another Second with those who Pass, but we can Give Valuable Seconds to those who are Still Here.

We Bring the Love that has been Given to Others around Us.

In this Way, those who have Passed Still Live Through Us.

In this Way, they Continue to Impact Others Positively Through Us.

Yes, Things Pass.

Time will Pass.

Life will Pass.

Legacies Pass.

My Grandfather has Passed.

Yet, We Also Pass Beauty and Good to Others.

What are You Passing Today?