NICE Assignment: Write a Living Eulogy

Hi everyone! Did you have a lovely weekend? I did! The weather was kind of crummy, so I spent most of the weekend indoors. I was able to accomplish a lot of chores, finally. And I even read an awesome book that I'll talk more about later. :)

So how did your week of no complaining go? I had a tough time! I never realized how often I complained about silly little things. I even had a pretty awesome week, so it should have been easy! But being aware of my negative comments definitely helped me evaluate my attitude. I'm going to try my best to stick with it!

I was poking around Twitter last night before bed, and I came across a tweet from one of my favorite tweeps, Diana of our.city.lights. that said, "People always say the greatest things about you at a funeral. Why can't life be celebrated everyday like this?" So true! And then I remembered back to an assignment I had in my 10th grade Creative Writing and Speech class, which was to give a eulogy to someone living. I thought this could be a great assignment for the week!

Today's Assignment: Write a Living Eulogy

Diana is right. We need to celebrate the amazing people in our lives while they are still around to feel appreciated! So pick a person that you feel needs to be praised, and write them a living eulogy! It doesn't have to be too long. Just a little something honoring that special someone. Here's mine:

Warm and loving are not usually the first two words that usually come to mind when people meet my mother. She tends to come across as a little, well, gruff. You definitely do not want to mess with her. Despite barely breaking 100 lbs, this is a woman that once broke a beer bottle and threatened to stab a man that stole her purse. She can negotiate anything with no fear, usually convincing salesmen to give her extra discounts or free gifts. And as her daughter, I knew that if I broke any of her (strict but reasonable) rules, I was in for it.

But I also saw a side of her that most people would never discover. She ALWAYS put her child and her husband's needs before her own. Every morning she woke up early, made lunches for me and my father, prepared breakfast, even started my dad's car on cold mornings so it would be nice and toasty when he left for work. My father and I had it easy. She kept the house spotless, always had dinner on the table at 6:30, folded the most perfect creases in our clothes. If I whined about waiting at the bus stop in the rain, she'd get dressed and drive me to school. She really was Super Mom.

Her generosity is immeasurable. When I was young, I used to wake up in the middle of the night with terrible growing pains in my legs. All I would have to do is whimper, and less than a minute later, my mom would be at my bedside, massaging my legs. Sacrificing her own sleep, she wouldn't leave until she knew I'd get mine. And the next morning, she would never complain or make me feel guilty. For my mother, taking care of her family is her purpose in life.

Even now, as a 29 year old woman, I know that I can't call my mother when I'm sick or she'd pack up a cooler of food and be at my house in 90 minutes! So I usually wait until I'm getting over the flu to call her in order to save her the trip. In her eyes, I'm still her baby.

I could have never gotten to where I am today without her support. She wanted me to have everything, and she encouraged me to take whatever lessons or classes I wanted. She went to all of my recitals and school events. And she always wanted me to know that she was my biggest cheerleader, sometimes to a fault. Like that one time in 9th grade when I was marching in the Halloween Parade, and my mom thought that it would be "cool" to walk alongside me for the entire parade route while pumping her fist like Arsenio Hall. A little embarrassing, yes. But looking back on it, that was pretty awesome of her.

So I'd like to take this moment to celebrate my own personal superstar. My role model. My inspiration. My mother! Thanks Mom!

I hope you'll all play along!