For my wise old grandmother — I’m enjoying the journey
Today is my birthday. Number 57.
When my mother put me in an adoption home when I was ten, my wise old grandmother found out and rescued me, adopted me, and gave me the love and discipline that had been missing from my life. Without that love and discipline, I believe that long ago I would have died at the hands of a Utah law enforcement agent or be spending life in prison in Utah.
My wise old grandmother always said, “Life is a journey, not an end. Enjoy the journey.” To which I would always add, “Take lots of pictures to share.”
When my wise old grandmother died in June 2003, her two oldest living sons (my dad was the oldest son but had been dead for 42 years) disinvited me to the funeral. Stupid me didn’t know that you had to have invitations to funerals. In September 2004, in honor of her two oldest living sons, I legally dropped my last name and took my middle name as my last name. I figured that if they didn’t need me, I didn’t need them.
In honor of my wise old grandmother, I’m taking off today. I’m going to go enjoy the journey. I’ll be back with lots of pictures to share.
Today’s post is dedicated to my wise old grandmother:
Mary Agnes Kirk (1911-2003).
Posted on March 11, 2012, in Love and discipline and tagged discipline, love, mary agnes kirk, my wise old grandmother. Bookmark the permalink. 8 Comments.
happy 57th russel!
Happy birthday bud.. touching story.
Great piece and a very happy birthday!
Russ,
We wish you a very happy birthday and Zoey too. Thanks for giving us rave reviews
Best Wishes for a very Happy Birthday, Russel.
Strange how life turns out for some of us. Interesting to hear how your life started out. Grandmothers are great Blessings to many of us. I remember my Maternal Grandmother vividly as she provided wonderful holidays on her farm when I was very small and I remember each detail of that old farmhouse to this day (even though my memory is lacking in so much of the past and present).
Behind every man is a great woman. Notice I didn’t say “Behind every great man….”?
hello, sir russel… hope your birthday was fun. so thoughtful of you to commemorate your grandma on the important occasion. she must be smiling… thanks for the visits – in the English and Tagalog sites. warm regards…
~san
Happy Belated Birthday. I mentioned it once before and will say it again, “your Grandmother was an amazing, wise lady.”.