I wish I could write something inspirational and beautiful about Veterans’ Day. However, it falls just a wee bit too close to the anniversary of the death of my cousin, Craig.
I’m not bitter over it, but I do mourn the loss even now. I could rant and rave about how unfair his death was, how senseless the war is, etc. But doing that won’t bring Craig back. Doing that won’t ease the very real pain my aunt suffered then, suffers now and will probably suffer for the rest of her life. I can’t even fathom losing one of my children. My mind just shuts down.
So, instead of a long, mournful post about Craig, I’m going to start my mini-series about people who inspire me. The first person in the series has to be my aunt, Shirl. She is an amazing human being. Truly. She’s probably one of the most giving and selfless people I’ve ever met in my life. She always knows just what to say to me to make me feel better about everything, and she’s always been able to do that.
When I was younger, Shirl was the one who didn’t favor Sarah over me. While everyone else was ooh’ing and aah’ing over the baby (which I get now, but it hurt like hell then), Shirl and her then-husband, Jake, were taking me to horror movies and having me make cookies and just paying attention to me. (Shirl and Jake had Craig in ‘84 and then twin boys in ‘85. They were more impressed with helping skills than with cute factor. Although I have to say, I was damn cute. :grin:)
She inspires me in other ways, too. How many women do you know who’d take the leap into owning their own business when they’re in their 50s? Me, I know one. Shirl. She opened up her own restaurant last year, with nothing more than a few bucks, a lot of sweat equity and a dream. And I’ll be dadgummed if she didn’t make it work. At 51 years old. How can that not be inspirational?
I could go on and on about her, but I’m getting a little weepy. I think instead of writing about her, I should write to her. So I’m off to do just that.
