Lesson to Self #10: Be kind and caring

It was a beautiful wedding in so many ways. The bride was a former Division 1 athlete whom I had the privilege of mentoring for several years. The groom, a commercial pilot, I had never met. Still, I was thrilled to be invited to this matrimonial celebration.

My husband and I were seated for dinner at the table with the groom’s grandma, two sisters and their husbands, and his younger brother. We wondered if we would have anything to talk about.

Our wondering came to an abrupt halt when we realized that they all lived in my hometown, had attended the same high school as me, and were members of the home church of my youth in Perkasie, PA. Though it had been 48 years since I left that area, we knew some of the same people, now the elder members of the congregation. But the most startling find was that they knew—and loved—my dear mother!

“She was so kind and caring every time I visited her. She even remembered that I had a granddaughter at Liberty University,” shared Grandma. “She was such a wonderful woman.”

As news spread to other family members and friends who had traveled down from the same area, a number of folks approached me asking, “Are you Margaret DeLancey’s daughter? Oh, how we miss her.”

It made my heart happy to be reminded of my mother’s influence even in her last days when life was hard. It was always about the other person.

If in 48 years one of my sons finds himself at a wedding only to realize that another guest knew his mother, I wonder what would be said of her? It certainly is a reminder that our impact—for good or bad—is likely to follow us beyond the years we live.