Our Life...: Measuring Up

Monday, February 24, 2014

Measuring Up

This is a picture of my hubby, Marc, with his cousin, Teresa.

I'm not sure what makes me smile more; seeing him so small, his cowboy pajamas, his little boy hair cut or just being able to see a moment from his past.

He's 45 now.

I'm 37.

I remember when I was in high school I thought the world would end before I became 30 because that seemed so far away. And then when I was 23 and had short hair I decided to grow it out and said that I would cut it again at 30 because I would be too old for long hair by then...

I remember when I was 18 and I first saw Marc at work. He really caught my eye with his good looks, twinkling blue eyes and sly smile. But then I found out he was 26... "Ick!" I thought, "he is way too old!"

It's so funny what time does. It makes age seem so insignificant.

Almost as if it doesn't matter, you are who you are and you just want to measure up to your potential and your dreams regardless of your age and what people think you should be doing at your age.

One thing, though, that certainly has no boundaries with age... is death.

My uncle, only 58 years old passed away on Sunday.

Thinking of me turning 58 makes me feel old, but when I think of my uncle passing from this life at 58... it seems way too young.

I love my dad's family.

My dad is the oldest of his siblings and my uncle Mark was just younger than him.

I grew up most of my young life with my Uncle Mark as my neighbor.

We all lived on the same road: my uncle, us and then my grandparents all next to each other on the large dairy farm separated only by hay or wheat fields.

I remember my Uncle Mark and his family when they were young.

Then time seemed to change a lot of things and I didn't get to know them again until these last 7 or 8 years as we have tried harder to have more family reunions.

The most recent reunion was just his January where we gathered to celebrate Christmas! We played games, talked, laughed, told jokes, hit a piñata, made crafts, ate and enjoyed getting to see many of our family.

Mark was there.

He was so happy.

I was happy to be there, but didn't think much of it then. It's not like I thought it would be the last time I would see my uncle.

But, it was.

I think that we spend much of this life trying to measure up to what others want from us or think we should be or do.

In the end, all that matters is that our life had measure. That every inch and every mile we traveled, literally or spiritually, are full of experiences... giving our lives full measure.

Thank you Uncle Mark for measuring up.