Reminders of love

To say losing the love of your life after 70 years of marriage is tough would be a gross understatement. Almost two years after her death, Pop-Pop still dreams about Mom-Mom almost every night. He misses her badly and many of the things Pop-Pop asks me to do around the house every weekend are things Mom-Mom used to do.

Pop-Pop has a lamp post in his front yard with a pole for a small flag on it. Mom-Mom used to put different flags on it throughout the year and, after Mom-Mom passed away, I noticed there wasn't one. On the way up to the house one weekend, I stopped where my Mom-Mom used to buy her flags, purchased one that had flowers (Mom-Mom's passion in life) on it and put it up when I arrived.

After I put it on the pole, Pop-Pop thanked me, telling me that he really liked seeing a flag there again. I told him I was glad he liked it, but I really put it up there for Mom-Mom. With tears in his eyes, Pop-Pop said that it was one of the many things he missed about her.

It's amazing what a $10 flag and five minutes putting it up can do for somebody like Pop-Pop. It wasn't just a flag anymore... it was a memory of Mom-Mom living on. It was a reminder every time he looked out his front window that she was still a part of his life.

Eventually, time took its toll on that flag. Faded and torn from the elements, it didn't live up to Mom-Mom's standards anymore and my Aunt Arlene told me that Pop-Pop wanted to get it replaced. On my way in yesterday, I picked up another flag, this time with poinsettias on it for winter that was setting in. He loved it and gave me the ultimate compliment - "That's a flag your Mom-Mom would have put up!" and continued to make several other remarks about how much he liked the flag throughout the day.

If you're reading this, I challenge you to find opportunities to make a difference in somebody's life through a small and inexpensive act of kindness. Do you know an elderly relative or other person that could use simple reminders that somebody cares?

Find them and let them know they mean something.

Let them know they are loved.