This is my grandpa, Douglas E. Berlin. We called him "Papaw." He's my mom's dad. He passed away on December 10, 2009.Since it's Veterans' Day, I couldn't think of anything more appropriate to talk about. I only know that he served in World War II; I don't know as much as I should about his service to his country, so I will focus on what I do know about him: his heart.
I'm not as close as I would like to be to my grandparents on my dad's side, but my whole life has been full of love from my grandparents on my mom's side, and that's so much to be grateful for. In my childhood, and even in my adult life, I spent countless hours - 10 hours there, 10 hours back - driving/riding to Bogalusa, Louisiana to visit them. It wasn't until the last few years that both he and my "Nanny" (my grandma) moved to Waxahachie, Texas, just 20 miles from my hometown, in order to be closer to family.
I talked about photography in my last post. I think Papaw lived by it more than anyone I know... I don't think a single day went by when my grandpa didn't pull out his camera to take a picture of something - no matter how random it might've been. At the time that he was taking the millions of pictures, none of us realized that he found it so important to document even the tiniest moments, and more than that, none of us truly realized how much we'd appreciate them in years to come. Now we not only have these moments documented, but having the memory of who took them as well.
December of 2009 was a horrible month. I was here in Utah while my family was dealing with the most traumatizing situations. When I finally arrived in Texas on December 11th, we all packed up and got ready for the drive to Louisiana for Papaw's funeral. With everything that was happening, it was really hard to be positive about anything that was going on. I don't really remember much of the drive there, to be completely honest. It wasn't until his service that I actually started hearing what was going on around me and recognizing how beautiful it really was to have him in my life. There were so many people there to show their support for my grandpa.
Best of all was my Uncle Allen's eulogy to my Papaw. It was such a gift to be able to watch as Allen radiated with pride for his dad and to be able to look around me at the people that loved my grandpa during his time on this earth. He truly was a GREAT man, and I feel so lucky that he is mine.
Tribute to Thanksgiving #10: "Helping others' confidence is the greatest gift anyone can give... a sincere, well-deserved compliment has greater purchasing power than money." - Dale Turner
I remember a post last year where I talked about the power in lifting up others with our compliments.
I had a conversation with a dear, dear friend today about this exact thing, and it's come to my attention that I don't do it enough - I don't express compliments as freely as I should. During this conversation, I decided that I would try harder to give compliments to those that I find impressive in whatever manner - their performances, their physicality, their behavior, etc. - and try to make it as natural as possible and therefore become a more positive person.
It wasn't easy. Isn't that sad? I had to really work hard past the pride that I had in order to make someone else feel a little sunshine in her heart.
So... I'm grateful for two things: this challenge and the friend that helped me make it. Here's hoping I actually fulfill it.
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