Well there have been a lot of emotions put out here. I have no intention dredging up anymore ill will.
Always,
Thank you for that post. I needed to hear that. My sons best friend is also of Indian heritage. He will be my sons best man when he gets married. His mom (my neighbor) was the first one over to clean up the mess that was me after my ex left and has never showed me anything but friendship and kindness. I would hate to think that she was not that person.
I would have to say that all in all I lived a very charmed life. I certainly can't relate to the hardships that Lissie's dad must have faced in order to make a better life for his family, but I do know that there is no purer form of love. I also don't know what it's like being anything but a caucasion in our culture. But I do have know that what matters is what we give back.
Since we're talking about Father's and struggles, mine had his share as well. My mom died when I was three leaving him with 4 small children ages 6-3months. Relatives wanted to take us but he wouldn't hear of it. This in itself was a great sacrifice because he was also highly educated with a pretty stressful job. I grew up playing and dancing in the halls of Harvard University and under the dome of BLDG#10 at MIT way before it was encouraged to take your child to work. Growing up with housekeepers there were many days when they wouldn't show and he had no other choice. I say this because his life may have been easy monetarily but in so many other ways it was a challenge. The challenging part and not the degrees was the measure of who my dad was as a person. He was a people person who touched everyone he met. My dad had seasons ticket with four other guys for his beloved Celtics, Bruins, Red Sox & Pats. Two of the guys, 2 of whom were Firemen (can't remember what the 4th did). My point is that your pedigree never mattered to him, but who you were as a person did. When he died, I was overwhelmed and humbled by the people who came just to tell us that he was the best person they knew. We received hundreds of letters from colleagues and friends that we didn't know but had been grateful to have had the chance to rub elbows with him. To this day when I read them, I have to stop because of the tears. Someday maybe I'll get through them, but it's been almost 10 years and I still can't.
I have never written any of this on the board before but the point I'm trying to make is that what makes us successful is what we give, and if we don't leave this earth with leaving a legacy of making a mark on someone else's life, then what did we really accomplish?
People will never remember the degrees but they will remember how it made them feel to have been in the presence of true caring and empathy.
