Humble and Kind

Always be humble and kind.

Tim McGraw sings it….
Beautifully.

This man lived it….
Fully.

I was on my way home from my weekly manicure date with my grandma tonight,
With my grandpa on my heart,
When this song came on the radio.

The words are lovely and loving.
More so because they fit my Grandpa to a T.

It’s been 25 years since stupid cancer stole him from us too soon.
25 years…..
And yet I can still hear his voice in moments of quiet,
moments of incessant noise,
moments I need him near.

My grandpa was a man of wisdom and wit.
And 1,001 saying to fit the world.

“Christmas in July” when my Grandma walked in the room.
“What do you mean?” I once asked.
“Oh, Honey. I’m so blessed to have your Grandma…it’s like Christmas in July!”

They just don’t make love like that every day….

“If you’re not a part of the solution, you’re a part of the problem,” when I had a whiny moment.
“But Grandpa….” I’d plead.
“Well???”

‘Nuff said.  And he’s right. It’s a lesson I’ve taken to heart. It pushes me ever forward.

“Study long; study wrong!”
…OK….
This one was about playing dominoes.
Which he NEVER “let” us win.

But what tremendous life lessons we learned while shaking the bones at the kitchen table!

“You got your driver’s license?”
…every single time we got in the car.
His way of saying, “I love you.  Be safe. Take care. And behave!”

….and do you know?  I carry my license everywhere!

Humble and Kind.
That’s him.

Alfred Hoerig.
A simple man.
A great man.
Humble and kind,
Indeed.

Then sings my soul…..

Airports & Chicken Poop

On this whirlwind weekend of travel & hope, it’s chicken poop that’s got me thinking….

Yesterday morning, travel clothes on, I made one last stop in the chicken coop to check water and feed.
Nothing unusual. Blackie puffed up, Little Miss scurried & and the three of us did our little dance.

And then.
Just like that.
I was on my way to the airport on my hope-journey.

Everything proceeded just fine.
The folks at check-in were good-natured and helpful when I confessed I’d not flown in a few years.
The people around me while we waited to go through security were all relaxed and friendly (not always the norm).
All was well.

Then….

The checkpoint!

I took off my belt, emptied my pockets, loaded my stuff in the bins, then took off my shoes….

Oops!!!!

CHICKEN POOP!!!

You know that new-fangled x-ray thing they have now?
And the position one must assume…?

Now. Add those things to chicken poop.
What do you get?

Yep.

A SERIOUS case of the giggles!!!!

Oh my. Yes. THE GIGGLES!!!

And so.
I got to thinking.

How many stories — how much chicken poop — were on board that plane?
As many (as much?) as there were people.

In life, we all step in the chicken poop.
And yes, we probably carry a bit with us.
But — if we’re lucky, it’ll give us a chance to giggle, grow and smile at the world around us with the full and complete knowledge that the poop is part of our story, too.