Our Mom’s Legacy: Love & Duty

Our Mom passed away last week, and since then I have been reflecting on her amazing life.  We will have a memorial service for her in a few weeks at which we will hear wonderful stories from others about the difference she made on the planet during her eighty-six years here.

To me, a good part of her legacy can be summed up in two important words: Love & Duty.

Mom was also a Pittsburgh Pirates fan!

Mom had great Love for her family – her parents, brother, kids, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and more.  She had great Love for her friends, for her Church & God, for various organizations she belonged to (e.g., PEO), for the community, and for her fellow man/woman.

Mom expressed her Love in a wide variety of ways.  But one thing is for sure.  To Mom, once you have Love for someone or some thing, then there is a Duty involved in carrying out that Love.

For my three siblings and me this meant the kind of devotion that many other kids have also been blessed to experience.  Her active participation with Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, swim meets, softball games, baseball games, etc., etc., etc. meant a lot to us.  She demonstrated that same devotion to her extended family and friends.

But Mom also took it a step further.  Once she retired as a Nurse, she carried out her Love for others with a Duty to serve.  This turned her into an amazing volunteer.  Locally she was active in Hospice and the Church and the Red Cross and more.  Her Red Cross Duty also took her across the country.  She served others during floods, after terrible airline crashes, helped rebuild homes after Katrina, and went twice to Ground Zero after 9/11.

And for Mom, Duty is all about doing what you say you are going to do, doing it well, and doing it on time.  It sounds simple, but what would our organizations look like if every person actually did what they said they were going to do, did it well, and did it on time?  Transformational!

Just Do It – carry out your Duty like Mom!

Thanks for the great example Mom – we love you and miss you.  

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