Heroes & Friends

"I ain't lived forever but I've lived enough and I've learned to be gentle and I've learned to be tough.  I've found only two things that last to the end.  One is your heroes and the other your friends."  Randy Travis

I heard this song on the way to work this morning and I thought if I were asked who are my heroes what I would say.  I'm sure you're expecting some celebrity or athlete but I'm thinking of two that are way bigger.  The first one is my mama.  Why?  It's simple, she's raised seven kids, made sure we all went to church, raised us in a Christian home, and she's worked her entire life.  Yes my daddy was there but mama seemed to always be the one in charge.  OK, ya'll know what I mean.  She's a strong woman that when she tells you something, you better pay attention.  I've never seen my mama take a day off or time to be sick until the last few years.  That's ONLY because she was in the hospital.  When she was better and we tried to get her to quit working or slow down, her response to us was "I'm not going to sit down and hold my hands, so ya'll need to just leave me alone."  Guess what?  we stopped trying to get her to slow down and we left her alone about it.

My other hero is my sister who was diagnosed with breast cancer about six years ago.  She went through her surgeries, reconstruction and all the other stuff and never complained that I know.   I never saw her cry and I never saw her feel sorry for herself.  I'm sure there were times when we weren't around all these things happened but she never let us know it.  Not even me, the one she calls every day.  She had several things that went wrong during the first year but she handled it all with dignity and grace, doing what she had to do to be strong and get through it.   I think sometimes what would I do if this happened to me.  I'm not sure what I would do but I know for a fact I wouldn't handle it like my sister did.  I would probably feel sorry for myself, get mad because it's happened to me and then throw a hissy fit just because that's how I am.

"Your heroes will help you find good in yourself. They'll stand beside you through thick and trough thin.  And that's how it goes with heroes and friends."   Yep, that's about right for these two heroes of mine.  My mama may not be as quick to find good in me because I am her hellion child, but I'm sure if someone asked her about me, she could come up with something.   My sister on the other hand, she would come up with something right away.  She would probably tell them I'm crazy, but then she would probably burst out  telling them just how crazy I am.  Maybe some day I will ask her what she would answer.  But then I may just leave it to my imagination, that way I can believe what I want.

Since this is about friends too, I have to tell ya'll about my friends that have definitely been with me through thick and thin,  I've talked about them before.  We call ourselves The Birds.  We have had other friends to try and join our tribe as they say but they never survived.  I'm not sure why, but I think probably because The Birds work at keeping our friendship strong and maybe they didn't try hard enough.   Our thoughts are you have to be a friend to have a friend.  We try to get together at least once a month and we try to do a weekend trip a couple times a year.  It is harder to get us all together now because we all have things going on, but again if we want the birds to be there in time of need, we have to be there when it's just for fun.  The phone rings both ways and the road goes both ways, and we all know that.  That's what makes our circle special.  We may not talk every day or heck even every week, but I can promise you these birds will be here for me through thick and thin.  Wait, what am I talking about, they already have stood beside me through thick and thin.

My lesson today?  Stop a minute and think who are your heroes and friends?  If I asked you this question would it be someone close to you or would it be that celebrity or athlete on TV.  Don't get me wrong I have those people I adore too, but are they really heroes?  Do they give of themselves like my mama and sister?  Are they part of a charity and give back to their community?  Do they stand for the national anthem?  Would they be there for you through thick and thin?  I don't know about ya'll but I don't have a personal relationship with any celebrity so I think probably calling them a hero would not be correct.  At least not for me.   If you're lucky enough to have friends like mine or heroes that have been strong, hold onto them.  Make sure you do what's necessary to keep them friends.  Be a friend so you can have a friend because that's how it goes with heroes and friends.



 Love to all,
  Sweet Southern Sass