Wind Beneath My Wings

You remember the song. Bette Midler's voice just makes this song. Though I love it and definitely have some heroes, I was never the one in the sunshine or spotlight getting all the glory. But I do recognize along the way in life that there are just some people who really depict qualities that I have wanted to emulate. The dictionary says that a hero is "one who is of distinguished courage or ability, admired for brave deeds and noble quality". I am better for knowing these people. I am who I am because these people have made a difference in my life. It's entirely likely that they don't even know they are in a category of "hero" in my mind and heart.


Divorced women in the nineteen fifties were virtually unheard of and most certainly not taken care of in society. She had a difficult road ahead of her raising 3 children in an abusive home in the first place. Then when my Grandma decided that she could and needed to take care of her children on her own without the abusive man in her life, damage was already done. She got an education; she valued that! She worked the jobs she needed to in order to care for her family and even worked in the church to whatever capacity she was able. She was a talented woman. She had a voice that most people would pay for. She could hit notes so high it would make you shake. And strong, her voice was so incredibly strong. She played the organ. She loved to serve the Lord with music. She served the Lord in missions, too. It wasn't enough for her to support those who served, but she actually packed up her life and went to live in Australia and serve in whatever capacity she could there. In fact, before her unexpected death, she was talking about returning to the field in the Dominican Republic, in her 70's. She had a huge heart and a great sense of humor. She had to in order to survive.  She never looked at me like I was a step kid. She accepted me into her family as though I was one of them. She brought me to church regularly. She bought me my first Bible. I cherish that Bible and think of her every time I read it. She took me to summer camp every year since I was a kindergartner. She invested in me and in my future. She taught me lessons in forgiveness, faith, acceptance and hope. She was strong! She really gave all of her grand kids that legacy. We all inevitably chose our own path, but we all learned a lot from her. The story of her death is really best left to another blog. Today I chose to honor her memory of what she taught me in life. She was not perfect, as no hero ever is, but she was a hero to me. She was courageous, strong, brave, and honorably noble.  

It was my Sr in High School, 1991. I was planning for the next step in life, my college career. The excitement was high and "senioritis" had definitely set in for all of us. Our hopes and dreams were coming to fruition. We were ready to take on our independence. Like most teenagers, the current events didn't really matter in our world, unless of course it was a trend setting pop culture event. But then The Gulf War broke out. Now it doesn't matter to me where you stand politically on the issue, it rocked our world at the time. I remember the amazing power of the American Spirit that swept across the young generation of our nation, especially. A day didn't go by that someone in our school wasn't wearing "These Colors Don't Run" T-Shirts and sweatshirts. In fact, if I remember correctly, our student body sold them. This united us in the same way other wars defined previous generations. We were now old enough to fight if they should reinstate the draft. It all of a sudden mattered to us. That's when  new type of hero took shape in my mind. Our soldiers. These men and women weren't just people from a history book anymore. They weren't the veterans of another generation. They were my classmates who willingly put themselves on the front line to go in to battle for our country. My life long friend, neighbor and classmate Todd graduated from HS and went into service. He volunteered his life to stand and protect my freedoms. Arthur was another one.. put himself on the list and stoop up and said "I'll go!" Heather, she was another one at some point who said, "Count me in for service." Tom stood up and said, "Where do I sign-up?"  Brian left the comforts of home to put himself on the line. Brent, Brent left what he knew to go serve his country. John served too. There were others who gave up the freedoms and protection and comfort of this safety net to put it all on the line and go into what was no longer a benign quiet military action, but instead an actual full combat active war zone. They willingly went in to serve when others ran out. They put on the colors and went in. They were brave, strong, courageous, and noble. I honor and respect them because they are heroes. They are my heroes.

"Did you ever know that your're my hero? You're everything I would like to be." ~ (Wind Beneath My Wings, Bette Midler)  I know I am able to fly high because these heroes did what they did.  You are strong, courageous, brave, and I admire you all!!