Remembering Legacy on Valentines Day

Today is February 14, Valentine’s day. Today I spent time at an Adult Day Care Facility, with some of my most mature friends. Passing out cards, hugs, and love made our friends smile, and they each demonstrated a sense of appreciation. This experience made me think of the many loving experiences I have shared with seniors and the importance of legacy and celebrating legacy.

My granddaughter was only five weeks when the family got on the road from Fayetteville to Charleston South Carolina, approximately 200 miles. We arrived in just enough time to shower, rest, and prepare for the surprise party. A room of nearly 200 individuals quietly waited for him to walk in with his wife.

Mr. Bernard, my ex-father-in-law, thought that he was stopping by the celebration hall to drop off a gift, on his way to dinner. He stepped in the room, and everyone yelled surprise, the look on his face was full of joy and happiness, as well as that of surprise. People from all across the country had flown in, rode on trains, drove up and down the east coast, to come to the legacy celebration of 70 years for a wonderful, vibrant older man.

The convoy model of social relationships depicts that relationships cover a lifespan from one’s birth to old age (Quadagno, 2014). At this event, there were childhood friends who expressed how they picked cotton in the fields together. Military friends who described how he helped them progress during his 30 years in the army. Many men stood to explain how he led them as freemasonry. People who were on his mail route while he worked for the post office talked about how they looked forward to getting their mail each day so that they could have a couple of words with him. His many friends and family members went on speaking of him and how he had affected their lives.

Across a life span, family structures change as well as social support systems. A lesson learned from such a celebration is that we each can leave a legacy, a legacy build on serving God and society. Acts 20:35, " In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Today is a day when others demonstrate love through the delivery of sentiment cards, gift-giving, romantic gestures, church, and other activities. Seniors are our legacy makers, and there are so many different ways to bring happiness to their hearts on a day like today. One of the best approaches is to give them some of your time and by being present.

Breakthrough and Discovery Center coordinates Legacy Celebrations!