In Loving Memory…

9/11 is a memorable day of grief, shock and loss. For me, it marks the day that my Grandmother passed four years ago at the age of 93.

Her name is Elizabeth. She was a beautiful woman, and also a pioneer in the work-at-home industry. She had a sharp business mind, and an endless drive.

I moved here to take care of her, which I did for two full years until she passed. She loved her business, and she worked straight through until the age of 91.

Over those next two years we took walks, she taught me how to root cuttings, we read through all of her newspaper clippings and looked through her many photos over and over again. We started every morning at the breakfast table with two cups of coffee and a yellow sugar bowl between us, and we had the exact same conversation every single morning.

I kept that old yellow sugar bowl. It sits proudly on my kitchen counter, beneath the window that holds several cuttings now rooted into thriving potted plants. I start every day dipping into that sugar bowl with my first cup of coffee.

In memory of her success, and how much she personally inspired me, I spent two hours with a financial adviser this morning. We went over my past, present and future in business with a fine-toothed comb, and he helped me outline a strategic plan to continue moving forward with both my life and my business goals.

I made some big decisions today. Put concepts into numbers, turned ideas into plans, and it was all very liberating and very empowering.

During her last two years I ran my business from her home, usually in a chair across from her as she rested in the afternoons. Sometimes she would sit beside me on the couch as I worked on my laptop, amazed at the technology and interested to see how it worked. Sometimes she would ask me to replay my radio interviews and she would sit beside me and just listen.

After she passed, I decided to stay here. I bought a home on the street where she grew up, which is now a very quiet established neighborhood - and just 3 doors down from the house her father built himself. She is buried beside him just a few blocks from here, beneath a buckeye tree.

I visit her there, and much like the visits I described in that old blog post... sometimes I just sit in silence, beside her, and feel grateful.

Whatever your thoughts and feelings on this day, it’s a good opportunity to do something positive in memory of those loved and lost. It is our obligation to continue improving ourselves and our world, so long as we are blessed with life…

In loving memory,