Time always seems to get away from me when I need to do a difficult task. My good intentions seem always to be stymied by my lack of time. My dad once told me that when I used the excuse that I didn’t have time to do something what I really was saying was I didn’t give the task a very high priority. Everyone has time to do the things he or she really wants to do, and everyone blames the “lack of time” for those things left undone. Betty always seemed to have time to participate in activities and meetings, and to remember others. She attended the senior citizens center regularly and came to every Board meeting of the Egyptian Area Agency. Only her family and her previously arranged travels kept her away. She was attentive and participated in every discussion at meetings. Her opinion and suggestions were highly regarded. She had nice things to say about everyone. I found out after her death that Betty raised seven children alone when her first husband passed away. She took in laundry and did other work which helped to feed and cloth her young family. She must have received help and encouragement from many people during those early years since I saw how she appreciated and helped others in her retirement years. I don’t ever remember her complaining about a lack of time, nor did she ever seem too busy to help others. In fact she was pleasant and outgoing at every Board meeting. She was concerned about people and was fair but firm with her decisions. When my dad passed away unexpectedly last Winter, Betty wrote a nice letter inside her sympathy card. She hadn’t realized that the couple named Smith which occasionally accompanied her on several of her sight-seeing travels were my parents until she read my dad’s obituary and saw my name. She wrote nice comments about my parents which I appreciated. I meant to thank her for her kind words and encouragement but I never made the time to tell her. When Betty passed away this Fall, I realized that I had let time slip away from me again. Saying thank you is difficult for me sometimes. Perhaps if Betty is watching me from above she will see these words of appreciation. And if she is looking over my shoulder as I write this, I would like to add that I want her to check on my dad from time to time to make sure he’s okay. Betty always makes the time to do that sort of thing. ### |
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