a celebration, some quotes and a resolution: for Jonathan

I attended the Celebration of Life Memorial of Jonathan Mathew Franco Today.

It was amazing,sad, heartwarming & encouraging
 to see everyone. 
To hear and watch as each speaker took his or her own turn to share memories and laughs
to watch and be awed by  the Honor Guard, 
to see the slide show of pictures of his life
to see the many men & women in uniform that were there 
to Hear the Last  Call to Service. 
to hear and be comforted by the sweet beauty of  Amazing Grace played by bagpipers. 
to watch the Funeral Procession go by (I was out in the lobby with my baby) 
To see the tables laid with items, memories and mementos that meant something to him and his loved ones


but the thing that got me today was the overwhelming love that could be felt and seen  today. wow. 
and to know that everyone shared similar stories and that he touched & inspired so many with his love, compassion, belief &  just by being him. He did not die alone. and his legacy, him, lives on. 


and to be reminded of important things in life: love, living it to the fullest, friends & family. 






And though I wasn't particularly close to Jonathan, I felt I needed to be there. I needed to say goodbye to someone I consider a friend. and a great guy.  He and I have mostly interacted on facebook, and I am truly going to miss his quirky humor, random hellos, "I care about you" smileys, interesting updates, random links, and often thought (and debate) provoking questions, and upbeat personality that beamed.
I am also going to miss randomly bumping into him when he seemed to be buying out the stock of fresh pineapple at stores. seriously. it happened several times over the last few years. remarks & jokes made as well as questions arose.
and he always had a grin & a hug for me at these random meetings. :) and we played catch up. 

“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.” ~ Morrie Schwartz

Only a life lived for others is a life worth while. ~Albert Einstein

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV 
 ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
 ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 

1 Corinthians 13:13 NIV  ¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

and now I resolve to be a better person. taken from his facebook about me:


 being wise and efficient with the resources at hand
being too big to fit inside the box
 being an oasis of decency in the desert of the heartless
being the exception to the rule
standing and holding ground that all others have forsaken
never giving up
proving people wrong when they tell me that I "can't" do something
being a support center for others
crossing things off my to do/goals list
never settling for less
impacting lives forever


that is the kind of person I want to be. (there is oh so much more)




His death has affected me more than I thought. but in so many good ways. and today, was a good day to honor his memory. 
my heart still goes out to his family and really close friends as I know the shock has not worn off or set in.

a few links related to his death: (including titles, sorry if I offend anyone)

spokesman review: Highway 20 Crash Kills Motorcyclist

Krem 2 news video Rathdrum Police Officer Killed in Motorcycle Crash Near Cusick

KHQ video: Rathdrum Remembers Officer Franco

KHQ Q6 NEWS video Funeral News Report    spokesman review AM Scanner Traffic last call to service

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time or something like that

2001

 there was a girl who didn't know who she was. or what she was doing in life. or supposed to be doing in life.

she believed in fairy tales, princes in disguise, wishes upon stars, magic in everyday things, humor, chivalry and love at first sight. She appreciated small things, loved literary quotes, the backgrounds and reasoning behind things, and wanted a prince to find and rescue her. She loved and respected herself and found family, friends and nostalgia a focal point.
And she smiled. truly smiled. huge grin, twinkling eyes, everyone around her would start smiling kinda deal.


As time progressed she began to lose touch with who and what she was. She lost the magic and appreciation, she stopped wishing upon stars. she stopped smelling roses. she just stopped without realizing she in turn was losing herself.
and her smile was gone. 

She realized this one day so thus began her quest to figure out who and what she was. It was a long, drawn out process at first but slowly over a few years, she began to regain the magic and appreciation she had for small things. for beauty. for love. for fairy tales. her smile was fleeting. but existent.

During this time, she found a prince. He was kind, considerate, caring, chivalrous.
 but He ended up being as lost as her and not being the one for her. So she grudgingly moved on.  Her parents divorced. She lost and quit a job. and moved out of state.

She again lost herself. So this time, she took a new approach and started to look at herself through life's mirrors. Like before, she began to regain everything.
and then She met her second prince. he was considerate, financially stable, social.....or so she thought. One day the mirrors she was looking through cracked and shattered and the facade she saw him through was gone. She saw the ego, disrespect, poverty, abuse and realized he had nearly destroyed her. she was done.

february 2008

And this time She rescued herself.

this time,  she began to gain everything all back. Over time.a work in progress she called it. Her confidence began to grow. and it showed.
she again believed in fairy tales, small things, quotes, miracles, beauty, love etc but also believed that you could save yourself. and was stronger for it.

dec 2008

One day. another prince came along. he was her everything. they were happy for some time.
 then the usual  problems came along. And then finally a baby.
 and then one day amidst the joys of motherhood and every day relationship life, she realized she had lost herself. though able to smile, she had lost all else.
and once again this prince was gone.

And the little girl who had long ago realized she was a woman now had a little princess to care for.

Thus began the new quest. To regain all that was lost but this time focus is also on the little princess as wwell as to stay positive and this time, to heal inside.

june 2011

as the days pass, her smile returns.her appreciation for beauty and small things has come back. her smile is full fledged.


and as its still a work in progress, the story is still unfinished. the quest far from complete. . .