Hero Post #2: My Grandmother, Marge Soller

As many of you may know, my grandparents were both very influential to me growing up. Unfortunately, my grandparents on my father’s side passed away when I was in grade school, but my grandparents on my mother’s side were very involved in my upbringing throughout my life.

 

Many of my friends from childhood will remember by grandpa attending every single one of my sporting events. This is not an exaggeration either! Between my Grandpa and my dad, I was incredibly blessed to have at least two fans in the stands at all times, often more. It’s hard for me to find the words to fully describe how much this meant to me – both as a child and still today.

 

And while I loved both of my grandparents dearly, I’d like to focus this post mostly on my grandma, Marge Soller.

 

My grandma was a truly amazing soul. All my life, I remember her in a wheelchair, and yet I never once heard her complain. She was kind, gracious, and fun-loving. But perhaps my mom, Lyn Wize, said it best.

 

Here is a poem my mother wrote about the character of my grandmother that pretty much says it all.

 

“Mom,

It’s been fifteen years since the results of the test,

The doctors confirmed that my mom has MS.

Without even thinking – how can this be?

Her response to this illness was, ‘Thank God it’s me.

And not one of my children or even their father,

For them dealing with this would be so much hard.’

A wheelchair is necessary at all times to go shopping,

One of her favorite things to say,

Is the most famous expression, ‘Where there’s a will, there’s a way.’

At times there are setbacks which she handles in stride,

My dad always there with his love by here side.

Her courage and spirit are sometimes hard to believe,

To be like mom is what I hope most to achieve.”

 

Throughout my life, I noticed an interesting thing happen as my grandmother aged. As her physical abilities progressively deteriorated, she needed higher levels of care to meet physical needs. This was expected.

 

What I didn’t expect was the level of support my grandma always had from friends, family, and even her care workers who were always there to keep her company and help her with anything she might need.

 

The Law of Attraction states that the energy we put out there to the world gets mirrored back to us – that we largely attract our own circumstances in life, and in turn, the world mirrors to us that which we put out.

 

This is why it’s so important to always be lighting the candle, rather than cursing the darkness.

 

My grandma lived her life lighting the candles of others and helping them find the light within themselves. She did this through her kindness and grace. She will always be a hero to me!