I don't know if any of you know this, but Hailey was named in honor of Grandpa Riding. She remembers him, which is amazing because she was very, very little when he passed away.
A couple of years ago, Mike, Hailey (5 years old at the time) and I were driving in the car and I told her about it. I told her that her daddy and I couldn't agree on a name to save our lives, and that finally, we decided to use family names so we could just agree on something. I chose her Great-Grandpa Riding because he was a wonderful man who I loved very much. His name was Robert Hale Riding. I told her that "Hale" means "Hero", and that even though he died when she was very young, he watches over her and I know that he helps her to make right decisions.
She was so amazed and so touched. She told me and Mike to plug our ears so we couldn't hear. I faked, of course, so I could hear what she was doing. ;)
She looked out her window, and in a soft, tender voice, she started talking to Grandpa. She whispered, "Dear greatest, greatest, grampa, I didn't know I was named after you. I know you can't talk, but I know you help me. I love you so much and you mean so much to me. Thank you, greatest, greatest grampa. You are a hero. I love you so much."
I felt Grandpa smiling down on us that moment.
Hailey - Hale - Hero
Labels: Grandpa Riding |
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3 comments:
cute bethany! i didn't know that...she's so sweet to talk to him like that!
It's so funny the credit we fail to give our little ones, they are so much closer to the spirit than I think we give them credit. what a great story.
My daughter's teacher calls her an "old soul" because of her deep thoughts on spiritual matters that never cease to amaze her--I completely agree, Erin has taught me a lot with her thoughtful comments. The latest: "Mom, you always tell us to be thankful for what we have, but then you tell us other times how much more we have than you had when you were little. Shouldn't you be thankful for what you had too?" I was gently reminded by a little one...you're right that children are so much more connected. When they say something, they KNOW it's true versus just believing it's true. I love my little miracles.
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