An excerpt written by my dad, Ron Glodich, on his reflection revealing what love means to him. This is truly a special one for me because my inspiration, my creativity, and this hobby of writing comes from my dad. When I was growing up, I remember he shared his past work with me and I was instantly hooked. I began writing in my own journals and created work through writing classes in high school. I took a break from it during my college years due to the hectic scheduling and thinking I could not do much with it. But in fact, I realized I can. I can feed my soul with this blog to project my passions and share with the world glimpses into our hearts and minds what love truly means to each and every one of us. Every story is unique and that is what is encompassing about this concept.
Enjoy his viewpoint on what love means to him below:
In January of 2017, I went to visit my dad in San Antonio. He was staying with my brother Jim because he was dying of lung cancer and needed some around the clock assistance. He was still cognitively very sharp, but the cancer was destroying him quickly. We celebrated his 87th birthday that weekend and then it was time for me to return home to my family. As we approached the airport , I had a million thoughts run through my mind. What do you say to your dad or a loved one, when you know it will be the last time you see them alive? I exited the car and leaned into the passenger side window to give my dad a hug, and we both sobbed in each others arms. The only thing I could muster out of my emotional state was a repeated, “I am so proud of you dad, I am so proud of you dad, I am so proud of you”… Then I made my last statement to dad, “I will see you again someday, I promise, I love you”. It wasn’t a planned statement, it just sprung from my emotions, and it was something that I truly believed.
I walked away and chose not to look back. I went through security and walked to my gate and sat down. A wave of sorrow overcame me and tears were flowing that I could not stop. I wondered what it looked like to anyone else sitting near that gate. “What the heck is wrong with that guy, is he having a nervous breakdown, is he on drugs, is he emotionally unstable?” I am sure no one would have imagined that what I was experiencing was LOVE.
This emotion is real and it takes on many forms as we go through life. When we are children it is an instinct and we don’t give it much thought. When we are teens the emotion shifts to dating and forming relationships and the emotion may overwhelm us especially if we were to get our heart broken. “I will never love somebody as much as I loved her..”. When we are young adults the emotions shifts to our immediate family and any children entering the world. My wife and I are now empty nesters and I have just recently retired from a long teaching and coaching career. This new found freedom has allowed me the opportunity to reevaluate love.
This much I know: I love my wife, I love my family, and I love my closest of friends. I would do anything for that group, and I would put my life in danger to save anyone one of those people. I make it a point to let those people know that I love them and will be there for them.
A statement I would use in my classroom, went something like this, “I believe all kids are good until you prove me wrong.” In that spirit, I believe all people can love. So we find ourselves in an environment that is challenging our faith and our belief in the good of people. Many of us have been forced to slow down our daily activity much like I have been experiencing in my early retired life. Any opportunity to reevaluate the emotion of love, and to make sure that those in your inner circle know how you feel.. So if your daughter texts you and asks you to write an entry for her love blog, you will oblige in a heartbeat because…. “you love your daughter and would do anything for her.”
Written by: Ron Glodich
