Unconditional Love

I believe that each individual loves in a different way and that how we love is learned from the people we are surrounded by.  I for one feel lucky that I have some of the most caring people as parents.  I have watched my mom over the years take her vow to my father ‘in sickness and in health’ very seriously.  As my father struggled with continual medical problems stemming from a fall off a ladder and broken leg my mother was with him every step of the way.  She was with him through the 11 successive surgeries and the many complications that followed.  I have watched her love with no restriction and without question take it upon herself to nurse him back to health just as I am sure my father did when she was recovering from breast cancer years ago.

I again experienced this kind of love recently with my grandmother.  We moved my maternal grandmother to Chico after my grandfather passed about seven years ago.  She was never fond of the idea of moving, but we finally convinced her it was in her best interest.  At the time my siblings and I were not incredibly close with her.   We only saw her on rare visits, but fortunately we were able to get to know her once she moved closer to us.  My mother and my grandmother had somewhat of a strained relationship, but my mother did what she could to care for her mother as best she knew, once again with no hesitation.  Recently, she would spend her days going over to her mother’s house to help her with daily activities like eating and showering. 

I remember my father and my grandmother struggled to agree with each other when I was growing up.  They attempted to bond over the small things they had in common like drinking their black coffee and having similar political views.  I know they may have had their issues, but it was touching to watch my father doing all he could to fight for my grandmother, in her final days, to have the best medical care possible.  He never once stopped to think about the times they may not have seen eye to eye but instead showed his love by fighting for her to get everything she needed. 

Sometimes people can make it hard for us to love them and sometimes it is hard to understand how people show their love.  Each individual is different.  As we continue to go through my grandmothers personal affects we are shown the ways she loved us.  She kept nearly every letter any of us had ever written her and spent the few extra dollars she had donating to the Olympic Committee in support of my dreams. 

As I get older and continue to learn about myself and the people around me I feel fortunate that I learned how to love from my parents.  I can only hope that when put in similar situations I am able to love as unconditionally as they have.