Thursday's child

Thursday's child has far to go. And it is definitely true of this one. A military wife, moving from pillar to new post, making a house into a home in minimum time, even when the curtains she bought for the last place don't fit any of the windows in the new one, because it seems no two architects ever had the same idea about windows in the huts and apartments charitably called "base housing."

But life as a Navy wife was good. Right up until the day he breathed his last and she became a widow, left to raise the children on her own. Later, she smiled bravely and watched her sons go off to war, just like their Dad. Death is difficult, but at least it's final. Waiting at home for word from the front was the hardest thing she ever did, for it just went on and on, with no end to the tears, no respite for the prayers, no let-up on the fears. She learned that when a nightmare woke her, the best thing to do was get up and do something else, anything else, for to go back to sleep too quickly only meant the return of the dream and its horror.

And so, to pass the days, she went to work and made HR her mission. And to pass the midnights, she began to research the family she had not only joined by marriage but had taken to her heart. And became so enthralled with genealogy that she began to take vacations to LDS in Salt Lake City, early on spending days sitting at tables looking through books of records, then when technology caught up, in front of computers, searching for names and dates, and finding wills and deeds and marriage notices from centuries past.

These days she's retired, delivering food each week to the elderly of the community. She still goes to LDS at least twice a year, new husband in tow, for that would have been a deal-breaker, if he had not shared her passion.

And so on this day I celebrate this dear sweet cousin, whose birthday happens to be on Thursday this year, who has gone so far so many times, and made my own journey so much easier.

Likewise, I celebrate the members of the HR community who, despite decreased available corporate funding, work long hours to search for and find just the right person for the right job.

And the meals on wheels volunteers who, despite dwindling funds and increased costs, continue to travel far and wide to feed the hungry.

All the Thursday's children around this great Nation, who may have far to go, but gladly travel the extra mile, with a smile, and a prayer.