Monday, July 22, 2013

Thoughts about Diana

Today a new Prince was born in England.  The first born son of William and Kate, and heir to the throne.  It has been fun to watch the news on TV and for my kids to see all of the tradition that the English monarchy follows on a day that many countries are celebrating.  I am happy for the new young parents, but remember fondly the day that we watched as William himself was born and introduced to the world.  Of course those thoughts led to sentimental thoughts of his mother, a woman I much admired.


I remember setting my alarm and getting up at 3:00 a.m. with my mother, to watch the fairytale wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana.  We knew it would be a once in a lifetime event to see, and I still remember it in detail.  Through the next years, we watched as the royal couple were blessed with two boys, and Diana grew into a more confident woman and pursued her own path and work.  It made my heart sad  to see her suffering as she so painfully and publicly dealt with health problems and the crumbling of her marriage.  Obviously depressed and tortured, she pressed on.  She raised her children and continued to represent kindness and charity all over the world, until her tragic death.  I remember exactly where I was when I heard on TV that she had been killed in a car accident.  Like the rest of the world, I could not believe it.  I grieved for the loss of this amazing person.

Now as a woman with children, who has suffered some of the same pain that she did, I admire Diana even more than I did all those years ago.  Today, on the birth of her first grandchild, I thought of her and the example of love that she set for her children.  The trail that she blazed for them.  Hopefully they will carry that on with this little one.