DEDICATION

I am dedicating my dreams to my grandmother Rose Lang. Born in Paris, France on New Year’s Day, January 1^st, 1910, she passed away in 2009 at the age of 99. I know since then she has been smiling down, humbly aware how many people’s lives she personally touched over her very long life.

So many lives of those who are no longer with us – people she impacted so profoundly with her warmth, generosity, benevolence & gentle and loving demeanor. The legacy she left with me, my family and all who knew her was nothing short of magical.

My grandmother was not wealthy, powerful or famous. It was not about these insignificant things – things that so many others in today’s world yearn so strongly for. No, instead her “wealth” was her uncanny knowledge and wisdom of the world, which guided us all through the years, both in good times and bad, her “power” or strength was  her unwavering integrity in her life, and her “fame” was the love which she showered upon all of us without reservation or limits, which was in turn the same love she received back from all of us.

She was an inseparable sister, a devoted wife, a loving aunt, mother, grandmother and great grandmother, and of course a friend to everyone she met and connected with throughout the many years of her life. She was loved and adored by all whose path she crossed – it was truly remarkable.

And if all of this wasn’t enough, she was as selfless as she was loving. It was never about her, rather it was always about everyone else. She insisted. She stayed with us for a dramatically long 99 years, selflessly enduring the pain of losing many friends, family members and her beloved husband of 68 years – if it only meant she could be here to shower her friends and family with just a little more love, and for just a little bit longer.

If only I could lead a life approaching one nearly as profound as hers and impact and touch a fraction of the people she had in her life. That would certainly be a life worth loving and living, and a dream worth dreaming . . .