This is one of those days when I hope we can all pause for a moment to both remember and give thanks for an amazing individual. Barbara Bush was laid to rest today in Houston, TX. Over the course of her long and truly impressive life, she served as the Second Lady, the First Lady and the First Mother of the United States. She’s only the second woman in history to claim that unique string of distinctions – her only peer being Abigail Adams.
For all the time we’ve been privileged to know her – even if only from a distance – she’s served as a near perfect representative of decency, respect, devotion, kindness, consideration and common sense. By all measures and accounts, despite having lived at the center of wealth and power for decades, she never lost her common touch, her sense of humor, her practicality and her humanity. I can’t help but think – as I drag myself through the newspapers every morning, as I wade through the dross that fills up the internet and as I watch in my daily life how poorly we often treat each other – the lack of civility and mutual respect that permeates our civil discourse – the death of community and connection and courtesy at the hands of unbridled individuality – that we are all lessened by her passing. As a nation, I feel that we’ve been blessed to have her and I – for one – will truly miss her.
I think it’s also worth noting that reading was one of her lifelong passions and that she committed herself for many, many years to the cause of promoting literacy in our country. She worked to bring attention to the connection between poverty and homelessness and illiteracy. During her time as First Lady, her most public cause was family literacy. After leaving the White House, she supported the development of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy – which she chaired until 2012. As someone who is passionate about books and reading, if nothing else were true of Barbara Bush, I’d value her for this alone.
With Deepest Regard and Respect!