\u201cLive long and prosper.\u201d That\u2019s the trademarked parting phrase that one of the greatest of all theologians, Mr. Spock of the First Vulcan Church of Star Trek, uses to close a visit. It\u2019s similar to \u201cpraying for you,\u201d but much more exciting\u2014as it is always a prelude to insect-like aliens hurtling out of a wormhole, phasers blasting in an attempt to exterminate the human race ((insect-like, that is, except for the one alien that Captain Kirk ends up romancing, which is inevitably an alluring female humanoid since it would be quite jarring to audiences if he ended up between the sheets with an eight-foot grasshopper from the Orion galaxy). But the human race, of course, never quite disappears, and Kirk wins and gets the girl\/alien\/grasshopper in the end.<\/p>\n
In great entertainment franchises, such as Star Trek or Hallmark movies, the good guys (and gals) always win and \u201clive long and prosper.\u201d And that is what my late wife, Sharon, had in mind when she insisted that the \u201cpost-me\u201d path she outlined during her last months for our family and her \u2018sister\/friend\u2019 Nancy include a Hallmark movie\u00a0component. Sharon died after a brutal battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease. She urged us to channel the Hallmark movie philosophy of living happily ever after. \u201cPromise me,\u201d she said, “that you\u2019ll push for happy endings all the way around\u201d for our girls and her lifelong friend.<\/p>\n
Happy endings. Believe that living happily ever after is possible no matter the circumstances and your life will change, she said. A Hallmark-shaped life was one of the ten promises she had me commit to that would allow us to recover from her death\u2026and all of the other \u2018stuff\u2019 we face every day. And she even threw in a little Jesus, who promised that \u2018stuff\u2019 happening is a normal and expected part of living in this world\u2026for all of us.<\/p>\n
Attitude counts. That was Sharon\u2019s point. Time and again visitors asked \u201cHow can you remain so positive?\u201d in the face of suffering. And her reply: How can I not? She was a devout Christian who believed in happy endings, both for her and for those she would leave behind as they lived their lives. \u201cMy death isn\u2019t the end, not for me and not for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Believing that you will be able to live happily ever after despite a setback, regardless of magnitude\u2014that was the substance of what she wanted me to both learn and teach those she loved. A Hallmark attitude: the secret to a normal and happy life, and recovery from \u2018stuff.\u2019 Behaving in the belief that things can work out is the foundation for joyful living, she said, adding that we would all have meaningful relationships after her passing. Even me\u2026although \u201cyou\u2019re certainly no Chris Pine (the new Captain Kirk).\u201d<\/p>\n
She looked at me with a slight smile. \u201cYou know, the girls (our daughters) will go on with their lives, Nancy will develop an extraordinary friendship, and you–you\u2019re going to date again, maybe even find someone special.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLike an eight-foot grasshopper? \u201c I teased. \u201cYou really want that for me?\u201d<\/p>\n
She smiled. \u201cOnly if it\u2019s a Christian.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cLive long and prosper.\u201d That\u2019s the trademarked parting phrase that one of the greatest of all theologians, Mr. Spock of the First Vulcan Church of Star Trek, uses to close a visit. It\u2019s similar to \u201cpraying for you,\u201d but much more exciting\u2014as it is always a prelude to insect-like aliens hurtling out of a wormhole,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":581,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hallmark"],"yoast_head":"\n