The one character that gives me the warm fuzzies is Sam. Sweet, lovable, Samwise Gamgee. Frodo's gardener-turned-sidekick for the epic journey to destroy the ring.
As Frodo became weak under the burden of the Ring, Sam carried most of the luggage, cooked, kept watch at night, and rationed the food so he and Frodo had enough for the journey. He protected and took care of Frodo as they moved through the dangerous lands toward Mordor.
At one point, on Mount Doom, Frodo collapses. Exhausted, he can go no further. Sam, while exhausted himself, tries to rally Frodo. He asks him to remember all the wonderful things about the Shire; the orchards that will soon be in blossom. The birds nesting in the hazel thicket. Summer barley and the eating of strawberries with cream.
Frodo cannot. He is done. Seeing this Sam yells, "Come on, Mr. Frodo. I can't carry it (the ring) for you... but I can carry you!" and slings Frodo over his shoulder to carry him to the end of his task.
That scene? Chills. Every time.
We all need a Samwise Gamgee in our lives. For the times when we collapse under the burden of our ring and have nothing left to give.
And I hope to be this for Elise as she grows up and the ring becomes her burden to bear. Right now it is mine. And that's okay. I would carry it forever if I could.
But I know that when she grows older, there will be days where she feels like Frodo on Mount Doom. So weary and tired. The responsibility and never-endingness of the disease will take its toll on her.
And I pray I can be there for her; unable to bear the burden for her, but more than capable of carrying her when she can't walk. For as long as I am able, I will travel this road with her, making the epic journey and lifting her up when she needs it. I will remind her about the orchids, and the strawberries with cream.
I will be her Sam... for as long as she needs me.
Love you, love the analogy. Dork. :)
ReplyDeleteWow.....this is lovely.
ReplyDeleteme, too, my friend; me, too.
ReplyDeletebeautiful analogy!
Lovely. Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteGreat analogy and beautiful picture. hopefully I get to meet you both the next time you come home.
ReplyDeleteThis was so nice to read and love the photo!
ReplyDeleteOK, I am not just teary, but full on crying. And I don't know anything about Lord of the Rings. :)
ReplyDeleteThat is precious, what a lovely blog post, Jo! I also have a soft-place in my heart for Samwise, but mine is mostly because he's played by Sean Astin and I've adored Sean Astin since Goonies. Lol! "I ain't been dropppin' no eaves!"
ReplyDeleteI've never seen the movies ---shall we have a slumber party with movies, popcorn and root beer?
ReplyDeleteBut --- I totally get carrying the burden. I would take it forever if I could.
Wow. This is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jessica . . . you are such a dork ;)
ReplyDeleteBut a wonderful and fabulous and gorgeous and loving and funny dork.
In fact, I want to be as big of a dork as you if it means I can write a great post like this one.
You are her Sam. Love it.
Beautiful! I'm all teary now too! I'm certain you are and will continue to be her Sam!
ReplyDeleteI need to watch these movies!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful post.
I agree, I wish it was mine to take on, I don't want to give it to him. Ever.
beautiful analogy Jo...you are an amazing Samwise for Elise...:o) LOVE the LOTR in the house too!
ReplyDeleteyou make a beautiful Sam :)
ReplyDeleteDamn that was good Jo! Huge LOTR fans here, as you know...between Hockey, Portuguese-ness, LOTR ... oh and ducking fiabetes we would be BFFs IRL.
ReplyDeleteLove you
Awww. so sweet and meaningful! Samwise is a real life hero!
ReplyDeletewhat a great picture also. Love the ginger hair
Beautiful post. One thing about D is that, sometimes, as you get older, you get more "Sams" in your life. My mom is still my Sam to some extent, but my partner is the one who is now there with juice in the middle of the night and reminding me to check my BG when I forget. She is the one who learned how to operate my pump so that, if I can't she can help me. She is the one who has been scared and alone when I was totally out of it because of a bad low. She is the one who carries the burden of this disease with me, who worries about it as much as I do if not more. The one thing about living with T1D is that it changes how you see other people. While I hate the idea of relying on other people sometimes, it's a good way of knowing who the true friends are in this world.
ReplyDeleteaw, what a beautiful post! i also love the lotr films! <3
ReplyDelete