What is my Legacy?

So I have nights when I am sitting at home with my two beautiful boys and yet I feel so alone.  I hear my boys playing in the other room and I smile because I am so blessed to have them in my life yet I sit there feeling alone.  And then I start to feel guilty, how can I possibly feel alone when I have two boys full of energy in the other room.  Well these lonely nights come and go and the other night I was experiencing the feelings again, I knew I didn't want to let my boys see my crying (which is how I usually get through the moments) so I hopped on Facebook to see if I could find someone to chat with.  My mom was online so we started to talk in an effort to distract me from these stupid feelings.  Then all of a sudden a message popped up form a friend, a friend who I haven't talked to much in the last year just due to our busy life schedules.   This is what her message said:

Hey Mandy, I have to tell you...I dreamed about you last night. Totally not trying to be creepy, but I saw you have had a rough 2014 and I had a shitty 2013 into the first part of 2014, hopefully things will turn around for you like they did me. I almost lost everything I loved, maybe someday we'll have drinks and laugh. Anyways, so the dream...we we're on a plane to Vegas in first class. We had to go to a convention to sell Hartford policies. On the plane we sat next to this older lady (think 90). I had never seem her before but the thing that stood out was this flower pin she was wearing ( haven't figured that out yet). She looked at you and said "we are defined by the legacy we leave in the hearts of our children" and looked at me and said "the impact you have on others are defined by the comfort you show them in their time of need" IT was SO VIVID and it's stuck with me all day. I don't know if it is a message to you or me or what, but I thought I would pass it along in case its meant for you.

I guess someone is watching out for me and knew what I was needing to hear at that very moment. This also got me doing a lot of thinking.  What is my legacy that I will leave behind.  My life ins't everything I hoped it would be and I am dealing with some pain, hurt, anger and loss but I am also blessed with two amazing children and starting that day I promised myself I would do everything I could to provide a great legacy for them.  My legacy may not be one of great wealth/fortune but it will be one of love, understanding, compassion, good times and memories that I hope will carry my boys well into their old age.  I know I am not a perfect mom, I am not a perfect friend nor a perfect spouse but I am working hard to change my focus in life from materialistic things to making memories with those who mean the most to me.  No one will care about the items we purchased however they will never forget the time when we did something to make them feel special or spent the extra time to just listen or the night of snuggles and long conversations (my boys love our slumber parties more than anything lately and that is not something we used to do in the past at all).   I guess I will continue to work on leaving an amazing legacy in the hearts of my boys.

I am convinced that the greatest legacy we can leave our children are happy memories: those precious moments so much like pebbles on the beach that are plucked from the white sand and placed in tiny boxes that lay undisturbed on tall shelves until one day they spill out and time repeats itself, with joy and sweet sadness, in the child now an adult.  ~ Og Mandino