Class Outlasts Trash, Post 2

For those of you who know me, I have been somewhat unhealthily obsessed with class lately. I'm not sure why exactly, because it's not like I'm a buffoon or anything (I hope) but I see certain women with so much poise and grace (but who aren't statues/stepford wives... nobody likes those) and I'm like DAMN I want to be you! Then I was Christmas shopping at Urban Outfitters and happened upon this gem of a book, called Classy: Exceptional Advice for the Extremely Modern Lady. I haven't read it yet, but as soon as I saw on the inside jacket that it's a humorous approach to all things classy, and teaches young ladies the difference between dinner conversations, and conversations that should only be had with your gynecologist, I knew this book was for ME!

So, due to this rapidly growing obsession with growing into a classy lady myself, whenever I see someone with ridiculous amounts of class, I've got to share it. So let's begin. Elizabeth Edwards: CLASSY LADY TO THE MAX. Always graceful, always polite, but never a doormat. I WANT TO BE LIKE HER. She's of the few political wives who actually had the cajones to leave her cheating husband, and also one of the few who took a front seat on the campaign and is a political force all her own (and has been long before her husband's fame got her there). And she did all this while fighting terminal cancer! I mean, if you're looking for a role model, this lady takes the cake.

I just read that she's been told that further treatment for her cancer would be pointless, and she's gone home to her family to live out the rest of her days in peace, and that may be as little as a few weeks or months. Reading this broke my heart. I know if it were me, I would be falling apart at the seams right now. But she, ever the classy lady, used this unbelievably sad and unfair situation to encourage other people. How amazing is that? Here's a little blurb of what she wrote, and something I'm going to try to live by from now on:

"The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And yes, there are certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It's called being human. But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful."


This woman is beyond amazing.