Debbie Matenopoulos

Debbie Matenopoulos Instagram – Happy heavenly birthday to the greatest man I have ever known. I love you baba and I miss you every single day. I talk to you often and I know you can hear me… I just wish I could hear your voice back. That loud boisterous larger than life voice that I used to be embarrassed of as a teenager. I’d say, “Baba please stop being so loud in public places..it’s so embarrassing.” And you would immediately and purposefully get louder and say in your thick Greek accent, “I don’t care what anyone think. I’m Greek damnit. This is how we talk. They don’t like it. I don’t care.” Although in those moments I was mortified…the lessons that you taught me (intentional or unintentional) will last a lifetime. It was in those moments that I learned that it doesn’t really matter too much what the people who don’t know you think of you. What only truly matters is what “your people” think of you. And by “your people” I mean your family and friends and your loved ones and those who are close to you and know who you really are. Your tribe!! Those are the only opinions that truly matter. It was also those moments that taught me to rarely ever be embarrassed of anything. Which in turn, also taught me to be brave. I could write a book on the lessons you taught me baba. They seemed so simple at the time but as I’ve grown up I understand just how profound they were. I wish you were still here to teach me more!!! Here are some pics of my baba from his time in the military In Greece many years before I was born and the last one is just a few years before he got his ALS diagnosis. That is one of my very favorite pictures of him. You can see the sparkle in his eyes. You can see his goodness and his love for life and his love for everyone around him. This is how I like to remember him. Full of life and full of love. Love you baba!! ❤️ #cureals #findacure #als | Posted on 06/Dec/2021 20:01:13