Eunice

Eunice is gone, as of this morning. She was described by people in her family as the conscience of them all. I believe that Eunice Kennedy Shriver had an admirable view of people, which was that their spirit can't and shouldn't be limited. Doubtless part of her view came from having a sister who was mentally disabled, but I have read much on the topic of the Kennedys, and when she and her sister Kathleen were going to school in a convent in Europe, it was Eunice who wrote to the family about Kathleen's accomplishments.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy didn't have as many choices as women today do, and raising nine children can't have been easy. But I believe if she were alive and had had the options women do today, she'd have been much like Eunice.

As a mother and a daughter, I think that's a wonderful tribute to both.