Got Sisu?
Written By Susan M. Vitale on May 7, 2020
Sisu is a word my Finnish friends will recognize. It might be compared to chutzpa or guts or grit. It is the reason that Finn’s have long held their reputation for stoicism, tenacity, and courage. It’s definitely a term my siblings and I heard frequently growing up, asked to dig deep for it when we were wanting for confidence, doubting our strength, or faltering in stick-to-it-iveness. Thanks to this guy, we witnessed Sisu in action regularly.
He worked 48 years for the same company and only missed work once. Even on that occasion, he was so hellbent to go to work and fly his boss to a vendor meeting, our mom had to shut it down because…well…one probably shouldn’t be flying with a 103-degree fever.
He also missed work for a few years in the early 40s to serve his country in a little thing called WWII. Rumor has it he signed up before officially turning 18, so eager was he to do his part for his country and to support his parents as they struggled to keep their farm viable. His proudest moment was servicing Ike’s aircraft (General Eisenhower to you and me) while stationed in Germany.
Sure, we’ve all heard stories from old New Englanders about walking to school – both ways uphill – in a snowstorm. His tales trump that. On good days he got to ride the donkey, but only because he was in charge of lighting the potbelly stove in the corner of the one-room schoolhouse where he attended K-8.
His Sisu has been his constant companion his whole life, but more than ever this last year. No fewer than 3 times since the start of ’19 I began drafting his obituary. In fact, in November, we gathered bedside at the hospital to say our goodbyes, only to find him awake and alert the next day, his beautiful, keen blue eyes twinkling at the ICU nurse as she said, “well aren’t you handsome.”
Four weeks ago today, he tested positive for Covid-19 while living at a nursing home in Massachusetts, a place where he was, incidentally, relearning to walk since his close visit with heaven fewer than 6 months ago. And Heaven is where this guy is going. To a person, the members of every healthcare team who’ve met him these last years tell my siblings and me what a gentle, funny, and pleasant person he is. Goes to show you can be tough and still be kind.
Heaven may be ready for him, but he’s not ready for it. He beat Covid, and I am sure he’s some Sisu left in him still. So, I am grateful that I am not eulogizing him, but instead, I am saying Happy 94th birthday and cheers to the Sisu you taught us, modeled perfectly, and rely on to this day.