The Sisterhood of the Traveling Red TuTu...

Birthdays and red tutus.  And being a ballerina.  And sharing the joy and the laughter of what living life out loud is all about.  And there is something magical about a red tutu -- the minute you put it on, you can't help but laugh and smile.  M.a.g.i.c.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Red TuTu (as I have dubbed it) began here where it was created, and shared over here for a birthday.  Beth had always wanted to dance in a red tutu and Deb made it happen.  Beth then decided that the tutu needed to travel to be shared by others with a zest for life and who would dare to dance in a red tutu on a birthday.  From Beth it went here.  After Meri did her pirouette, the tutu traveled here.  After Kim had plied, the package was once again on its way.  Imagine my delight when I opened the envelope a few weeks ago and knew that I would have something very special to do on my birthday!

I tried ballet when I was a child.  Not very balanced or co-ordinated and a little top heavy for something so elegant, I moved on but have continued to have a love of ballet. 

So today is the day.  And the weather has co-operated.  Unusual for this late in November to have not only sunshine but mild weather.  So off I went into the yard clad in an old t-shirt, jeans, biker boots and a red tutu. And my son, bless his heart was kind enough to come out with me and take some photos of his crazy mother...my children are used to my joie de vivre and my silly antics.

 

(I always was one for lifting her skirts....but how can you resist with this flouncy fluff???)

(this is pure laughter...after taking a leap off the retaining wall I nearly fell on my face and couldn't stop laughing)

Wheeee!!  A much better attempt AND I landed on my feet...it's been a few years since this chick jumped in the air!!!

I leave you now with a little "ta da" plie and a curtsy...and I'm still laughing when I look at these photos...that's what birthdays are all about.

The traveling tutu will make its way forward now.  I think we are meant to have a contest to determine where it goes next but I know who has a birthday coming up, who will wear this in very good health and not only leap and dance but make an event out of it.

Thanks Deb for making the tutu, Beth for coming up with the idea of passing the joy and Kim for thinking of me.  What a great, red letter day!!

I've Been Absent...

It was usually at this time of year, during my elementary school days, that I would have my first cold of the season...right around the time of the Santa Claus Parade, (which happens to be today but was better when I was a child), the Grey Cup (which is next Sunday) and my birthday.  I think of all these things whenever I think of a birthday, when I come down with a cold or flu, or November.  And I think of the letters to the teachers my mother would pen.  If she was here now it would be something like, "Dear Blog World: Please excuse Sherry's absence as she has been...." well, fill in the blank.

I have been absent both from reading other blogs and from blogging myself.  I pop on facebook and etsy daily because I can go to those places and be a bit like a thief in the night -- I'm in and out before you know I've been around.  A good friend brought to my attention today that I have been missed and wondered about and that makes me feel cared for.  That is never a bad thing...I can think of only good about that!

As of September 1st life has been nothing short of a whirlwind here.  Here's a quick recap:

- moved 2 boys out of town to school
- moved 1 boy back home
- mother-in-law fell and broke her leg September 5th
- visits to mother-in-law in hospital
- visits to mother-in-law in rehab
- visits to mother-in-law in convalescent care
- visits to mother-in-law when readmitted to hospital
- trying to unload an unnecessary apartment in Windsor (still with no success)
- mother-in-law passes away November 2nd
- funeral
- moving things out of her retirement residence

That's been life in a nutshell.  Add all the business of death and the paperwork.  Then the retirement residence asking if we could have everything out by the 15th of the month as they needed the unit for something else (and will reimburse us 10 days worth of rent).

I have 3 homes worth of furniture stacked in this house.  We're as close to an episode of "Hoarders" as you could get.  And it depresses me...greatly.  I can't stand looking at this and yet, there is some progress made each day as we wade through all that we have and do not need.  And that isn't always easy because you need to remove the sentimental aspect of what belonged to someone else and reason why you really "need" to keep something.

I've been overwhelmed.  I did the eulogy and that was more difficult than I thought it would be but I am glad that I did it.  The holidays are on the horizon and this will be the first time that our family has been just us, just the 4 of us.  It's going to be difficult in so many ways for all of us.  And as I always do when faced with a crisis or a challenge, I put my head down and I "GO" and just get done whatever needs to be done.  And then I think about it afterwards.

Add that a woman I know who was diagnosed with breast cancer the same month I was is now facing metastases to her jaw and her brain...and that hit me hard.  She is someone from here, someone that I have spent time with.  And last week a woman I knew from a discussion board died -- her breast cancer mets were everywhere and once again I am brought up short, face to face with my own situation and what that means to me.

Life will return to a new pattern.  I'm in the throes of deciding what to keep and what to let go on every level of my life...it's amazing how that happens when you are pitched head first into change.  But I'm strong and I'm here and I'll be back to something more regular as soon as my breathing returns to normal and my head feels like it's above water for longer than a few hours.

Thanks for caring, those of you who have expressed concern.  I'm taking the advice of this friend (who sent me the rocks with something else that's pretty darned super dee dooper special!) -- I'm just going my own way right now.  It feels right.

Weekend Wonderings...

(photograph taken at Assumption College in Windsor, Ontario - November 3, 2011)

A beautiful Saturday morning.  Cold air with a steel blue sky, a few leaves left on the trees and the sun shining.  Brilliant.  A lazy morning with nowhere really to go and nothing really to do but a list of things that are waiting to be done.  I've chosen to sit longer, enjoy that second cup of coffee and begin to pull the pieces of life together again.  A day for fingerless mittens and a warm, chunky scarf.

I realize that the last 2 months have been filled with so many responsibilities and necessary tasks and now we sit back and breathe again...and feel like we are supposed to be doing something.  It's funny how the body becomes attuned so quickly to extra activity and it feels like it needs to stay in motion, even when you have come to a full stop.

I'm thinking about a comment Lesley made on a previous post, about pre-planning a funeral and maybe it's morbid but it's comforting to know what you want ahead of time.  I don't think that's morbid at all.  I think it's sensible and practical and I believe it is kind to others.  When you know the words you would like spoken or the music you would like played, it is a kindness to create what you would like and put it away in a safe place.  It can be up-dated or changed as the years go on but there is a comfort in knowing that your wishes will be carried out.  If only one person is responsible for your final wishes a list of desires may not be necessary.  But if more than one person will be handling this -- confusion may arise, discord and old rivalries for "who knew best" may come in to play.  I think it's a wonderful idea.  As a matter of fact, I plan to do that myself this weekend.

Other than that it is time to be thinking about travel and exploring.  To think about de-cluttering and moving forward.  It is time to take stock and to open the fresh page in the journal to begin writing the next chapter.

Savour the weekend and all it holds for you.

Our Responsibility for Humanity

Whether you follow football or not, you most certainly have heard about the tragedy and the crimes against children that has been carried out at Penn State University.  People who knew what was happening on that campus remained silent.  How could they do that?

The best words I have read about our own responsibility in this world come from Patti Digh.  I can add nothing further but I urge you to read her essay.  Quite frankly it is your responsibility as much as it is mine.

Beautiful Day in Michigan...

 

 

Auburn Hills, Michigan

Troy, Michigan

A week ago I was in Auburn Hills, Michigan (north of Detroit)...a quick trip to do some early Christmas shopping and to visit friends.  Life events changed the  plans which meant leaving earlier than planned, so all I managed was a day of shopping in Troy, Michigan at the Somerset Collection, and dinner with my friends Nancy and Sandi...which was wonderful.  

While at the Somerset Collection we had lunch at Nordstrom's Cafe.  There is no Nordstrom in Canada so it was a treat to spend time there browsing the store and then having an incredibly delicious lunch in the cafe.  I like how you choose your food, order it, pay for it and then sit at a table and a server brings what you have ordered.  So civilized!  

My son had the turkey panini....

and I had the roast beef with a horseradish aioli mayo...

The side salad was just enough and that dressing?  A lime cilantro that had just enough bite and just enough flavour.  We shared half a sandwich each...a tradition I learned long ago at my mother's knee whenever we'd have lunch out.  That way you get the best of both worlds!

As I sat there eating and chatting with my son, I remembered a book I had read about 5 years ago called "Nordie's At Noon".  4 young women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer would meet once a month at Nordie's...at noon...and discuss life and share their thoughts.  I felt a connection to these women and a better understanding of the atmosphere in which they shared. 

Michigan is only 4+ hours from here and another trip will need to be organized in order to spend more time exploring the area and spending time with the friends I met, and the friends I missed.

Sincere and Heartfelt Thanks...

Parable of Immortality

I am standing upon the seashore.
A ship at my side spreads her white sails to the morning breeze
and starts for the blue ocean.
She is an object of beauty and strength,
and I stand and watch until at last she hangs
like a speck of white cloud
just where the sea and sky come down to mingle with each other.

Then someone at my side says,
"There she goes!”
Gone where?
Gone from my sight. . .that is all.
She is just as large in mast and hull and spar
as she was when she left my side
and just as able to bear her load of living freight
to the place of destination.
Her diminished size is in me, not in her.

And just at the moment
when someone at my side says,
"There she goes!”
there are other eyes watching her coming . . .
and other voices ready to take up the glad shout . . .
" Here she comes! "

~Henry Van Dyke

I would like to thank all of you who have left me so many supportive comments of love, sympathy and warmth during this time of sorrow and joy in our lives.  They have been truly appreciated and valued. We turn a new page today and begin another chapter in our lives.

The above parable was shared with me by my friend Lelainia and I spoke it yesterday afternoon at the celebration of life.  It is so truly how our family feels about this stage in my mother-in-law's life.  Flying on the wings of doves being warmly greeted by those who have gone before and prepared the way for her.

Celebrating Death with Life...

Today I am honouring the life of my mother-in-law.  We will be having a "celebration of life" this afternoon, not a funeral, a celebration of life.

You can find me over at Vision and Verb where I am talking about this.

Remember...life comes to us but once.  Live it.  Fully.  Every day.

A Murmuration...of Souls Departing...

And It is Done...

My mother-in-law departed this earthly life late in the afternoon of November 2nd.  She turned her head on the pillow, breathed one last breath and went peacefully to where we have yet to travel. 

Dia de los Muertos...Day of the Dead...

Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead....I created this treasury on etsy to celebrate this holiday where many cultures, especially that in Mexico honour their dead. The celebration includes All Saints' Day (November 1st) and All Souls' Day (November 2nd).

This one was created in memory of my deceased ancestors.