Life’s Too Short

Posted on by
10

…..fill in the blank “life’s too short to____________”

Today’s Daily Post on WordPress is very timely. Last Sunday my 88 year aunt passed away. Now some of you may say she lived a good long life and you would be correct. My realization was that I shouldn’t have waited so long to get to know her better.

We tend to put things off until tomorrow but sometimes tomorrow is too late. Case in point: One year ago a group of friends from high school had finally reconnected after 30 years. We all wondered about one friend who wasn’t at our reunion so we investigated and found her. A letter was sent and then a few weeks later we were informed that she had just died. She was 60. At the funeral we learned that she had received the letter and was looking forward to our next get together. It was a few days later that she learned she only had a couple of weeks to live.

This past summer another friend at the age of 61 also passed away. Her 7 year battle with cancer finally took her life. It was her serious health condition that brought all of us together in the first place and I feel blessed for having been able to get together when we did. When my friend L called me in June to tell me that our friend was no longer seeing people and preferred to receive mail I decided to write her a card. Unfortunately I put it off (only for a couple of weeks) and she died before I made that final communication.

I am grateful for the time I spent with my aunt when she was in the hospital and the nursing home. For the last four months I saw her at least two to three times a week. My only regret is that we didn’t spend more time together when she was healthier but as my husband said it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Communication is a two way street. My aunt was always happy to see us but we were always the ones to initiate the visits.

In conclusion I leave you with these important words…..life’s too short to waste, don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today.

A Farewell Celebration Followed by a Birthday Celebration

Posted on by
2

….this weekend we fondly remembered my aunt and celebrated my oldest daughter’s 35th birthday

I don’t have a very large extended family. My mother only had one sister and my father had a sister who also passed away this year and he has a brother who still lives in Germany. In total I have five cousins. Three live in Germany, one in Florida and one in Hamilton.

I have two sisters and in total we have 7 children. My youngest sister lives in Calgary with her husband and two children and my middle sister lives in Chatham with her new husband. Her two children live, here, in Toronto. Of my three children, two still live in Toronto and my son now resides in London, England.

This weekend brought some of us together to celebrate the life of my aunt, my mother’s older sister. My own mother passed over 20 years ago at the young age of 61.

My aunt H had two children, late in life and when her husband died in his early fifties she moved to Canada to be closer to her sister and give her children a fresh start.

On Saturday my cousin arranged for a simple memorial gathering at the funeral home. She put together three boards of photos and brought along 5 or 6 photo albums of her mother’s life. While going through her mother’s possessions she found this amazing photograph. We think she was about 19 or 20 when this photo was taken.

IMG_3284

Later that evening 15 family members went to a very nice restaurant for dinner together where we could spend more time together and reminisce.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Today we had all my children together (including our son) to celebrate A’s birthday. I can’t believe that I have a 35 year old daughter. Our good friends B and W also came over to help us celebrate. My husband and daughter, G, made fantastic pizza rolls called stromboli. Unfortunately I didn’t get a picture of it but there is one at the link that I posted.

Later we had coffee and wonderful cake that J brought. The round things on top that look like rocks were called cake truffles (very sweet).

IMG_3275

IMG_3277 IMG_3281

Six weeks before Christmas. There’s been so much food in the last few days that my husband and I feel like juice fasting. Instead we’ve decided to really focus on healthy eating and moving more. I’m actually looking forward to no sweets and carbs and eating more fruits and vegetables and simply grilled meats. Pass the water, please!

 

Share Your World – Week 44

Posted on by
9

….a very special week in my household

What is your most vivid memory of the kitchen in your childhood?

It’s hard to break it down to one vivid memory. The kitchen was probably my favourite room in the house because I loved to eat and at an early age I was preparing meals. One memory that stands out in my mind is the time when my parents had a small catering business that they ran from our kitchen. We lived in Oakville at the time and there were some very well to do families in this bedroom community of Toronto.

I remember my Dad bringing home huge containers of shrimp that they had to shell, devein and arrange on platters (no pre-made shrimp platters in those days). He taught me how to clean the shrimp and as a special reward I was allowed to eat one or two of those jumbo shrimps. I would have been about 8 at the time.

When we moved back to Toronto both my parents worked and I remember coming home for lunch and preparing our own meals. As a special treat my sisters and I would put marshmallows on forks and toast them over the electric range. We were lucky we didn’t burn ourselves or start a fire in the apartment.

As a child, who was your favorite relative?

When we moved to Canada, all our relatives stayed behind in Germany. Of all the relatives that came to visit I’d have to say that my favourite relative was my mother’s sister. This is the same aunt that just passed away this week.

When I was a little girl I remember thinking that my aunt led a very glamorous life. I loved visiting her in Germany. She would take me to the hairdresser and she bought me very special presents and would treat me to the best ice-cream. When I was a teenager she would send me some of her clothes which I actually wore.

What did you or did not like about the first apartment you ever rented?

Our first apartment was in the basement of an older building. The worst part was that our living room windows faced out onto the parking lot and cars passed by our windows all the time. The one thing I did like was that it was close to the subway and that it was uptown. There was a lot of good shopping in the neighbourhood.

What kind of TV commercial would you like to make? Describe it.

I don’t like commercials at the best of times but if I have to watch them I’d like them to be funny or inspirational or both. I’d also like the same commercial to be played only once a day and not six times back to back on the same show.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

Last week I was grateful for a very successful book fair. We sold over $7500. worth of books and merchandise and 70% comes back to the school. This week I took 29 students to the Daily Bread Food Bank and we bagged 295 bags of onions at five pounds a bag. Some of the children also sorted through donations and put food items in the correct container. When all was said and done we helped 120 families for three days who need to use the food bank.

This week I’m looking forward to reconnecting with family members and friends at my aunt’s memorial gathering. I’m also looking forward to celebrating my daughter’s birthday on Sunday and spending time with my son who is only here for 3 days.

Thanks Cee for another great set of questions.

Share Your World – Week 43

Posted on by
2

….talk about last minute for this post

What is your favorite time of day?

I love early mornings when the sun first comes up but here in the Northern Hemisphere that is happening later and later. So I’d have to say that in the summer mornings are my favourite time of day and in the winter I’m more of a night person. I seem to get re-energized late at night and it’s when my creative juices flow. I’m trying to get to bed earlier so this is a bit of an inner conflict that I have.IMG_2752

What’s your favorite charitable cause and why?

I’ve never really thought about a favourite cause. I like to donate to the Daily Food Bank and support causes that help the hungry and homeless but I also am very actively involved in the Heart and Stroke campaign called Jump Rope for Heart. This is where we encourage children to get active by skipping to promote a healthy heart and at the same time raise funds for heart and stroke research. P1020206

How do you like to spend a rainy day?

Curled up with a good book and a cup of tea.

When writing by hand do you prefer to use a pencil or pen?

I prefer a nice pen to write with, one that doesn’t smear or leave my fingers blue. I find that with pencil my fingers always smudge the lead as I write. I’m left handed.

Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

As some of you may know my aunt passed away earlier today so I’m grateful that her suffering has finally ended and that she’s in a better place. I’m also grateful that the book fair is over and that we raised a substantial amount of money for the library and classroom libraries. IMG_3004IMG_3005IMG_3006

 

This coming week I’m looking forward to getting my library back but even more I’m looking forward to seeing my son when he comes for a short visit on Sunday. I haven’t seen him since last Christmas.

For more Share Your World posts click here.