Giving

      I remember as a little girl taking a very small amount of money and putting it in the offering plate at church on Sundays. I think that that was how I realized how churches operate; that churches needed our money to heat the building, to pay the minister and to buy the cookies for after the service. When our girls were small, they too brought a quarter or two to put in the collection--- in fact, it was a very important job to carry the offering plate from Sunday School around to the back of the church and then to proceed up that long aisle in the centre with the adults that were carrying the church collection, and to hand it up to the server to be blessed with everyone else's donation. Our daughters longed for it to be their turn and felt very special when doing it. It was a big, exciting opportunity that probably felt less big and less exciting the older they got or the more they did it....
     Still, some things have not changed. Churches still need our money to heat the building, to pay the minister and buy the cookies. The difference now is that our church holds services four times a week, not just on Sundays, as well as having a daycare in a portion of our church hall five days a week, AA meetings several times a week, music lessons, Girl Guide Meetings, and social services from our local non-profit community resource hub a day a week. We also offer a Senior's Lunch once a month as well as a Baby Cafe' every Friday morning. There are innumerable meetings that go on as well as many other groups and committees, praying, arranging flowers, knitting, studying, cleaning up, having meals, practicing songs and rehearsing music....it truly is endless! And thanks be to God that it is endless because it is doing what churches are supposed to do. According to Google: " A church fundamentally is a community of believers and it exists for worship, fellowship, teaching and service, uniting people to grow spiritually, support one another and share their faith and compassion with the world." How better to do this that to open the church doors wide, as wide as we can and invite this sometimes broken world inside, as often and whenever we can? And we do. This is why I give and will always give whatever I can to our church. Because our church is always giving. My small, regular gift is made so much bigger. And for that I am thankful.

Tuition

     I made our final tuition payment yesterday although I did not frame it in that way in my mind until after I had talked to our younger daughter. It feels good to know that we are in the last of the deadline-filled, stress inducing years and onto something hopefully more relaxing, wider in scope: The Next Chapter. Whether that means further education, finding that elusive job or a gap year of travel, we are pleased with where our daughter is in her life. University years have matured her, made her more resilient and broadened her skills. Dormitory life and then life with roommates has also opened her eyes and shaped her values. We are immensely proud of the adult person our youngest has become over the last five years. It’s such a formative, shape-shifting period and she navigated it with grace and intelligence while also maintaining a terrific long-distance relationship with a wonderful young man. And her marks were good! That is not to say that there weren’t hurdles and challenges; there were some terrible difficulties. But she made it and is still pursuing her last semester with the same energy as she did her first.
   She has also supported herself financially throughout this entire experience except for tuition and I am thrilled that she will start her next phase without any student loan debt hanging over her. It's a luxury that none of us have taken for granted! We were fortunate to have been able to put that money away when the girls were babies and to have family help as well. So not only will it be a new chapter for her, it will be a new one for all of us. And we are thankful, so grateful for all of our blessings, her being one of many....

Oakley

     Who do you pray for? We have a young friend who is battling cancer and whose bone marrow transplant took place about five weeks ago. There are good signs and we are hopeful. He is a boy who is already coping with challenges but who has a brave and strong set of grandparents who do a wonderful job of looking after him. His name has been on my lips for a couple of months now and prayers are said for him constantly, by me and others, at church and at home. We happily attended his and his grandmother's baptism and have thought of him every day since. We miss him but we can imagine him at the hospital, entertaining the nurses with his smart and funny conversation.

     A retired minister who preaches at our church from time to time said last night in his sermon that he was not sure why bad things happened to good people but he was sure what good people do in bad times: they pray, they act, they do what needs to be done. Sometimes it's hard to know what that is. When we heard that our young friend was sick, all we could do was pray. And so we have, day after day.  We hope only that he is healed and with us very soon. See you soon buddy!

Fifty-seven

      Our daughter had a seizure after being fifty-seven months seizure free; that's four years and nine months of independence, free from injury, fear and worry. I know that this happens every day in the lives of people with epilepsy. Long periods of what feels like a typical person's life completely interrupted by this dangerous flash of a loss of consciousness accompanied by one or more of all the possible dangers that you can imagine: traffic, stairs, the kitchen, showers, baths, the pool, the gym, her bed, just to name a few. My imagination as a mother can come up with innumerable scenarios. But knowing others experience it doesn't make it any easier for our daughter unfortunately. She is twenty-six after all and has no desire to be joined at the hip with me or anyone else for that matter. I get it. But here we are again.

     When there is no trigger, no apparent cause, medications were taken, sleep was good, no alcohol consumed, there is all the second guessing that goes on..."What could she have done differently?"..."What could I have done differently?" And the ever popular "So why did this happen?" These questions play on an endless loop as well. There are no answers. Then there is the inevitability of starting the count again; today is day one, seizure free.

     So we have to look at the blessings: she was with caring folks, she was not in a dangerous place, she was attended to quickly and caringly, she was not badly injured. After a relatively positive experience at the ER we leave with a prescription for an increased dosage of one of her anti-seizure medications. And we count our blessings as we count our days. God willing, tomorrow will be day two, seizure free.

 

Hope

     What are you hoping for these days? The World Series is over so that's not on my list anymore but seriously, what are your hopes right now? The answer is easy for our daughter. Her biggest and most abiding hope is to live in Harmony. In case you don't know, Harmony, which is currently being built, is a 91 rental unit, 6 story building which is inclusive, accessible, supportive and affordable for folks with disabilities, seniors, students and others who need below market housing and want to live here in the White Rock/South Surrey area. Sounds simple doesn't it?
     It has been a dream years in the making with so many amazing people from UNITI and the Semiahmoo Foundation making big plans so that it might be a reality. The scope of the thing defies description here but in our world it comes down to one very simple thing which could bring about huge transformation and growth for our eldest daughter: hope. Her hope, our hope, the hope of a large group of extended family and friends is that she might find a place there. I don't think you realize what a big deal it is to live independently until you are told that you probably can't do it. It is something almost all of us take for granted.

     Our daughter grew up thinking that she would always live with us until she discovered the possibility of independence that Semiahmoo House, UNITI and Harmony presented. As older parents we have faced the reality of our own mortality with honesty; we are in the declining years of our lives. So the prospect of this safe, inclusive housing for our daughter was the answer to prayer. 

     We know that there is no guarantee that she will moving in to Harmony in just over a year; the list is long and the demand, very high. But the hope, the possibility, the reality of such a home available if not to her, then to others like her, is a beautiful thing! So we keep on praying and hoping....

Stranger

     Today I was given a shopping cart by a man in the Super Store parking lot. I already had a loonie coin clutched in my hand. It’s one of the negatives of shopping there; you always have to have a dollar to get a cart, which is not always convenient but there you go. I tried to give him my coin and he refused. He indicated that he had been given the cart and it was now mine. It was a pleasant exchange and I did my shopping feeling a bit more upbeat. With the price of food, grocery buying is never fun, right? After my purchases were complete, I saw a woman parked near my car who was heading for the carts. I stopped her and indicated that she could have mine. She tried to give me her loonie and I told her that I didn’t want it—- I had been given the cart by someone else. She gave me a big smile and expressed gratitude and surprise at the chain of events. It occurred to me then that I was a link in that chain. 

     All this is building up to the fact that the last week in November is National Talk to a Stranger week. (Is it just me or is it bizarre that we have to be encouraged to do the simplest of acts--- saying "hi" to someone we don't know?) According to the website, Talk To A Stranger Week is "an opportunity to build a sense of connection and community many need in a post-pandemic world. It is seizing the opportunity that many of us have each day to make a difference in our own lives and the lives of others by simply saying hello, smiling or striking up a conversation with a stranger." 

     I know that I am old and in the way but I regularly talk to strangers especially when I am walking the dogs and 99% of the time I am glad I did. As I am an introvert it is not always easy but I endorse this practice absolutely! My small experience at the grocery store is just one of the many that I have every week. I'm sure that you have them too--- unexpected interactions that leave you feeling more human, more humble and a tiny bit happier. If not, try it! I guarantee that most folks will say "hi" back. If not, their dogs will!

Walk 3

     As you are probably aware by now the Walk & Roll for Harmony 2025 was a massive success! Our team "Hearts for Harmony" more than met their goal of $5,000.00 by raising over $6,100.00 in support of Harmony: inclusive, supportive and affordable housing for all. So many friends and family members gave generously to our team members and we are all very grateful! A few of them also turned up for the run which was so encouraging. To top it off UNITI & Harmony more than made their goal of $100,000.00 by raising over $115,000.00!

     The walk was a festive affair with VIPs, dignitaries, sponsors and even Korky the Klown and associates in attendance. Doug Tennant, Executive Director of Semiahmoo House Society and host of the event welcomed us all. The icing on the cake was that the weather cooperated and we had perfect conditions for the day. Different teams had decked themselves out with signs and colourful accessories. There were friends everywhere we looked! Our daughter walked as many laps as she could in the time allotted, which was far too little as far as she was concerned. It seems she could have walked and walked....

     It was a beautiful experience--- a real testament to the impact of Semiahmoo House Society and UNITI in our community. As one participant's sign so wonderfully put it, "Every step brings us closer to home". What could be simpler or more eloquent than that? Because essentially that's why we were all there: to provide a place that any member of our society could call home, right here in our own community.