Karma

     I lost a friend today. He was the person in the world who made me laugh more than anyone else that I have ever known and I will miss that; I will miss him. He lived far away in a place that I have never travelled to, but over the years he had made sure to keep in touch. When he was in Canada we saw him, ate dinner with friends and we laughed. He had a dry, acerbic wit that was without match and the ability to make everyone laugh at themselves. He had superb taste in all things: food, wine, art and furnishings. He liked nice things.
     I met him first when he was a business owner in the town I live in still. He and his partner sold beautiful artifacts, jewellery and baskets from Indonesia. At the beginning I was a customer but over time we became friends. I still own many lovely and unusual things from that country. Every time I looked at them, I thought of him and his friend, now my friend too. And I still will, except now the possibility of ever seeing him again no longer exists.
     The saddest thing about losing my friend is that it seemed as though he did not want to live. Alcohol was the vehicle of his demise. We have been talking a lot about living and dying in our house lately. Someone we know had tried to take her life. I asked our younger daughter about it. She said in a wise eleven year old way that she could never do that; "Life is a gift." she said to me as we stood at the bus stop.
     As we get older we understand that that is true but we also come to understand that for some people, in certain circumstances, it's often not that simple. All I know is that I will miss the fun that happened when he was in the room, the fragrance of Vetiver that surrounded him, his generosity and his ability to make me laugh until I wept. The world is truly a sadder place today. Miss you Mark!

Nanny

     What can you say about a lady who gets her ears pierced for her 100th birthday? She's a bright spark; a woman who never lets you forget how much you mean to her; a lady, gracious, loving, and funny. We met when her husband was suffering with multiple myeloma and I was their hospice volunteer. Our arrangement was that I would come by for a few hours on Thursday afternoons and stay with him while she went out for a little while to shop, have tea with a friend or just have a little time to herself. Her husband had bone cancer which is very painful, terminal but also can be interminable. He was in need of palliative care for years, most of which was supplied by his wife, cheerfully, continually, faithfully. They were a lovely couple--- grateful for my time and attention, careful and caring for each other. He and I spent time together on "projects"; we fixed things around the house, drank tea and ate sandwiches and chatted about life. I truly enjoyed the time I spent with both of them.
     What can you say about a lady who gets an iPad for her 100th birthday? She's a great grandmother, a grandmother, a mother, an auntie, a friend for life. She is loyal and honest, faithful and feisty, a person who can talk to anyone, a woman of unflinching courage. Once in a while you meet someone who is loved universally, by everyone they meet, the life of the party, the quiet centre of a family.What can you say about a lady like that? She's our Nanny!