goodbyes – Reflections

Moving on

Taking a break from sorting and packing, I am sitting in my lazy-boy chair and looking past another stack of boxes, out the window. The cloudy, grey sky past the green leaves of the rhododendrons, and the cedar branches is typical here throughout the fall, winter and spring. Am I sad to be leaving? NotContinue reading “Moving on”

Final days

I took this photo yesterday morning to show to my good friend. He loves to walk in gardens and work in gardens, but is stuck in bed on the 5th floor of the hospital. His view from his window looking at the Hospice building. Occasionally he will comment on his blessings….he has a single room,Continue reading “Final days”

For a New Beginning

Dear Rita….I enjoy my weekly walks with your mother on Sunday mornings. It gives me a chance to focus on someone else, and take my thoughts away from my own issues. We have interesting conversations, even if we don’t always understand each other. The translation apps are helpful! Yesterday morning, after our conversation, I walkedContinue reading “For a New Beginning”

Childhood

This beautiful photo is of my mother and her maternal grandfather, taken around 1938. Mom moved into a care home two days ago. We are sorting through her home, deciding what to keep in the family, what to give away and what to throw away. I have spent the past two nights in her emptyContinue reading “Childhood”

Paw prints

I noticed these on my neighbour’s back steps the other morning. Cats stop by at my back patio every day, but I didn’t realize that they also explored my neighbour’s balcony. Evidence of the cat or cats will disappear once the sun comes up and melts away the dew. For many years I lived inContinue reading “Paw prints”

Goodbye to Toffee

Today I said goodbye to my companion of over 11 years. Toffee was a gift to me, discovered by my children, to help me cope with the death of my husband, Michael. It is hard to believe how attached one can become to an animal, even a person like me who was never very fondContinue reading “Goodbye to Toffee”