I'm so happy we turned our clocks ahead on early Sunday morning. The dark days of winter take their toll on me and the longer days just make everyone that little bit brighter. Maybe spring is on the way!
On Saturday night I watched Sex in the City - the movie and found myself very homesick for my WestCoast girls and Vancouver itself. One day soon I'll be back, hopefully before another long Edmonton winter sets in.
Sunday morning I got a call from my Dad telling me that he lost two of his very good friends last week. One to lung cancer and one had a massive stroke. I knew them both as well and it was shocking to hear. I feel for my Dad today and the grief he is experiencing. Friends are valuable to our well being and I know he is going to miss them both very much.
One of the men who passed was Jim. My parents were friends with Jim and his wife Diane long before I was born so they were always in my life growing up. I watched all four of their children come home from the hospital after being born, Howard, Holly, Hunter and Hillary. Jim was an avid outdoorsman and worked in the logging industry. In 2001 only weeks before I left for Spain to walk the Camino de Santiago the first time, Jim was in a car accident. He was thrown quite a distance from his vehicle. At Christmas this year my Dad told me the story of Jim's experience while waiting for the paramedics. I don't want to go into his personal detail but Jim had a very profound spiritual experience. This is a man who stood well over 6 feet and had a booming voice that echoed with passion for everything he did. I can hear his laughter mixed with my Dad's. They always had a good time together. He was not someone you would think would have an experience with the angels but he did. That accident left Jim paralyzed from the waist down but my Dad said that it was the spiritual experience that Jim believes spared his life. Some might have thought that an outcome like that would have dampened his spirits but not a chance. He just carried on with life with the same vigor but this time from his wheelchair.
I went to visit him in the hospital with my Dad after his accident. Here was Jim lying in his hospital bed unable to take another step and I was about to embark on a journey where my steps were going to take me across all 500 miles that make up the Camino de Santiago. I remember him taking my hand and saying, 'Walk for me' and I did. I walked those 500 miles thinking of him, thinking of my best friend Jodi who was a quadripeligic (she died in 1989) and thinking of countless others who don't have the freedom of taking a step forward but lead with their spirits and hearts. There was a time in my life that I was unable to walk and its a liberty we often take for granted.
I have some steps I have to take in my life right now that seem impossible but must be made. Abraham H. Maslow once said 'You will either step forward into growth, or you will step backward into safety.' Safety seems very comfortable which is why I'm mustering up the courage to be uncomfortable. I know many of you have witnessed me making life altering decisions and actions on the spur of the moment but this time for some reason I'm feeling more cautious than usual. One day at a time, one step at a time.
I went to see the Gastroenterologist this morning. She booked me for a test where they stick a camera down my throat and into my stomach, Gastroscopy procedure. All of this is to determine why I still have a sore throat. The appointment was scheduled for mid-May but as I was driving out of the parking lot she called and I'm going in tomorrow afternoon. What a glorious, glamorous way to spend my birthday! I don't think this is going to show anything at all but might as well rule out all possibilities.
Today I send my prayers out to my Dad, his friend Bill and his family and Diane, Jim's wife and their children and families. May you all find peace during this difficult time.
PS ~ I also want to include Kevin, a new friend who's father also passed away from a stroke last week. Peace to you.
this was a good one laara...thank you.
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