2010 Is So Last Year!
Yeah, not the cleverest of puns but it sums up at least one of my feelings about closing out the old year and ushering in the new.
2010 was rather uneventful except for seeing Leonard Nimoy in person in Calgary; hosting a university English student from Japan and spending a weekend in Los Angeles for much needed "change of scene" (definitely as good as a rest).
On the dark side, I lost two very good friends. My ex-mother-in-law, Delores, with whom I was very close sporadically in the last 25 years, passed away December 2. She was 74 and only 14 years older than I, and so in some ways she was both a mother figure and an older sister. She'd been suffering from emphysema for several years, and she finally succumbed to it. She was a kind and generous woman but also very no-nonsense. I learned a great deal from her over the years, and I am so glad I was able to experience her presence in famiily get-togethers this past year: a birthday party that was an outdoor affair, situated in a park that we thought was the perfect location until the wind whipped up. So much for lighting candles on the cake! I took some lunch to her apartment one day when I got off work early, and we caught up with family news. I told her of my quest to discover my family tree. And of course Thanksgiving; that was the last time I saw her. She left behind a LOT of grandchildren and great-grandchildren! Her legacy will definitely continue.
The other friend, Brenda, passed away suddenly on Christmas Eve at the age of 54. I've known her for something like 15 years and we were very close. She'd been experiencing very bad back pain from an injury, and suspected she was contracting asthma because she couldn't breathe well or walk very far without feeling pain that her medical prescriptions didn't cover. She loved science fiction, theatre and talking with friends to whom she was always loyal and kind. She attended many conventions with the Final Frontier club. We spent many hours over the years at the Edmonton Fringe and the Varscona Theatre, enjoying the local talent and theatre atmosphere. Last year, we were able to get together many times in the summer, at the "Can't Stop the Serenity" screening in Edmonton, "Oh Susanna" at the Varscona and a couple of presentations at The Fringe, with another friend of hers, Cheryl. We laughed non-stop at The Pre-Tenors and helped each other find the car in the rain. I treasure these times with her and it will be tough letting her go.
If I've learned anything this year, it's that life is too short. Certainly too short to not appreciate your friends while you still have them. Both ladies knew how I felt about them and I am thankful for that. To anyone who reads this, I implore you to take my advice: NEVER EVER TAKE YOUR FRIENDS FOR GRANTED. Their presence in your life is a fantastic gift, the opening flower in the garden of life. If there is a physical heaven, then I know the door was wide open before Delores or Brenda got there.
2010 was rather uneventful except for seeing Leonard Nimoy in person in Calgary; hosting a university English student from Japan and spending a weekend in Los Angeles for much needed "change of scene" (definitely as good as a rest).
On the dark side, I lost two very good friends. My ex-mother-in-law, Delores, with whom I was very close sporadically in the last 25 years, passed away December 2. She was 74 and only 14 years older than I, and so in some ways she was both a mother figure and an older sister. She'd been suffering from emphysema for several years, and she finally succumbed to it. She was a kind and generous woman but also very no-nonsense. I learned a great deal from her over the years, and I am so glad I was able to experience her presence in famiily get-togethers this past year: a birthday party that was an outdoor affair, situated in a park that we thought was the perfect location until the wind whipped up. So much for lighting candles on the cake! I took some lunch to her apartment one day when I got off work early, and we caught up with family news. I told her of my quest to discover my family tree. And of course Thanksgiving; that was the last time I saw her. She left behind a LOT of grandchildren and great-grandchildren! Her legacy will definitely continue.
The other friend, Brenda, passed away suddenly on Christmas Eve at the age of 54. I've known her for something like 15 years and we were very close. She'd been experiencing very bad back pain from an injury, and suspected she was contracting asthma because she couldn't breathe well or walk very far without feeling pain that her medical prescriptions didn't cover. She loved science fiction, theatre and talking with friends to whom she was always loyal and kind. She attended many conventions with the Final Frontier club. We spent many hours over the years at the Edmonton Fringe and the Varscona Theatre, enjoying the local talent and theatre atmosphere. Last year, we were able to get together many times in the summer, at the "Can't Stop the Serenity" screening in Edmonton, "Oh Susanna" at the Varscona and a couple of presentations at The Fringe, with another friend of hers, Cheryl. We laughed non-stop at The Pre-Tenors and helped each other find the car in the rain. I treasure these times with her and it will be tough letting her go.
If I've learned anything this year, it's that life is too short. Certainly too short to not appreciate your friends while you still have them. Both ladies knew how I felt about them and I am thankful for that. To anyone who reads this, I implore you to take my advice: NEVER EVER TAKE YOUR FRIENDS FOR GRANTED. Their presence in your life is a fantastic gift, the opening flower in the garden of life. If there is a physical heaven, then I know the door was wide open before Delores or Brenda got there.