Together is Better

Over the past few weeks I found myself at the cancer clinic with my dad.  The first time I took dad there my mind was elsewhere.  Stephen was flying to Ontario and was planning to surprise mom and dad when we got back to Napanee.  I was attentive enough to be present for dad but was excited to get back to Napanee where I could see my boy.  They did a couple of biopsies, bandaged him up and we were back on the road.  That day it was just Dad and I and it was a little more work.  I had dropped him off at the door, drove around to find a parking spot three blocks away, ran back a block to pay for parking, run back to put the ticket in the car and then back three blocks to the hospital.  I waited in the waiting room until he was done and then I ran the blocks to the car and came back and picked him up.

Today, Ron came to be the chauffeur because the weather wasn’t looking great.  He dropped dad and I off at the door and we went through the registration and found our way to the cancer clinic.  One spot was okay but on his ear they had found carcinoma…it had to be removed.  I heard the details and backed out before the slicing began.  

As I walked through the waiting room, I noticed couples sitting close together holding hands.  They sat quietly waiting for some kind of treatment.  As I watched these people I could almost see hope in the eyes of those waiting to go through the treatment.  Their loving partner held their hands and it seems like their eyes were more of fear.  I might have been imagining it but it seemed hope and fear sat holding hands.  Hope was there wanting the treatment to extend their life…give them more time.  Fear is that the treatment might not work…that the quality of life might be reduced.

One thing was for sure, they were better together.  One bringing hope and trying to calm the fears. One sitting in support and being very present.  It’s hard to go through life’s hard struggles but it helps to go through it together.  We draw strength from others when we don’t feel like we have the strength to get through.

So hold on…strength comes from those around that support you through the hard times.  Be ready to hold onto someone else when they need you.

Almost a Ski Day

We have been getting so much snow.  The busses have been cancelled a lot which has made Sarah a happy student.  After a week of two more snow days and more snow today, we decided to pack our skis and go cross country skiing.  I thought carefully about how to dress.  I packed a nice little snack.  I put everything by the door.  Ron even brought our poles and ski boots in last night so they would be warm for us.  We carried everything out to the truck and headed north to Flinton.  Number 7 highway was closed due to a serious accident last night.  We continued north past the road closure.  The drive was beautiful.

We parked in the parking lot and reached back for our snacks.  Ron pulled his ski boots to the front and started putting them on.  I looked around.  Was I supposed to bring my ski boots to the truck?  Oh no…I had the treats, the poles and skis but no boots.  

Change of plans…we drove to Bon Echo and enjoyed a beautiful winter walk.  Sarah thought I planned the boots being left behind.  I didn’t but I did enjoy our walk around the camp grounds.

After a four kilometre walk my lungs felt used up and it was a slow walk up the final hill.

We stopped at our favourite meat shop on the way home and picked up a few special meat choices.

Our plans had changed but it was still a good winter day.

New Year…New Monia!

With each new year comes new opportunities, challenges and memories to make.  I know that 2026 will have all of those rolling in with it.

To reflect on 2025…Ron and I started the year with a southern Caribbean cruise and we finished the year with a Bahamas Christmas cruise with Sarah.  

Between our sandwich of cruises, Sarah moved in with us and brought us so much joy.  It is amazing watching her excel in school and have dreams for the future.  The church has welcomed her in such a great way and she has found herself in the hearts of many.

We went to Stephen and Kylie’s in April and enjoyed three weeks there.  Sarah even received an award from the school for working so hard while away during a cyber attack on the school.

In August, Sarah turned the big 16 and got her license.  We celebrated her!  She was also recovering from a serious bout of poison ivy!

Sarah started Grade 11 in September and shortly after I took on a temporary job as the church secretary…wondering when the temporary ends…

Ron and I spent our New Year’s Eve in the most quiet of ways.  We did have plans but they changed once I had a visit to my doctor’s office.  For the past month, I have been struggling with a cold.  The last few days it turned into a cough which kept me from sleeping.  I then noticed the wheezing, whistling and cracking in my lungs..  I knew that things weren’t right.  So yesterday morning, I called my doctor’s office at 8:30 a.m. and I received the final miracle of 2025 when they told me that I could see a doc at 9:30!  After checking my oxygen, blood pressure and listening to my lungs I was diagnosed with what I suspected….double pneumonia.

Ron was off to Napanee to get my meds and meals for us to eat.  I told our Clark chat room and Sarah said this…

Stephen asked me how I was feeling and I told him that I had taken a double dose of the meds as prescribed and had a little nap.  His response was very insightful…

We know that 2026 has its challenges ahead but we will work to make memories and let the good times exceed the hard ones.  Goodbye 2025…hello 2026!

Happy Birthday to our Miracle Baby!

It was 35 years ago close to this time of day (9:25 p.m) when our family was completed.  After many, many hours of on and off labour and a trip to the hospital in an ice storm, Stephen finally decided to make his presence known.  I was so tired but I knew that something wasn’t right when they whisked him away.  They took our brand new baby to the neonatal because his breathing wasn’t quite right.  I was settled into a room already missing my baby boy.  The next day Ron came first thing to the hospital.  We walked towards where our new addition was sleeping.  A doctor stopped us and told us that they had done a spinal tap and the results were that he had meningitis.  They were very concerned about his outcome and we felt devastated.  I could hardly stand.  We shuffled into an empty room and called a few people to have prayer chains started.  We needed a miracle.

For the next seven days I remained in the hospital.  We had to gown up every time we went to see him.  If we wanted to hold Stephen we were put into a private room.  At day seven, they sent me home.  Our hearts were heavy and our arms were empty as we left the hospital without our baby.  We spent as much time as we could back there.  At day ten, a second spinal tap was done and there was no sign of the meningitis.  They couldn’t explain it but we felt we were taking our miracle baby home.  We had to continue to take Stephen back to the hospital for regular visits.  They said that there could be many complications due to this disease.  Each month he exceeded their testing and when he was saying words at ten months they said that we didn’t have to bring him anymore.

Stephen brought us a lot of joy.  He would say he was “Daddy’s big boy” and “Mommy's baby.”  

Now that he is 35, he isn’t saying those things any more but he will always be my baby and a man that I’m very proud of.

We are thankful that he is enjoying life and has a wonderful wife to share all the experiences with.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!  Love you!

Grand Bahamas

Today we are in the Grand Bahamas soaking in the sun.

It’s hard to believe it is Christmas Eve.  They play Christmas music but it’s definitely a blue and green Christmas!

Nassau

We went to a private beach today by a shuttle boat.  It was pretty windy but a nice ride past the Atlantis Hotel and many other expensive homes.

Once there we walked and checked out the dolphins and sea lions.  There are so smart.

We then took our time to swim with the dolphins…pictures to follow in the coming days.

The princess was at her beach enjoying coconut water.

What a beautiful day!

Getting Ready to Board

This morning the weather was beautiful in Fort Lauderdale.  We took a very relaxing start.  We enjoyed our breakfast at the hotel and coffee by the pool.  We had mentioned to Sarah about seeing a coconut and so she wanted to go on a walking tour.  It turned into a bird exploration with Sarah picking up many new songs.  As we rounded the corner to see the coconut, we saw a bird feeder with beautiful green birds.  It turned out that they were Monk Parakeets. It was a good start to our warm Christmas holiday.

We arrived at the port and got through the initial steps and than there was some issue with the next step so we sat and waited with some patient and not so patient travellers.

And we made it!

The food on the first day was great.