BROKEN

FOR TWENTY THREE YEARS I HAVE HAD THE WONDERFUL PLEASURE OF MEETING UP WITH MY SISTERS FOR THE ‘GIRLS’ WEEKEND AWAY’. IT ALL STARTED WITH A COUPLE OF DAYS AWAY WITH MY SISTER, PAMELA, AND MYSELF AFTER I FLEW HOME FOR MY ANNUAL ONTARIO TRIP.  WE HAD SO MANY LAUGHS AND IT WAS GOOD FOR THE SOUL.

IT SEEMS NOTHING COULD STOP US FROM OUR ANNUAL VICTORIA LONG WEEKEND TRIP.  ONE YEAR THERE WAS A TERRIBLE BLIZZARD AND WE HAD ACCOMMODATIONS OUT OF THE CITY…ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF AWAY.  PAM AND I FELT LIKE WE WERE IN A BUBBLE OF PROTECTION AND THE SUN WAS SHINING SO WE PACKED UP AND AWAY WE WENT …SOMETIMES WITH ONLY THE TELEPHONE POLES TO GUIDE OUR WAY AS THE SNOW WAS SO THICK. CRAZY.

BUT OF COURSE WE ARRIVED SAFELY AND BY THE TIME WE GOT TO OUR PRETTY HOTEL IN BAYFIELD THE SNOWS HAD STOPPED AND WE WERE READY TO RELAX AND HAVE OUR USUAL CONNECTION OF THE HEART…HOURS OF STORIES AND LAUGHTER,GOOD FOOD ,AND GENTLE EXCURSIONS.

SO THERE WE WERE , JUST BARELY IN OUR ROOM IT SEEMS, BUT WE WERE LAUGHING QUITE LOUDLY WHEN WE HEARD A BANGING ON THE DOOR OF OUR ROOM. OOPS!  LAUGHING TOO LOUDLY PERHAPS?

BUT NO, THE CLEANING STAFF APPEARED AND SAID THEY WERE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE TOILET IN OUR ROOM AND THEY HAD TO COME IN AND FIX IT. I STILL HAD TEARS STREAMING DOWN MY FACE FROM SILLY STORIES WE WERE SHARING WHEN THESE 2 ‘ROUGH AROUND THE EDGES’ WOMEN APPEARED. THE FIRST WOMAN STARTED SWEARING ABOUT HAVING TO ‘CLEAN THE F*^%N TOILETS’ AND THE SECOND WOMAN HAD A HUGE ,GREY HAIRSTYLE AND A CIGARETTE HANGING OUT OF HER LIPS. 

HER LIPS.  THAT’S WHEN I NOTICED THAT THOSE LIPS BELONGED TO OUR SISTER, PAULA, AND THE OTHER (MISSHAPEN,WIGGED) LADY WAS OUR OTHER SISTER,MARY!  WHAT A HILARIOUS, JOYFUL REUNION WE ALL HAD! THEY REGALED US WITH STORIES OF THEIR HAIR RAISING JOURNEY AND THE GIGGLES THEY HAD TO STIFLE AS THEY CHANGED INTO THESE FUNNY CHARACTERS IN FRONT OF THE STAFF! THEY STUFFED PILLOWS INTO THEIR PANTS FRONT AND BACK, WIGGED UP, AND THE STAFF WAS LAUGHING TOO. WE HAD THE BEST WEEKEND JUST BEING TOGETHER…PERUSING THE LOCAL SHOPS, HAVING LOVELY MEALS OUT, GOING FOR WALKS, AND EXCHANGING GIFTS FOR OUR BIRTHDAYS THAT ALL FALL WITHIN THE CUSP OF MAY.  

THIS STARTED A 23 YEAR TRADITION THAT SOMETIMES INCLUDED OUR SISTER IN LAW,NANCY,AND OUR MOM TOO FOR MANY OF THOSE YEARS. IT WOULD HAVE LED TO OUR TWENTY FOURTH IF WE WEREN’T ALL HOUSEBOUND IN OUR SEPARATE CITIES THIS YEAR.  AND MY HEART FEELS BROKEN.

“When you come to the end of yourself, you find the beginning of God.”

I KNOW THAT EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US HAS CHALLENGES RIGHT NOW.  SOME ARE SMALL LIKE MY MISSING MY SISTERS OF THE HEART. OTHERS ARE MASSIVE LIKE HAVING TO SAY A FINAL GOOD-BYE TO SOMEONE WE LOVE WHO HAS PASSED ON. IT IS A BROKEN TIME. NOTHING IS AS IT WAS BEFORE AND WE ARE ALL LEARNING TO COPE WITH THIS NEW NORMAL. 

I FIND THAT WHEN I FEEL SORRY FOR MYSELF IT IS TIME TO GET ‘OUT OF MYSELF’ AND THINK OF OTHERS. IF I TURN TO GOD WILL HE ‘BE ENOUGH TO MAKE ME ENOUGH'(A.VOSKAMP)? I KNOW THE ANSWER IS A RESOUNDING,”YES”! 

SO TODAY LET ME USE MY BROKENNESS TO REACH OUT TO SOMEONE ELSE WHO MIGHT BE FEELING THE SAME WAY. LIFE (EVEN THIS NEW WAY OF LIFE) IS ALWAYS SUCH A GIFT!

 AND I LOOK FORWARD WITH HOPE THAT PERHAPS NEXT YEAR I CAN HUG MY SISTERS AGAIN ON THE “G.W.A”.