a helping hand

In an effort to help a friend reach a wider audience, I am posting a link here to her beautiful little bed and breakfast, Birchcliffe Bed & Breakfast. It's located in Hebden Bridge, a gorgeous little market town in West Yorkshire in northern England... If ever you find yourself in that neck of the woods, you should definitely look into staying there! Check it out: http://birchcliffebandb.co.uk

grandpa

dear grandpa

are you with grandma now? is what they say true? are you watching me now from above?

did you know i came to visit you? i promised you that i would. i'm sorry i couldn't come sooner. i'm sorry i couldn't stay by your side longer.

grandpa, i'm sorry i didn't call more often. i thought about you every day. i have many pictures of you that i always keep close. you are so special to me.

i wish we could go back to that autumn day at your apartment. you were so full of energy, so excited to show me your latest pieces of art. we ate cookies and drank coffee. grandpa, on that day, in flesh and blood, you were 95 years young.

grandpa, you are forever in my heart and you will last a lifetime in my memories.

i hope that what they say is true, because that would mean that you're not alone up there. so until next we meet, i'll be thinking of you, and missing you dearly.

grandpa, i love you.

a tale of two sisters

The last time they saw each other it was as if no time had passed.

Old wounds were rendered fresh,

and the distance they had come only found them back at square one.

They shared very little common ground,

but that little ground

meant the world to them.

Everyday they would convene

to stand watch over the grandfather they loved

as he rested in his hospital bed.

They would take turns holding his hand,

speaking to him softly,

but loud enough to overcome the chatter around them.

They would do all this together,

but from opposite sides of his bed.

It felt like opposite sides of the earth.

As the days progressed

and their grandfather weakened,

the two sisters were more akin to strangers.

The conversations between them had ended.

No more time was spent together.

They would once and for all go their separate ways.

On their last night in the same town,

the eldest sister prepared a meal for her parents.

It was to be a quiet evening at home.

But an unexpected guest arrived.

With trepidation she approached her sister

and then uttered five words:

"Grandpa waved to me tonight."

In an instant, those five words erased all that had come before them.

The two sisters embraced one another

and in their last night together

they managed to find reasons to laugh, smile, and cry tears of joy.

Sisterhood means different things to different people.

In the case of this tale of these two sisters,

sisterhood simply means love, despite everything, love.

deja vu

life is a moment.

and then another one.

and then a third.

every moment brings with it

happiness

sadness

surprises

and with a little bit of luck

a whole lot of sunshine.

sometimes life pulls a deja vu

and altho the situation's changed

the feeling is reminiscent.

as if you've felt that before.

that's what now is.

grief is heading my way.

i've felt it before.

and now i'm due to feel it again.

this is no good.

these imminent events.

this is no good.