Recent Posts

Saturday, July 23, 2011

It Could Happen to Anyone

Hello everyone!

I have started and never finished a few blogs simply because I came home just plain overwhelmed and too busy to complete anything.  Due to a freak storm in West Dearborn, our home was "hugged" by a very large sycamore branch.  We are dealing with the aftermath of 5 punctures in the roof, and the water damage that went along with it.  This just runs the old adage, "...it can happen to anyone".  Many people suffered far worse damage than us with large old maples and the like being uprooted, streets blocked by the debris, and downed telephone lines catching fires to homes.  We were on vacation, but from the pictures we have seen of the neighborhood, it looked like a war zone. 

 "Hugged" by the sycamore we asked the city to remove over a year ago....the irony (or karma via Mother Nature's sense of humor?).

Last night I went to my first in-store crop at Scrappy Chic in Livonia for some much needed R&R to take my mind off things and have a little fun with friends.  Big kudos to them for a well-run crop.  I had a ton of fun and an abundance of laughter filled hours with two fellow scrapaholic friends. As we chuckled over our undeniable paper hoarding obsessions, a friend said, "It's a sickness."  I replied with my typical blatant honesty, "Yes, but I don't want to stop it." Actually, I was a good girl and did not purchase any new lines, but you know I was looking and planning for my next paper spree. *sigh* Bad Faith! (see it does no good).

On to the important stuff...
I am a contributing artist (scroll to the bottom of the page link to find me- I was the last artist to join) for an incredibly important documentary on domestic violence by Tortoise and Finch Productions. I just received news that a donor has announced that he will match dollar for dollar up to $500 in contributions now through Sunday 11:59pm. These finishing funds are very important for the end of production and every dollar counts. Please consider contributing to a socially important and impactful film. just click the link below to help or even to check out the extended trailer: You Look a Lot Like Me
Business picked up quickly when I pulled the store off vacation mode. It has been go, go, go, baby go, so I am off to start shipping and finishing up the millions of undone projects just calling my name...
 Have an inspired day!
Faith

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Imprinting Legacy

Things have been beyond busy, running from place to place on a deadline that stretches across 13 states.  There have been many moments where my intense desire to write has been trumped by my deep  desire to connect with the people in my life who are a part of my legacy just as much as I am a part of theirs.  Merriam-Webster defines "Legacy" as something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past. This concept of imprinting legacy as part of our immortality is an interesting one.  Even when our name is forgotten and the memories of family and friends are lost forever, our deeds and their repercussions live on. In both the physical actions and in the positive and negative energy that is created such as emotional damage or planting seeds of enlightenment.  


The day before yesterday, I had the incredible blessing of spending four hours with my grandfather.  I took him to a place where not only he has memories of his own childhood, but where he and I built very unique and special memories together.  His wife, my grandmother,  recently passed.  She and I were incredibly close with a connection that was extremely unique.  As I have become older, I become increasingly aware of the great gift this has been to my life.  Because of this deep bond, I did not often spend alone time with my grandfather. But one day where we did has always struck a deep chord.  

He took me to Cabrillo Beach and the maritime museum just under 25 years ago.  We spent the day walking the boardwalk, eating, visiting the museum, and having ice cream.  During this point in his life his demeanor was generally distant and many times gruff unless on his boat, and/or traveling. I have come to understand that he was most certainly the product of an environment and legacy thrust upon him as he grew up in his own home.  So, this day was even more rare because I experienced a unique view into his sincere love and gentleness towards me and others that I had honestly never seen so freely flow until then. His memories and stories flooded the day.  He shared stories about his past- of war, of family, of my father, of sailing, and of his love for my grandmother.  I witness tears in his eyes and the heartbreaking silence while he stared at the remnant of a ship whose military personal he help save during his stint in the Navy aboard the USS Conner during World War II. This day so deeply imprinted on my mind because not only did he share so much with abandon not seen before, it also was the day I realized my own sincere and deep adoration for my grandfather. 

 USS Conner DD-582


As my grandfather has progressed in age and dementia has started it's ugly course, he has actually softened and become that same man I saw that day.  Or maybe I should write that he has brought down the barrier that guarded him from being free an vulnerable to the world enough to be who he always was deep down inside.  The man that my grandmother saw more than any of us, whom she loved and adored. We have been given a gift at this time in his life where he still can imprint his legacy of love and memories, but the bittersweetness of the Thursday is not lost on me.  Dementia is a formidable foe and a treacherous thief.  And it is only a matter of time where these imprintable days of legacy will no longer be obtainable. I am so thankful for a grandfather who fights dementia with every bit of strength he has...not just for himself, but for us as well, even though he knows full well the inevitable outcome. He is a man with a profound legacy.


My Grandfather and I on Cabrillo Beach July 7, 2011