Summer Breeze

This week's blog post is written by My Michelle.

It’s funny how here in Ontario, we seem to quickly go from winter right into summer - not that I am complaining - as this winter for some reason, seemed just a little too long.  Richard and I love to garden and see the perennials start to shoot up as the days get a little warmer, the sun a little brighter, and we spend more time out of doors.  No matter how full the garden was last year, we always like to head out to the nursery and end up coming home with a trunkful of new plants to go in just that spot, that is missing a little something.  We always try and switch it up every year with a slightly different colour scheme on our patio - this year it’s white and green in the front yard, and tropical in the back with lots of ferns.  We are trying a magnolia bush and jasmine plant in our front planter - smells divine - we’ll see how it all goes.

May is kind of a bittersweet month for us.  It was in May that we lost my father to a battle with lung cancer. It was in May that Richard’s mom unexpectedly passed away - both were gone too soon.  It was also in the month of May that my mom had her stroke. This month we also lost a colleague from our tennis club that has been very upsetting for us both - we often saw her on our walks around Newmarket and stopped to chat with her, in this case we spoke with her just the day before she experienced a brain aneurysm and passed away shortly thereafter.  It was ironic at that time, that she was asking Richard how he was doing and wishing us both the best, not knowing what was to come her way, the very next day. Life can be so unexpected and yes, unfair and frankly we are starting to think we should hop from April right into June and skip that month, which hasn’t been the best in recent years.  

This month (May) Richard was discontinued from a clinical trial due to progression of his disease and as he shared last week, we are going through the workup for another one.  We just keep hoping that something will work, give us more time together, and importantly that Richard will continue to feel good.  It is tiring for him and we just can’t seem to catch a break. 

All that being said - Richard and I are more the “glass half full” kind of people.  We look for, and try to find the optimism in most things.  We are not letting cancer hold us back - we’ve planned a cottage vacation, we are planning a getaway for our anniversary (lock down permitting of course), we are planning for some small reno projects at the house and continuing with our basement clean up!

But when that summer breeze beckons, and the pool is sparkling, the deck cushions and loungers are out and the perfume from the flower garden hangs heavy in the air - outside we go, coffee in hand and breathe in the day.  I’m not particularly religious or spiritual, but isn’t it kind of comforting to think that just maybe that light summer breeze that lifts your hair and rustles the leaves in the trees, is like a soft memory passing by.

“Summer breeze, makes me feel fine….”

Let’s turn May around into more positive memories and celebration of life.

Love Michelle

XO