This is about a very special lady in my life. She is 95 years old, a free spirit, a mother, an artist in so many ways, a writer, and a musician . She is not my mother, but she is the closest thing to my mother. (My mom died in 2003). I love her to bits.
We talk on the phone regularly and we giggle, laugh uproariously, discuss and exchange ideas, news about the family and she is a sounding board for me and my life. I always feel so good after talking to her.
An example of part of our conversation....a somewhat trivial part, but nevertheless a funny, happy and delicious part....we were discussing the differences between Tickleberry's Ice Cream in Okanagan Falls (where we both have visited) and an ice cream stand in her area .......especially the double and triple cones. This conversation lasted for a good five to ten minutes filled with much laughter!! She enjoyed remembering Okanagan Falls and I enjoyed....well....I enjoyed talking about ice cream!!!
She also recounts stories of her life in Victoria in the early years of the 20th century, clear, descriptive and if you've any imagination at all, you live it as she tells it. She speaks with humour and compassion about her early life and it's a fascinating way to spend time....on the phone or in person.
She is in a wheelchair, but still keeps her own spacious apartment. She cooks and bakes, entertains, plays the piano, sends email on the computer (she has a laptop), writes children's stories and then illustrates them in her own unique way and her apartment is a gallery of her paintings and sculptures. She can talk about anything, she reads voraciously, keeping up with world events. She is bound and determined to live to be 100.....and I think she will do it.
She has an enthusiasm for life that I can only hope that I would have at that age.
She is my mentor, she is my role model, she is everything that I want to be when I grow up!!
Slainte!
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