My Mom....

Betty
1924 - 1998















the two of us a few years before the bad news.

Today is the 10th anniversary of the day my Mom died. Saddest day of my life. I still cry about it whenever I damn well feel like it too ....not only today. The first few months after she died was just crying and sleeping... that was about it. Thank goodness for my "Mr." Bumblevee.... he is a pretty special guy.

Mom lived for a year after being diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer; refused to be in a hospice or hospital.. wanted to be at home, so we did what we had to do. I flew more miles that year than I thought possible and lived there almost half of it. The final months I don't even want to think about... but we also packed a lot of visiting and fun into most of the year let me tell you. There were many days of ocean watching through her "spyglass" as she called her binoculars. The ocean was the reason she moved to Victoria. Whales, ships, tiny sail boats, even kayaks.......didn't matter, as long as we were near the water and sea happenings.. or visited the Marina to talk to seals and otters, throw things for the gulls, feed dozens of ducks, or have lunch in the little restaurant. We consigned many a note in a bottle to the "briny" off Lighthouse Point... hoping for somebody to find one and write to us. I definitely inherited her love of the sea. Most of the time, it seems to me she is still living near her beloved ocean. ......smiling at the sun; laughing at the wild waves on a windy day.... taking endless pictures with "her little camera"; just like she did when she was alive.
I still find myself reaching for the phone to call and tell her about something amusing, or to ask for advice, arrange a visit or just to yak. Guess it will always be like this... sometimes she is just not gone at all.....










through her lens.... ...