I have been absent from my blog for the month following the death of my mother. I am still sorting through my feelings and those of my family, and have felt too vulnerable to write things (even mundane things not related to her death).
Of course, it is easier to write for a cause -- especially a good one -- so I'm climbing back on my horse. After all, it is always easier to ask for something for someone else, isn't it? This may be my personal Achilles heel. I'm pretty sure most of you can relate. (I've read your blogs.)
So I have this friend, Melissa. She is my children's violin teacher and an amazing musician who inspires me to push myself to be more brave (one day, but not today). She and another musician form the group BowAntler. They are competing to secure a space on the main stage of the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, one of the original festivals to be held in Vancouver. This festival is a BIG DEAL.
To help me support BowAntler, please check out this song she and her band mate wrote specifically for the contest, Shake My Shoes, and then click the "like" link to vote for her. While you are there (and if you love Cindy Lauper like I do) check out their rendition of Time after Time (Time after time ... time after time ... time after time ...)
That's it for now. Thanks in advance for those of you who take the time to vote. For those of you that don't, I'm okay with asking and not receiving. A long time ago I learned that if I don't ask, I will never get, and that a no is just as okay an answer as yes.
I'm embedding the video here but I think you have to click like directly on FB to actually vote. (If you really like it, feel free to share with your peeps too.) If you don't "do" Facebook, you can click "like" directly on the YouTube video, I've heard rumours that this will count too ...
May I present BowAntler's Shake My Shoes:
In the meanwhile, my family grieves. My mother (Elaine) was a complicated person (aren't we all) but I can say with absolute certainty she was was an especially amazing grandma. We'll each miss her in our own way.
I am sorry for your loss. I know what I want to say in this next sentence just not how to say it. I feel that when my mother's time is up I will be having very similar feelings.
ReplyDeleteThank you Amber. I can't even go there about my other parent, our relationship barely exists now ... at least with my mom it was complicated. Your comment means a lot to me.
DeleteI love them. They are sparkly and ethereal and funky and fun.
ReplyDeleteI love you. I'm sorry about your mom.
xoxo
Thank you J. You are sparkly, so maybe that is why. And funky and fun, even when you don't know it. xoxox
Deleteoh hon, I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. I hope you are doing okay. xxx
ReplyDeleteThank you Sian. It is a journey, that is for certain. Negotiating the "stuff" we inherit as a group right now (siblings). More negotiations around behaviours and skills than stuff, truthfully. Tricky, especially at these kinds of times.
Deletex o x
ReplyDeleteThanks honey. Thanks for being here.
DeleteHey Karen,
ReplyDeleteFor some reason I didn't see this on my reading list until today. Loss can be so much more complicated than we expect, and so much more quiet. Mothers. They are so big and so pervasive; we can get clarity, but there's always an unsettling. I know you'll get through this in your own best way, and I will vote for your gals; I hope I'm not too late.
You're awesome.
Thank you. I don't mind that you saw this now. I think it was the heat. That's what I'm blaming everything on, and the pacific northwest isn't particularly heaty. (heh, chinese term, and I'm not even using it the right way for that.)
DeleteMothers, eh? I'm just trying to figure out how to be one that creates less unsettling, less baggage. Me? I'm finding that I am really having to work on boundaries and setting clear limits, still at my age. Ugh. Very clumsy work.