one year gone and i still think about you every day, your furry face and silly ways. your cuddles in the morning and the spot you slept every night. your meow when wanting attention and the sound of your purrs. your thorough wash sessions and how you always flicked your tail during them. your love of a sun beam and how your fur would sparkle in the light. your favorite spot in the garden and how outdoorsy your fur would smell when you came inside. your head butts when i’d hold you tight and dance around the apartment, how you’d wrap your paws around my neck to hold on. your preference for wet and dry food not to touch in your bowl and how you always wanted fresh, cold water. your toys lined up in your favorite spot and how you loved the sound of ping pong balls bouncing on the floor. your warm furry body when you’d curl up beside me on the couch and how you always liked your head resting in my hand. you were the sweetest, kindest and most loving girl. you taught me so much and am so grateful that you came into my life. you were the best kitty in the whole world… and i told you that every day. love you forever baby girl. xx 🕊️
#themew
it’s been one year… one year of not being able to call to get advice on anything and everything, to share something only you would appreciate, to hear you laugh about the ridiculousness of it all… to walk in and see your smiling face when coming to visit, to smell your perfume on my clothes after a hug, to hear you tell the same story and laugh as it gets you every time… to hear you talk to the cats as only you do, to hear you humming along with something playing in the background as you dance around the kitchen with the dog… to you preparing dinner while reciting instructions out loud as you go, to ask you what you tweaked to get that recipe just right… to walk the garden with you showing me what the deer ate again, to see the clean up you did and the late season blooms you love to marvel at… to have you point out the wall colour you like in the newest issue of your favourite British home magazine, to have you excited about the new reno project you planned out, to hear you frustrated watching the jays make it in the post season… to see the progress of your latest painting, to learn about others in your art class through the stories you tell so well… to hear the adventures of the dogs at the park and who you ran into with that morning … to hear your weekly update of all the family news and what you think about this and that… to be with you.
it’s been one year. one year without you. i’ve missed you every single day. i always will. 🕊️
ps. your Jays are going to the world series and know you’d be so happy. we’re all rooting for them.
i’ve been fortunate to have traveled across so much of this great country… as a child moving across provinces to new cities and homes… as an adult working on shoots in glorious locations, from high in the mountains to down by the waters edge. Canada is truly majestic. yet her size can be divisive… thankfully, more times than not, we find common ground. there were few things that Canadians valued more than our love of all things subtle, even demure, in their Canadianism. we were taught that being proud didn’t mean being loud and patriotic in the general sense, but instead being present and open, understanding and accepting. have empathy and consideration, be gracious and forgiving... have compassion and kindness. our country has beauty that is under appreciated and overlooked, it is celebrated yet pillaged. there is no perfection here. there is always room to improve, lead and inspire… now more than ever. this year we feel a sense of unity and pride like never before. our values, our resilience, our democracy have all been tested… nothing is a guarantee. our ground has been shaken, yet still we stand…True. North. Strong. Free. Celebrating 158 years. Happy Canada Day 🇨🇦 #proudlycanadian
all photos my own
it’s my birthday and i’ve never been one to make a big deal about it. that was something my mom enjoyed doing. not just for me, but for my siblings as well, especially when we were kids. she planned our parties, not flashy ones but always a good time with fun games at the ready. she got thoughtful gifts and would ask if there was anything we had our eye on weeks in advance. I was usually blasé about most of it… for me, the best part of my birthday wasn’t the party or the presents, it was the cake. my mom made the best birthday cakes, hands down. we even had a choice. she had mastered a few classics, but my pick was always the same… chocolate. a dense, moist cake with a jammy center and the most amazing glossy chocolate frosting with a hint of coffee that i always ate around to save for last. she would add candles and loved to sing while carrying it out to the table… no matter our age, it was her tradition. and when the celebrations were over, she would divvy it up for us to take home, packed neatly in aluminum foil pouches. for me, having that cake the next day seemed so decadent and something i would savor. next day birthday cake hits different.
this is my first birthday without my mom… in a year of firsts. coming to the realization that i would give anything to answer that early morning call she always made, wanting to be the first to offer birthday wishes, or to hear her sing HB unabashedly, or to taste that chocolate cake she baked and fussed over to get the frosting just right. to have that one person make my birthday feel like it truly mattered… because to her it did. she cherished them. i wish i’d have done the same.
i know my birthday wish from now on will always be one more birthday with her. she gave me the best ones, cake and all.
There is something insane about a lack of doubt. Doubt, to me anyway, is what makes you human, and without doubt even the righteous lose their grip not only on reality but also on their humanity. - Tilda Swinton
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#tildaswinton #humanity
