Monthly Archives: March 2025

Taken far too soon

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I lost a friend on Tuesday. I had only known her for a little over two years, but I knew her well enough to know she could aptly be described as a spark plug. She was certainly a person who energized, inspired, and animated every room she was in.

In the short time I knew Lee, I had never seen her in a bad mood. Sure, there were days when she came to work feeling a little less than her usual chipper self, but she never let that affect the outcome of her day. And by the time she had eased into her routine, that infectious smile and her zest for life filled every room she entered.

There was never a dull breakfast service when she was “toast master”. I could hear the laughter in the kitchen through the walls of my office, and when I went in to see what was happening, Lee would be dancing behind the line and bringing everyone up to her level of light. That’s what she did. She radiated it. It shone through her. And she shared that beautiful light with everyone.

The fact I am so affected by her passing after knowing her for such a short time says a lot about her character, and who she was as a human being. Following the outpouring of posts about her passing on social media, I know many others, who have known her for much longer, feel the same deep sense of loss that I feel.

Lee Lee, I will miss hearing the familiar sound of you saying ‘hey, hey’ in the morning when you came into the office. I will miss hearing you say, ‘I love this song’ every time a new song came on. And, most importantly, I will miss you. I didn’t know you for a long time, but I knew you well enough to know what a special person you were, and how different my life will be without you in it.

I will take what I can get

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It wasn’t much, but I wrote today. On the day between the anniversary of my mom’s passing, and my dad’s passing, my brain decided it was finally able to reconnect to the creative force that has been hidden deep within the recesses of my grey matter and combine words to construct meaningful sentences.

My initial plan for today was to edit the book I wrote last winter, but fate had a different plan. As I stared at the pages of words I had already written, my mind was consumed by the ideas for a novel I had previously outlined in my head. The voices were loud, and before I knew what I was doing my fingers were striking the familiar letters on my keyboard, and I, once again, had become captivated by the voices that had been silenced for so long.

It was nothing like the writing fugues I have experienced before, but the shiest of voices are welcome to disrupt my plans and speak loudly when they feel the need. Today, their need was heard and understood, and today my new book took on a life of its own.

What was once a pipe dream of a screen play has morphed itself into something I am more comfortable with, and something that I can tackle with free abandon. Today, I embarked on a new novel. The first few characters each have a strong will, and this will help guide me through the process of creating another story. Through their voices, and their tenacity, I hope this story will become something I am proud to share with them.