Great Aunt Susan We'll Miss You

Some of my best childhood memories were from the days we spent at Great Aunt Susan and Uncle Andy's place in Lac du Bonnet. That's where I got to know Aunt Susu. But that was a long time ago, and she didn't really know who I grew up to be, until this July.

I spent some time taking her (In the photo on the left with my Grandpa Fred) to appointments in Hamilton General Hospital this summer. We talked, laughed a lot, she told me some family stories and I updated her on my mom and siblings. From talking with her and the doctors, I learned that she went through a few pacemakers over the years (one damaged a heart valve), she was on 17 medications and she liked to go fast in her wheelchair. She just wanted to get better. There were many times in that one day where she would slam her arms down because she was annoyed that she had to wait so long. She was fed up with being sick and spending all this time in the hospital.

I had a chance to speak to her a couple days before she passed. Although she couldn't speak, the doctors said she could still hear. So I said a few words to her. Hearing her struggle to breathe was very difficult. She hadn't eaten or drank anything in days and she wasn't responding to anything but her heart was still going strong. When my dad came home from visiting Winnipeg, she responded to him and others with a mumble.

At one point during her appointments I had to wheel her into a doctor's office that had wall to wall furniture. I bumped her chair into a weigh scale and she said to me "I hope you don't drive a car like you drive a wheelchair!" I choose to remember her the way she was. She was funny, sweet and such a blessing to many people.

I see the body as a house the essence of each person lives in. Once the person has breathed their last breath, the house no longer contains any part of them. An empty shell is left behind while the spirit and soul go on to better things. What's beyond life, I can't be sure. But I know as well as you do that our time here on earth is temporary. So we should make the best of it while we're here.

Tell people that you love and appreciate them constantly and never take life for granted. It's the only one you have.

Stink-ity Stank - Good Hygene Is A Must!

Some people wear deodorant or antiperspirant and some choose not to. I don't know what's worse. Using it or not using it!

What's more bearable, used deodorant sweat stank or body odor?

Sometimes I mention the issue, but that depends on the relationship I have with the person. I have no problem telling a sibling or a cousin that they need to shower. Nor do I have any issues telling my close friends that they have toilet paper stuck in the back of their pants. Or mentioning a zipper that needs to be zipped, a shirt that looks bad, a stain, a rogue booger in the nose or eye or offering a piece of gum and responding with a sarcastic "not at all" when they ask if their breath smells.

I really dislike being around smelly people. It's unpleasant. So before you leave the house today be sure to apply deodorant and brush your teeth. Or, don't talk to me. I'm not going to hear a word you're saying while I hold my breath until you're clear of my personal space bubble and I can cover up the stank that you've left behind with scented oils.