totw: making nice things happen

“Of course there must be lots of Magic in the world," he said wisely one day, "but people don't know what it is like or how to make it. Perhaps the beginning is just to say nice things are going to happen until you make them happen. I am going to try and experiment.”   - Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden 

GGC

135/100

On Monday my mom had (successful, phew) knee surgery for a jacked meniscus that led to a fall that led to the EMT breaking into my parents' house to rescue my mother who "I've fallen and I can't get up" style had fallen. And couldn't get up. And then she had to ride in the paramedic car to the hospital and I was like, "Breathe! Breathe! Breathe!" like a shitty lamaze coach and she was like, "AHHHH! AHHHH! AHHHHHH!' and that was several weeks ago and now she's resting comfortably at home with her leg up and her knee healing and no more EMT break-ins, thankyouverymuch. (Thank you for all the facebook love, by the way. It's been an emotional "life is precious, hug your people" kind of week.)

So. I meant to post this Tuesday but did not, so today I am posting it because schedules are for the birds and this is my mom's favorite song and every time I hear it I think of how she used to duet with my high school boyfriend in the living room and I'd be like, "Come on, Micah, let's go upstairs" and he'd be like, "In a minute. I'm playing Blackbird with Wendy," and that's when I realized that my mom was way cooler than I was.

And that I should probably take guitar lessons.

Love you, mom. Heal swift, ye superstar. 

***

135. Blackbird by: The Beatles

GGC

Happy Birthday, Denise

This morning our dear friend Denise succumbed to the cancer she had been fighting on and off for several years. Denise was like family to our clan. She was one of my Nana's closest friends and regularly came up to LA with her to spend the day with us. She was one of the first to hold Archer as a baby. Fable, too. And she loved all of us with her whole heart. It was palpable, the love. I'm sitting here typing this and I know she's not here but I can still feel her, you know? I can feel her love in my hair and her hands on my shoulders and her eyes on my words.

In a January post I included a passage from a letter she wrote when her Cancer came back.

"So here's the plan: we go forward with joy, hope, gratitude, courage and humor, we boost each other up with love and encouragement, and we don't take things too seriously..."

And for the last nine months she's done exactly that. For as long as I've known her she's done exactly that. 

Two weeks ago, when she was released from the hospital to go home, we sent her a care package and the kids drew her pictures. Fable's drawing was of rainbows and flowers and Archer's was of cities and roads. I explained to them that Denise was very sick and that soon she wouldn't be here anymore, not with us in this life, so if they wanted to write something to say goodbye that would be nice.

Fable thought about it for a moment. "Can mine say Happy Birthday, love Fable?"

I wrote the "Happy Birthday" part because Fable couldn't and then passed the pen to her so she could sign her name.

"Love, Fable," she wrote, before filling the rest of the page with hearts.

***

We love you, Denise. Thank you for your courage and humor. Thank you for boosting us all up with love and encouragement and reminding us, every day, not to take things too seriously. We will miss you with everything.

Page full of hearts, 

Us