I packed my bags and left Canada back in January - I guess, more than anything else, in search of something new. And since January, I have discovered a lot, about myself, about the things I am capable of, and about the things I hope to achieve in my life. This project, this desire to reconnect myself with other people and share it with the world in the hope that it just might create a little bit of positive change - it comes at a cost...
You see, for every stranger I meet and spend time with - I deprive myself of a small amount of time that I might normally spend staying in touch with my family, my friends - and of course, spending with my girlfriend. And that's not to say that they all don't understand, because in truth, they are all just as excited about what I am doing as I am. But when my sister called me two weeks ago to tell me that my Grandmother has just passed away - the banks of the river burst and doubt flooded my head for the first time since all of this began.
Here I am, some 5000 miles away from home, holding a 'to-do' list that has 'Write a letter to Baba' haphazardly scribbled at the bottom of it - a letter I have been planning to write her since I arrived here in January, a letter that has seen the bottom of many of my 'to-do' lists, but a letter that I never made the time to write - and now, it's too late.
In that moment of doubt, I did what most 25 year old males would do...
I called my Mom.
What my Mom told me really put things back into perspective, and in a way, having tea with all of you had a lot to do with it. You see, I had written home to the local newspaper not too long ago - if you follow my adventures, you may have already read about this. Julie MacLellan - the arts editor for the Burnaby Now was so taken by the idea, that she decided to share my story with her readers. Without realizing she was doing so, she also shared my story with my own Grandmother. And during her last days in the hospital, Baba held the article in her hand, looked at the picture of me smiling awkwardly, and told my Mom how proud she was of me, and the things I was trying to achieve...
So, Anne Frances Dion - with every sip of the 89 cups of tea I have left to drink, I will think of you and do my best to make you proud.
The good news is that you don't really have to do much to make a grandmother proud! Thus you can rest assure that whatever you do she will always be happy, wherever she is.
ReplyDeleteI know your aunt, Greg, and she told me about your project, I think its fabulous, and so does she! She and I shared daily on what was happening with your Buba while she was in the hospital, and three weeks after you lost her I lost my dad. I learned one thing, and this is it~ never worry about what you should have done. You could never have done all those things, life gets in the way. Your Buba loved you, she chrished the time she did have with you. She was proud of you, and those are the things you need to hold onto. Your family loves you and can't wait till you come home again! And that is what matters.
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