Life etc.

Visiting My Sister

Hello lovelies! I’ve been back from Winnipeg for a week now, but I feel like I’ve hardly had a moment to myself since I touched down in Vancouver. Though the Boggle app on my Information Phone begs to differ, we both agree that I’ve been a busy bee packaging up orders from my Etsy shop, creating new lockets for a couple of local retail stores & all the general busyness that piles up after taking a week off. Phew!

I grew up in Winnipeg, so it was great to visit my old stomping grounds. I got to catch up with one of my oldest friends while I was there & it was really lovely to spend time with her & her daughter, who is the spitting image of her mom, I might add. At 6 years old, she’s also the exact same age that *we* were when we first became friends. It was quite surreal to see the same bedroom furniture & realize that yes, we were that little once upon a time.

I hadn’t been back to the ‘Peg in probably 5 years, so it was fun to drive past an old restaurant (it’s still there!) or shop (that’s where my mom & I took pottery classes!) & get little bursts of nostalgia. I didn’t travel too far down memory lane though – the main reason for my visit was to see my sister, who lives on the complete opposite end of the city as to where we grew up. (She swears this was not intentional.)

My beautiful sister is one of the strongest people I know. She’s the type of person you can always count on, no matter what. Incredibly hard-working, super smart, compassionate, honest, principled to the point of, dare I say it, stubbornness – she’s awesome. She was & continues to be a wonderful role model for me. She’s also battling breast cancer.

September marked her final chemotherapy treatment, so my visit was a sort of celebratory one, though a mellow celebration to be sure. Apparently chemo has a cumulative effect, which means that while the first few treatments didn’t seem too awful, the last 2 really put her body through the wringer. She was feeling pretty exhausted, so we did a lot of TV watching, visiting & I introduced her to Boggle, on which she was promptly hooked. *heehee*

Since she’s my sister, she doesn’t accept help easily. Or ask for help. Ever. Living so far away, I haven’t really known what I should do to help, so it felt good to be there even if it just meant doing the dishes or picking up groceries.

I think that’s the thing with people fighting cancer – they probably don’t want more cancer “stuff” foisted upon them. (Side rant: Seriously, is there anything left to slap that pink ribbon on? There’s even an official breast cancer awareness vibrator available. Is that really necessary? I’ll let you do your own Googling & decide for yourself.)

My sister has a whole pile of people phoning to check on her & I imagine having the same conversation over & over again is pretty tiring. What she seems to appreciate most is the people who send her funny little things in the mail, stuff that makes her smile. Silly magnets, erasers, maybe a good movie or two – who wouldn’t like getting fun surprises in the mail? It never occurred to me to send her stuff like that. Such a great idea!

Everyone is different, of course, but if there’s anybody in your life going through a tough time, maybe they’d appreciate a laugh instead of a typical “get well soon” card. If you have any other suggestions, I’d love to hear them too.

1 thought on “Visiting My Sister”

  1. Damn – now I have to get the Boggle app for my phone!

    Great writing Kris – I echo your sentiments on the pink ribbon overdose… And all the best of luck to your sister with her battle and her journey.

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