that's mrs. mediocrity to you

Today I am over at Inspiration Studio,

making friends with my empty.

Won’t you join me?

that being an artist

doesn’t make you special, or extraordinary, or different.

it makes you human.

::

Bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to…
(lines from an R.E.M. song)

This is a story about my mom. My mom and my dad, really, two people who are bigger, in all the best possible of ways. The lengths that they will go to astound me. They are givers, my parents.

Recently, a friend of my mom’s died after a long battle with cancer. She was young, too young to go, only in her late 50s, but she went all the same. To tell the truth, I don’t really know all that much about this friend, E., I know that she and my mom used to work together, and after they went their separate ways career-wise, they stayed in touch and would occasionally go to the movies or have a girls night out.

Last week my mom told me that this friend was nearing the end, that it was just a matter of time. And she told me that she was going to go to the hospital and sit with her. And then the next time I talked to her, the next day, or two days later, she told my that E. had passed on, while my mom was there, at the hospital.

But she didn’t tell me this part of the story until last night, another day in which she gave up eight hours of her time to help me and my sister with a jewelry show.

Apparently, on the day before she died, my mom and E.’s husband were sitting in the room with her and my mom was wishing out loud that there was something she could do to ease E.’s discomfort and continued on to tease that maybe a glass of beer would help.

And let me just add here that my mom does not drink, I have only seen her have a drink once in my entire life.

E.’s husband mentioned that she didn’t like beer, but that she really loved strawberry dacquiri wine coolers.

That was all my mom needed to hear. She went out to the desk and asked the nurse if it would be okay to bring one in for E. The nurse checked into the matter and basically gave permission in an “I didn’t see anything” kind of way.

So my mom, who does not drive, went down to find my father who was waiting in the lobby with a book, and asked him to take her to the liquor store. The liquor store because my mom, who does not drink, didn’t realize that they sell wine coolers in the grocery store. And of course, the clerk at the liquor store set her straight, and then my father drove her to the grocery store, and mission accomplished, they returned to the hospital with a strawberry dacquiri wine cooler poured into a soft drink bottle. Just in case.

And so E. had her wine cooler, or a few sips of it, and it put a tiny smile on her face.

The next day, E. left this world. Afterward, her family passed that same bottle around the room and each one took a sip, as a toast to this woman they loved.

That’s my mom. And her bigger-than-anything heart.

She just kills me.

shadows dance around corners
to sing their own version of blues

morning frost leaves patterns on windows
unique as the day that will melt them

hope jumps through hoops in the garden
as a chickadee searches for seed

and i sit in this chair in my kitchen
watching life through a smile
and a curtain

::     ::     ::

::     ::

this post is part of one word wednesday over at jillsy girl
and one shot wednesday at one stop poetry

Because she loves blue flowers, I emailed this picture to a friend earlier this year, it was May I think, back when there was blue in my garden and not so much orange and rust and gold.

You know how sometimes in life you meet a person and you feel that instant connection, you become friends immediately, and it feels like you have been friends forever? Well, for me, Debi is one of those people. And truth be told, I’ve never actually met her in person, we met through our blogs.

And today, a whole bunch of us are celebrating Debi, whose blog, emma tree, is featured in this month’s issue of Artful Blogging.

And we are also celebrating celebration itself a little bit, because Debi reminded us a while back that we should all celebrate ourselves, and each other, just a little more often.

So here’s to you, Debi. To the way you write that takes my breath away, sometimes. To the way you love blue and aqua and lace skirts and graffiti and rain on sideview mirrors. To heart shapes and word shapes and signs and needs and tears for a cat that was loved.

And here’s to your friendship and your encouragement and your bravery. And to those aqua-colored Chuck Taylors.

I told you this already a while back, but now I’m going to say it here, right out loud. When I was thirteen and I pictured in my mind what I thought I would be like when I grew up, well, it was pretty darn close to you.

Congratulations, my friend, on Somerset Life and Artful Blogging and for making signs and for having needs and for making it through a tough year and for celebrating.

I am so very glad that you are you. I’m so very glad to have bumped into you. I’m so very glad for your friendship.

Here’s to you, Debi.

::    ::     ::

Go and visit Amy at Winged Paths to see the full guest list!

and p.s., I’m doing my own tiny dance of celebration because one of my pictures is in the same issue of Artful Blogging, and I am honored.