Flight of the Bumble Bee

I haven't written a word in almost a year!

I have so much to write about, but how exactly does one write about...."this"?!  My brain has been in a fog and each time I would say to myself, "I have to write about this or write about that", I just couldn't wrap my mind around it.  I have started and stopped this blog article numerous times.  I guess all I can do is start from the beginning.....

I stepped off the merry-go-round of "regular" life in April 2016 and traveled the world for six months.  I have less money in my retirement fund.  But I have absolutely no regrets and I am looking forward to my next adventure whenever and wherever it may be.

I had returned home to Montreal, Canada on October 15, 2016 and spent the following month working on two business ventures with which I eventually hope to create a location independent source of revenue, so that I can be free to live in and travel to other parts of the world whenever I wish.

It was a Saturday night and I had finished a ten-hour day doing a photo shoot for one of my business ventures and in my exhaustion, I had fallen asleep on the sofa while watching a movie.  I woke up at 1 am and casually checked my phone before taking myself off to bed and noticed my Mother had sent me a message.

I thought it was a joke

As I read the message a 1st, a 2nd, and finally a 3rd time, I realized that it was not a joke and that my Mother had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and was scheduled for brain surgery the next day!  I called my Father to find out what the heck was going on!

By 2 am I had a plane ticket.  By 5 am I was in a taxi on the way to the airport.  Except for two hectic weeks back in Montreal to find a renter for my condo, pack up my personal belongings and, of course, load up on "friend-mones",  I have been in British Columbia with my family. 

Since then my Mother has had one surgery, three weeks of radiation, six months of chemotherapy, numerous CT Scans, MRI's, blood tests, doctors appointments, one seizure, and an ambulance ride to the hospital.

The tumor is cancerous and incurable and all treatment is only to help prolong life with the best quality possible.

....it isn't likely that I'll be doing much 'buzzing' in the spring.....

There have been side-effects from medication, extreme fatigue, tears, and many ups and downs and my Mom has handled it all with grace and humor.  She wrote in a message last December, "So it isn't likely that I'll be doing much 'buzzing' in the spring, but I'll still be able to enjoy watching the bees buzz! ....and that's a good thing too!"

Mom chose the bumblebee as her personal "mascot" and now the house is filled with little bumblebee ornaments given by family and friends. 

Fortunately treatment has been very effective and the tumor has shrunk by about 50% and Mom only needs to have an MRI everything three months to check on the tumor.  For now things are stable and Mom seems to have more energy and is spending time doing the things she enjoys and we are all trying to live as normally as possible.

When you know that time is limited, you become much more appreciative of the little things; spending time together doing the ordinary things like groceries; giving a hug out of the blue; saying, "I love you" just because.....

You become much more appreciative of the little things

I am so grateful that my life circumstances allowed me to make the move to British Columbia to be with my family.  I have a sense of adventure and I am not afraid of change, but I won't lie; it has been a huge adjustment!  To move from a big bustling city to a small town in the mountains.  To leave my cute little condo to a room in the basement of my parents large and beautiful home.  To leave my longtime friends and start making new ones.  To rethink the plans for my businesses and my future.

But really all of that is so unimportant in the grander scheme of things.  Family is important!  Friends are important!  Love and kindness are important!

So we prepare and get affairs in order and then live each day as it comes, knowing that some time in the future life will change and we are going to have to change with it whether we want to or not.

Until then we enjoy watching the bees buzz!