photography by revival art studio  www.rastudio.ca

a tribute to my mom.....

This week my dad turned 80 and I wrote a bit about him.  But now I also want to write a bit about my mom and what I am so grateful for in my mother and how these elements have influenced my life and this Love Shines CD.

As a child one of my best memories of my mom is following her through the woods of Harrison Hot Springs.  She would go many Saturdays into the woods to collect ferns, moss, pussywillows and wildflowers in a huge basket she would carry with her while my brother Randy and I trailed behind.  At home she would turn these wild elements into enormous displays of nature (and works of art) that would greet people at church the following morning.  As my brother and I would follow mom in the woods I remember sometimes being afraid of wild animals.  There were stories of bears and cougars around Harrison and I was terrified of meeting my end along a lonely forest trail.  But my mother seemed to have no concerns such as these - she not only walked in the woods, she marched in them as if she owned them.  My mother loves the  outdoors and has never been one to show much fear.  If she wants to go somewhere, let nothing stand in her way....even a bear.   Mom has also spoken lovingly of her childhood in the prairies and walking out in the open spaces by herself.   I don't think she was afraid then either -  she loved and still does being outside in nature - and celebrating the beauty that she finds.  She has built enormous gardens, made special places for birds to come, and makes an effort to go walking outdoors as many days of the year as her health and the weather allow.

I think mom's love of the outdoors got into my skin and down into my bones.  Breathing that wondrous fresh air every day, looking at the amazing mountains around me in the Fraser Valley, and spending regular times walking in the woods has become like my daily cup of coffee....how could I survive without it?  ( I definitely CANNoT survive without my morning coffee!)
Mom - thanks for your enthusiasm for the beauty that surrounds us and having the eyes to see it and appreciate it and for taking me into it.
There are many more things I can write about my mom - but that is for another day and another blog :-)