November 4, 2024Monday, November 4, 2024

Just a thought… There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, and no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow. [Orison Swett Marden]

Whew. One more day until the world finds out what’s happening south of our borders. Maybe you’re reading this from the US; I hope things go smoothly and we’re done with the drama-la for a while. Of course, the best way to predict the future is to look at the past, so if Kamala does indeed prevail, it’s quite likely that the loser will reject the voters’ voices and drag out the answers we’re all awaiting. So on we go.

Lisa Brandt and I, who did a Facebook Live on Friday that is an hour of fun, laughs and even a bit of deeper discussion, will do a fresh 24-hour turnaround for this Thursday’s Episode 99. We hope you’ll join us. In the meantime, I’ll share a link from our third FB Live event at the end of today’s blog!

I write today’s journal with a few specific people in mind. Their names are Grace, Carol and Colleen, and I’m sure so many more people here today share their situation in missing their spouse terribly. But perhaps they, too, remember when a respite from their Significant Other was a welcome thing. No doubt there will come a day when I, too, long for the 24/7 togetherness. But for now, a few thoughts on a welcome week of separation.

Rob and I are joined at the hip. Except for when he plays hockey, every endeavour, whether work (except for my writing and for recording and editing Drift and Gracefully & Frankly) or recreational, is shared.

So when we’re apart, I take the time to appreciate it. Do I miss him? Of course! Especially when something important that he would usually handle falls through the cracks. One such major issue just about had me missing a flight on Saturday – a story I’ll share Thursday with Lisa and you on Episode 99. But Lisa helped me in immeasurable ways as I showed up to shine emceeing the Excellence Canada awards at the Delta Hotel Convention Centre in Toronto a week ago today.

She even took a picture of me on the ballroom’s big screen!

We had a chance to meet two of our heroes: Kim Renton and Kathy Keefe, the co-founders and superwomen behind enVyPillow. After years of their sponsoring Drift and then G&F, Lisa and I finally got to meet them and they were as delightful in person as we knew they would be. They were there to be interviewed as part of the Entrepreneur Excellence portion of the day.

Spending four days at Lisa and Derek’s home in lovely Port Stanley, a tad sleepier than it is during its summer touristy months, was wonderful. From dining out to staying in, buying my favourite Liverpool jeans at a local ladies’ wear store in town and getting a gentle facial, to just spending hours talking (and later planning and doing that Facebook Live), it was so soul-quenching that neither of us could believe how slowly our time together went. Isn’t it always that way with best friends?

Rob and I would check in via text, while – when not playing hockey four times last week – he spent hours each day settling in to the condo, setting up shelves, rearranging and even purging all but one small box of Christmas mementoes (more on that in a future blog). He and I FaceTimed while we watched the fifth and then final innings of the Dodgers’ World Series winning game, and would collaborate on our favourite word game until we triumphed. That’s how we stayed connected. Every call, every text ended with more “I Love You’s” than we usually say in a day. Absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder, and that’s why time apart – we think – is essential in keeping the spark lit after 38 years this month (our “first date” anniversary).

But it was the homecoming that was sweetest. Not the dreaded job of unpacking the suitcase, which Porter thankfully sent along with me (they have yet to let me down!), but the welcome at Victoria’s small and sweet airport.

Rob met me with lovely flowers and two very happy little dogs.

And I couldn’t resist a chance to let them show their affection. I mean, airport arrivals are full of happy reunions, but how many lickings do you get to experience?

May we feel this joy all week. Don’t miss this Thursday’s Episode 99 of G&F and here’s that live hour from last Friday. I hope you enjoy watching as much as we did doing it for you.

In the meantime, Keep Kamala and Carry On-a-La.