Give Thanks

 

Two weeks ago I was on a roll.  I was working on this card (my third Autumn spinner card) while my sister was keeping my mum company in Australia.  We knew mum didn't have long, they had refused her surgery the week before because they didn't think her heart could take it, and my sister was very anxious that night, so I was trying to keep her calm (she hadn't slept properly for days).  I showed her this card I was working on and she said it was very pretty (she loves purple and I had added that purple cornflower for her).   She said she was worried about the noises mum was making and I suggested she get a nurse to turn mum and then try and get a bit of sleep.

I kept working on the card - strange how doing something like this can bring you comfort, even if only temporarily.  I had added more flowers and foliage to this card so was looking for a sentiment that fitted and using which label since I could no longer stamp directly on the panel (forethought is not my middle name).  In the end, I went with this simple "Give Thanks" sentiment embossed with WOW! Mandarin powder on Kraft card stock.  I just finished it when my sister called me back with the news that mum had passed.

As I sat there looking at this card I had just finished, I realised that the sentiment perfectly summed up what I was feeling at that moment in time about my mother!  And so this card is going into the glass cabinet and whenever I look up at it, I will "Give Thanks" for her and "Give Thanks to her"!  I'd also like to give thanks to my sister who was with Mum till the end.  My brother had come up days before but had to isolate so couldn't give her a break.  She was exhausted!  

It's been a difficult summer.  I had hoped that, being vaccinated, I could travel to Australia during the summer months (their winter months) and spend some time with mum.  However the delta variant soon put paid to that idea!  Instead, the weekly cap of people allowed into Australia was halved and most of NSW went into lockdown.  Mum only had a handful of mourners present at her funeral but the service was streamed live for those that couldn't be there in person.  I'm very close to my brother and sister.  We talk or text most days, particularly this year as mum's health had declined!  We worked on the readings and discussed points for the eulogy and I wrote and prerecorded the eulogy and it was played as part of the service.  It was so painful not being able to be there with my family but I kept thinking of those poor souls who died alone in hospital and were buried quickly during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.  For me, it was particularly painful that I couldn't be there to sing for mum as I had for dad.  But in any case, due to current Covid restrictions, no singing was allowed.  

I wasn't going to blog about this card, but I was looking at challenges and trying to kick start my waning mojo, and happened upon some challenges that made me think someone was sending me a message.

Firstly The Day of the Month Club Challenge #31 is celebrating World Gratitude Day.

The Timeout Challenge #197 has this inspired by words prompt.   As I sit here surrounded by flowers which dear friends and family have sent me, I can definitely relate to this quote.  And the flowers I added to this card now hold a special meaning for me.

I'd also like to enter Inspired By Challenge IB188 has this lovely mix of leaves as inspiration;

Double D Challenges also has the prompt Leaves and this lovely inspiration board;

I'd also like to enter the Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge #412 - I was determined to use up all of a distressed sheet of Bristol card stock I created for some earlier autumn projects and these tiny leaf dies from Tim Holtz Fall Foliage were perfect for this.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment,  I’ll know you were here and can check out what you’ve been up to and we can get to know each other a little better!

Kate