Mom's celebration of life and covid

 Mom's celebration of life, there are so many things that I would like to say but feel like the words are just not going to come. It was a fury of work that lead up to this most perfect day for my mom, pity she was not here but celebrations of life are for the living. We started everything on Wednesday night with dad coming down and me packing all the things... followed up by Thursday's shopping trip and then replacing deck boards, putting up tents, coordinating portapotties, and just general prep. I should mention that my parents have the absolute best neighbors and friends who brought over garbage cans, planters, and really everything else we needed. There was a fury of food making on the Thursday with the family preparing things and we honestly over fooded the place... but that was what mom did, she made sure that we could feed a small army. Our family and good friends (Joyce and Doreen) provided so it felt like she had delivered on the food she would normally make... almost feeling like she was there with us in the kitchen... although it was a lot quieter with the lack of commentary. In fact, when we were doing the deck Uncle Paul said to my father, "how many times do you think Sherry would have given you shit by now?" "oh, at least 12 times". For context, we were only 15 minutes into the process. The day started off with a frenzy which, eased into the celebration where the video I spent hours making was on repeat for all to see, it was about hugs and games and smiles, tears, and having a good time. It was what mom wanted... and people came to pay their respects, but also to tell stories. The stories people told and wrote down were absolutely perfect. The end of the day came, and hundreds of hugs, games, drinks, and discussions were so healing. I get why people have celebrations of life. I get it now. As much as my mother didn't want a big to-do, this is a huge event in our lives and deserves to be marked by an occasion. She was a big deal to us. 

The next day I was so exhausted. More exhausted than I have been in a very long time. We tore down the tents, packed things up, and cleaned. It took everything I had to clean and get things done. I got back home and as I was resting a cough developed. My chest hurt. I tested and it took 3 seconds for the positive lines to emerge. FUCK. DAMNIT!!! I called my boss and texted her to let her know I tested positive... that put me off work for a week I was really looking forward to but in that time we lost time. It became a void of sleep, and whatever we could do to keep going with hooligans. We had some special and amazing people do porch drop-offs for us I feel I could never thank them enough for the love. The quality of people we have around us is beyond measure. They are the epitome of word quality. We spent time, we napped a lot, caught up on a lot of tv, and tried to do little tasks... although they felt like big tasks when it came down to it. We checked in with family members and friends who had gotten covid from the event, but honestly, the takeaway wasn't the covid. It was the community and people that showed up for us... to show us that we were supported and loved and that my mother was loved. 

So as much as I may bitch that I still am sick and that it sucks, I would do it again without thinking twice. We honoured her, we gave her exactly what she wanted and we worked as a family to do it. 

<3

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