Haven't been blogging lately ...

It has been a long winter and spring ... losing mom, then my brother, and having to deal with all that their deaths have entailed have left me exhausted ... trying to keep working while balancing my grief journey, supporting my kids and trying to just keep up has left me a couple of miles past exhausted ...

I've only just begun reading again after a six plus month hiatus ...

I wish I could offer some profound bit of wisdom, but right now I find myself moving through the day taking each step as it comes, and facing whatever the day might bring ... I'm tired ... I know it's not much of an excuse, but it's the main reason I haven't been blogging ... I've been thinking about life, the universe and everything, but when I finally get time to sit down at a keyboard, I end up playing a couple of facebook games, checking my emails, seeing what's new in the world, then I'm done ...

I want to blog ... but ...

In time it will come ... I've been reading the latest Reginald Bibby, the latest by Tim Huff, and some other material on the current state of the church ... I've been thinking about how to better utilize online resources for the work and ministry of the Church ... but mostly, I've been moving through my days one step at a time.

This past weekend we gathered in Lingelbach Cemetery to lay to rest Mom and Scott beside Dad ... Scott was cremated and his urn was placed in Mom's arms and together they were placed beside Dad ... it was a hard day emotionally, but it was a good way to say our good byes. The gathering of friends and family out at the Bush helped to celebrate the lives of both Mom and Scott in a wonderful and relaxed way ... I could picture Scott standing on the balcony of the shop, a bottle of Crystal in hand, smiling as everyone shared stories ... and Mom was sitting by the front door of the shop in the lawn chair she long ago claimed as "mine", claiming one last time the role of elder statesman for the Elliot clan, as they gathered with almost everyone there for the first time in 20 years ... if the First People of Bella Coola are to be believed (and there is no reason to doubt them), in the warm shadows ALL around lurked the spirits of my Grandparents, my uncles, and my, cousins who have gone ahead of us to the Spirit World.

As Uma once told me over tea - "they are only as far away as the next breath and as close as the wind on our cheeks."

They might be gone ... but they are not forgotten ...