Dear readers,
Where do I start... I am
humbled by your kindness - the comments here and on my Facebook and Instagram accounts, and the many personal emails I have received. Thank you so much - I cannot respond individually, it would mean me crying for hours on end :) but please know I have read every single word (many more than once).
For those of you who have also lost a parent or are in the sad phase of caring for an unwell parent, my heart is with you. It's something we all have to go through whether we never knew a parent or have lost them. Some of us are lucky - I feel so - because we have nice parents who love and care for us and got to a *reasonable* age. I know I have been extremely lucky because my parents are wonderful. I had a stable childhood with lots of love. Money was always okay, or if it ever wasn't temporarily we never knew about it. My siblings and I received encouragement to be ourselves, be independent and make our own fun.
For today's blog post, I want to share something I journalled. I have had a lot of sadness, as you would imagine, but it doesn't feel good to sit around crying, saying 'W h y?' Instead I decided to think of all the ways I could honour my dad, because I know he'd be cheering me to go on living my life in a happy way, and to make it even more amazing than it already is. That's what I would want for my loved ones if I was in heaven.
So, dear Pa, here is how I plan to honour your memory. From your influence, I will:
- Live my life my way
- Do what I'm happy doing and find a way to stop doing things I don't like
- Make things, have projects, use my creative mind
- Be organised with my records and
money, simplify, keep everything in order
- Travel to places I want to go to
- Solve problems: consider the
options, work things out, fix things
- Be proactive with my health, eat nutritious food, try new things
- Dress in a way that suits my
dream life (dad wore jeans and a white shirt with cowboy boots every day)
- Keep on loving denim :)
- Have simple pleasures and daily routines
- Change things up if I feel called to,
even big things
- Live the way others dream about
but never do
- Be kind, gentle, love animals
- Be generous to others and also
honour my own needs for time alone, how I spend my money, etc
- Design my life around my own unique desires
If you would like your own piece of my amazing Pa, I invite you to borrow his list of wisdom. You can wear whatever makes you happy though, it doesn't have to be denim :)
In the spirit of creativity, being organised and completing projects, I am excited to say that my book is complete, and I am just finalising the cover. It will be ready to order next week, that's the plan. Please don't ask about a pre-order, hehe, it's just too much for me to get my head around. I'm sure it's very simple to do... but let's keep things simple and I'll just let you know the second it's out, okay?
I can't wait for you to see it. I am doing a new-style cover and will also be updating my other covers over the next few months. Exciting times. I wish you a wonderful weekend and I will see you next week with my new book. Thank you all for you patience, and also for the many 'gently nagging' emails that have kept me going! I appreciate them - and you all - so much.
Many hugs to you, from me, Nina and Jessica cats, and Daphne and Chloe dogs. My sister renamed the dogs Claphne, which I think is just great. Sort of like Brangelina, but my dogs are on better terms with each other.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx Fiona
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