Monday, December 31, 2012

{the thin line}

Sun shining in the studio window

Yesterday started just like any other ordinary day of holidays.  

I woke up around 9ish and pottered around in my PJ's.  I spent time in the studio writing.  I watched my neighbour get his Harley out of the backyard and wondered where he was off to.

Around 10ish I sprayed the oven with cleaning stuff, did some gardening, finished the house clean out I've been doing over the holidays.

Around 12.30ish Ms L and I sat in the backyard and had a ham and tomato sandwich.  Ms L cleaned the BBQ and I made new year plans with friends.

Around 2ish my neighbour came over and we went for a walk.  She said her partner had gone to Malmsbury on the bike and had taken one of their sons.  She said he was supposed to call her when he got there and she hadn't heard from him and she was worried.  I told her it would be fine.  We walked and then had coffee and cake.  She sent him a text saying "Are you safe".  I teased her about her worrying.

Around 6ish I went to the shops for a few supplies and as I got out of the car back at home I happened to notice the air ambulance fly over.  I also got a text from my neighbour saying she'd had no contact from her partner all day and was starting to worry.

Around 6.30ish I texted her back and reassured her there was nothing to worry about.

At 7.28pm she texted me to tell me that her partner and son were both in hospital after coming off the bike rounding a corner.  Her partner was brought by air ambulance to hospital and her son by land ambulance.  Her son has a facial injury and needs surgery.  He partner has a broken ankle and broken vertebrae in two places.  He will have a number of surgeries and a long recovery.  But they are both OK.  And they are both alive.

It seemed like any other day, but it wasn't.  That thin line between ordinary and extreme was stretched so thin it almost broke.

I lay in bed last night and I thought about Cam.  I thought about lots of things, but I kept coming back to thinking about Cam and her wait for a new future.  And how the very thing she is waiting on is for that thin line to snap, and how very strange that must be.

Before I met Cam I never really thought about organ donation.  Now I think about it often.  Not just in terms of my own wishes, but the whole idea.  How important it is to have the conversation and make your wishes known. How none of us know if and when any old ordinary day might become something other. 

Talk to your people. Have the conversation. Make your wishes known.

I am so very glad that my neighbours aren't having to work through that conversation today.  So very grateful.

Happy New Year my friends.  Be safe! 
{and I will tell you about my gorgeous swap sometime soon}

11 comments:

  1. Oh Cathy... my thoughts are with Cam, her partner and son... I read your post... a lump in my throat... sensing what was coming next... we've been making our wishes known lately in our family... not only about organ donation... but things like preferences with cremation... burial... even songs... not morbid... just the want to ensure that we know what loved ones want... life is short... and stories like this one make us want to appreciate every moment even more... Happy New Year...

    Jenny ♥

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    1. Sorry to get muddled there Cathy... thoughts are with your neighbour, partner and son... and Cam xx

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  2. Thank you for this reminder that Life is short and can be over in a flash. Thank you for bringing up organ donation and the idea to have our final wishes known to loved ones so they won't be lost about what to do. These conversations seem hard to bring up but they shouldn't be...

    Happy New Year to you and Ms. L and may 2013 bring you both abundant possibilities!

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  3. very poignant post. there does exist a very thin line, and it snaps so easily.
    wishing you and ms l a safe and happy new year!
    xo

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  4. lovely post, thanks for the reminder of just how fragile life, health, happiness is. Happy New Year to you and yours.

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  5. It is such a sadness that what it means for Cam to be healthy requires such a loss. I hope everyone talks about those things, whatever their wishes are. I'll be thinking of your neighbours family and hoping for speedy recovery.

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  6. Beautifully written post that is so important. I am a donor. If ever there is a time that my peeps forget this in grief, let it be known here in writing! I want every little piece to be donated if it can help someone else.

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  7. Oh my goodness. I am SO glad that they're both ok. That must have been so scary. I can't even imagine how hard it must be for families who haven't had the discussion with their loved ones, just in case.
    Thanks for such a beautiful post. x

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  8. Wow the New Year really does start differently for so many...we always walk that fragile thin line we just let ourselves forget about it most of the time.
    Happy New Year to you. xxx

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  9. This is a beautiful post Cathy.
    It is scary how fine that line is some days.
    Very pleased for your neighbour but also acutely aware that 2013 has started with big challenges ahead for them.
    Keep enjoying the holidays and stay cool today.
    Dee x

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