The Sun has Set

I have a whole other family and life, so to speak, up in Canada.  A good chunk of my summers were spent up North as well as every other Christmas while I was growing up.  My mom is still a Canadian citizen.  It's funny that I also married a man whose mother is still a Canadian citizen too.  For all intents and purposes, I should have dual citizenship as I feel half Canadian. (maybe one of these days I'll look into that). In addition to my relatives, I have many others whom I consider family by choice.  I can thank my grandparents for that as they introduced some amazing people into my life during the time I spent with them.  Any time spent in Canada always included visits to see the Parchments, the MacMillans and several other families who lived up by the cottage where I stayed with my grandma and grandpa in the summers.  Even once my grandparents had passed, whenever I traveled up North, I still made time for a quick visit with my Aunties and Uncles, as I referred to them.

Some of my favorite memories from those great summers are of the Canada Day champagne brunches my grandparents would host at their cottage every year.  There would be 50 people or more, all bringing food, drinking champagne and having fun.  (Only one summer did I sneak some champagne - and it was a long time before I ever did that again!)  The Parchments were some of my grandparent's best friends.  Uncle Trevor and Auntie Alison was how I referred to them (and still do).  Uncle Trevor always seemed to be the main chef in the kitchen, whipping up scrambled eggs with cheese, frying bacon and making all kinds of other yummy foods for the brunch.  Auntie Alison was right there by his side helping both him and my grandma. I can still hear Auntie Alison and my grandma laughing and telling jokes and having a fabulous time. We would also spent New Years Eves with the Parchments, all sitting around the dining room table playing Scattergories while my dad argued with whomever over the definition of a light vs. a lamp. Oh my.  As I got older, the kids would have their own New Years Eve party downstairs in the basement and the grown ups had their fun upstairs.  Oh I have just some fantastic memories!

My heart is heavy and sad tonight as I learned that Auntie Alison passed away yesterday after a long, hard battle with multiple illnesses.  While the heydays of my time in Canada have long passed, my memories are so clear and those snapshots in my mind bring me such happiness. Knowing that another one of the key members of those memories is now gone, makes those days seem just that much farther away. I'm thankful to have known Auntie Allison.  While I'm happy that she is no longer in pain, that doesn't make her loss any easier to accept. I have no doubts that she and my grandma met up right away, upon her arrival in Heaven, to do some much needed catching up and lots of laughing.

This image is one from two summers ago but seems appropriate. It was taken on Four Mile Lake, where so many of those summers were spent and so many of those memories were created.  You will be missed Auntie Alison.  Sending love, light and peace to all of those still here on Earth, missing you so very, very much.