Heroes, Soul Mates and Moments!
by Viesta Morrison

I don’t know where I am going to start this, or what the body of what I have to say will be, or the outcome. I don’t, I can’t make anyone other than myself think, really THINK!  

Over the last year I have changed, I am not sure what defining event took place that helped me to change, but there is a difference nonetheless. I know in part, some of the change came with the death of my 17 year old neighbour Taylor, he passed away last Spring, it stunned me.  But then again, it is hard to watch a child grow up before you, change from a boy to a young man, then see the horrid things life can bring that same child’s way, then he is gone.  His life ended, as with any young person, all too soon, all too sudden and without so much as a moment to say good bye, or ask where he was going or what he was thinking. All I know is Taylor is gone, I am left with the friendship of his parents Kim and Mike (who by the way are wonderful people) and I am left with that one more reminder, none of us get, I mean  really come to terms with, Life is fragile and it happens in moments.... and then what.

So over the last year, I made, no, I mean, I really pulled my head out to make myself sits standards that I use to abuse with such ease.  I started to think with girth on being positive. Taking those old adages and applying them to my own being. You know the ones I speak of? The ones that apply to us but we leave them like common words by the wayside. Sayings like, “No matter how bad I have it, I know there is always someone out there that has it just that much worse” Damn is that every true, no matter who we are or what phase of life we are in, there is always room for positive change. I like that,  my husband Mike uses that phrase a lot these days, “Phases”, we all seem to go through so many, so many stages, and with

each we are a different person at every turn. There is a lot of wisdom in that husband of mine, more then he ever gives himself credit for. So, therein brings me to my subject, heroes, soul mates, and star crossed lovers.

Who are they in our life? Are we allowed to proclaim more than one in a lifetime? Or is there just that one person who stands out in our lifetime that means everything to our one small equated life? That’s what the last year has done for me, since Taylor’s passing, since I found myself feeling sorry for me and me alone. Sorry for what you might ask? Does it matter? It could be my RA or the pain of missing my children so much or so often, or my missing Mike when he has to be away, but those are excuses in reality. We feel sorry for our self at any given time for we do feel justified, due to a sense of entitlement. But it is when we have taken that sense of being in a state  of pity or piety for far too long that we need to examine what it is that is making us feel *sorry* for our self and look to the heroes  in life.

I don’t have just one hero, or one star crossed lover or even just one soul mate. I know in my heart, that I have many many  many .....  I take these brain breaks every once in a while to think about all the people who come into my life everyday life and over the years.

I find Heroes in my moments, like when when my sister sends me that one small present at Christmas with the card that reads, I love you baby sister and think of you often. My sister otherwise, never acknowledges her siblings any other time of the year, but it is that one moment when I get that card, read those words, that Patricia becomes my hero for that moment. Are you with me so far people? Yes, I have many orgasmic moments! I get a surge when I see a Dave standing in front of a stove making breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, for family members he hardly knows but has welcomed into his home for a summer vacation. Or I see how that same Dave was just working on top of a roof, replacing shingles with his step son, Wade and brother in law Roger, for in laws that he never has to tell over and over again how much he loves them, he shows it in volumes by his standards in life and the amazing everyday feats that heroes like himself, Roger the brother in law and Wade the nephew do  all the time for family without questioning why they are doing it, they just do. Or you hear  Wade say, “Oh people can move out west if that is what they want, to get jobs, but I don’t care cause I would rather be a little

poor than missing my family all the time” These men, these people become my heroes in these little earthquakes of moments in my life. I can feel like Scarlet in Gone With the Wind, when I hear a deep voiced Bruce say, “Come on in, my house is your house. If you need to make a phone call there is the phone, there is food in the fridge, make yourself comfortable in the back bed room and relax” Or I hear the same Bruce say “ Lin and I are going to the Dominican” he just loves it down there and adores getting away with Lin. Oh, Oh these little moments. 

They are what create days in a maze of me thinking, remembering.  Star crossed lovers; they come in so many forms and meanings. I see  Debbie move like a tornado through a house that belongs to her parents, she is all fussy and twirperpated about making things better for them, more comfortable, just easier for them as they get older. I look at Debbie and sense what she must see between her parents, all the years, all the children, all the ups, the downs, the love. I see Debbie ask her Mom with concern, are you okay Mom, be it Shirley’s leg that may be bothering her or Deb just checking in with her Mom’s emotions.

You come home for a holiday, to see decorations placed with such loving hands, small lights twinkling by a window sill, all prepared for your coming, your visit for a Christmas, moments that make me shine forever in my heart. You hear the eager voice of a child in Debbie when she speaks with pride of her son Wade, her grandchildren, her planned trips with them, when she gets them all to herself. Or even the look on  Debbie’s face when stands up, to ask her Dave where is he going, and when will he come back.

The answer is not half as important as the concern with love in her voice when she is asking. You don’t have to hear a lot of “I love you” between two people to really feel it, it just is, existing there like a peaceful stream, always flowing, wet with desire and sparking, sunny, Mmmmmmmmmm Star crossed moments, there are so many of them, yet we never take the time to say “Thanks” for what they do, but they do need to know they are so appreciated, so admired, heroic in my eyes.

 Or what can I tell you about my hours, minutes, feeling in touch with my soul, her soul, of a  Lin, who opens her doors to you, invites you in for a stay, sitting about her table, just chatting away, in her eyes there is such wisdom, such a mighty heart for all the world, the woman does not have a crass bone in her body when it comes to other humans, or human rights, or how people should be treated with equality.

She makes you feel the soul mate within, the kindred spirit. Lin who has a very wise soul, who thinks a great deal about the world and how it is has come to be in the shape it is in. Lin, whose laughter and humor could carry you away over Nova Scotia’s mountain tops. Think I am exasperating my feelings or words?

  Spend an afternoon with Lin, feel what I have felt, see the love that comes from this woman, for her family, her parents, her Michele, her days. Lin can shine on you with a smile, letting you in for a moment, on how much she appreciates life. Lin can be ecstatic with a little trip to a second hand store, but it is in the adventure she took to get there and the booty she shows you with such pride that she purchased. Lin is ease, she is the inhalation of a warm breath, she is comfort, the concept of an afternoon on a porch swing with a glass of wisdom and a counterpart for any conversation that one might enter into.

Lin, who makes you think after you have conversed with her, brings new moments and thoughts to my being. Lin who speaks of generations of her family, her children, her grands. She has a kind word for every person she talks about, a reason, a bit of humour. She is special; a one of a kind lady, Lin is always bright, like summer days.

There is the Wendy Lady, who I have come to know over the last few months, who I celebrated a holiday with, a sleigh ride, dinners out, conversations over the phone, we both run into a gush of words to share thoughts, blessings, new beginnings, we often say, “How come we never gave each other the chance to know each other before”, then laugh. She is a brave hero in my eyes, she moved out here to start a new life with her husband, for work, for the future, for a new stage in life... and she is love, she speaks of her own kids with honesty, pride and hopes for their life, as it begins...

Wendy is strong while taking on change everyday, making everyday something new, for herself, for those around. Wendy is a Sunday Morning, at home, baked goods scenting the air and an earnest invitation with love attached.

There is my Michael, who came into my life when I least expected happiness to search me out. He is that morning sunrise over the ocean, and the evening sunset over my mountains. He is my life support when I think I am at the end of my ropes and that urge when I need a hand up over the cliff that I fell off of. Michael is my worry lines when I am not sure of what life is bringing me and my smile when it all comes together.

He is my every moment of my life, soul mate, my true better half! He is that orgasmic notion I had as a young girl and thrive with deep inside when I see him first thing at the start of my day. Michael is me, finishing my sentences, laughter from deep inside, he is the echo in my soul and the footsteps of where his Father Joe ends and Michael continues to walk.....

My children each know what they mean to me, I have made sure of that, I remind them and thank them everyday for being my heros, my best  friends, my ups and downs. Tiphani is my care bear, Sarha my shadow, Colleen my very best friend in life, my son William becoming the man I would hope every man could aspire to be.

I am blessed with Life, Living, Love, Hope, Soul Mates and Everyday Heroes!!!!