Good Monday Morning to you! Weekend went way too fast - before I knew it I was sitting right back here at work kind of like a Twilight Zone episode. I am like so into the Sci-Fi Channel and Dr. Who, Dresden Files, Stargate, Jericho, Medium, Most Haunted, The Unexplained, Ghost Hunters. . . I know you get my drift -- once again I'm paddling upstream but I know it! When I'm off and out of this office, one of my passions (besides playing tennis and watching Thriller Chillers) is making greeting cards, scrapbooks, altered books, collages, and journals. One of my favorite books I made recently was for past national president June Hinckley last November.
When I found out in October that June had been diagnosed with cancer (Stage 4), I was very stunned as were many of you out there. Well, anyway, that weekend I went to a "crop" at my local Recollections store and forgot to take my photos I was working on to put in a scrapbook. Like hello - why was I going to the crop? Well, being in a quandary, I decided to make a small collaged book for June. I had a great time working on it and it ended up being very therapeutic for me. I sent it to her around Thanksgiving hoping that she and her family would enjoy the photos of when she was president of MENC, 1998-2000. She loved it and called me to let me know. It was a good day for her and we talked for a while.
I have worked on a one-to-one basis with fifteen National Presidents and have been privileged to know seven others who were presidents before I came to MENC. That's a lot of history. As you walk through this life you learn how precious our goodbyes are. The last time I saw June was in April 2006 at our Salt Lake City national convention -- who knew a few months later June would be fighting her courageous battle against the cancer that was ravishing her body. It (cancer) was never able to beat down her spirit! She fought a good fight and in the end joined the heavenly angels sent to take her home.
My brother is a professional musician and wrote a song entitled "God Knew Your Name." It is a beautiful song and has been performed at many functions across the country. His song begins, "Before the light of day, shined on your little face, God knew your name." It ends with this verse: "As you gracefully grew old you know you had been told, God knew your name. And one day when you died and your friends and family cried, God knew your name. And the angels carried your soul to me and I said 'Welcome home!' You were one of mine, I loved you for all time, I knew your name." You can see all the lyrics at www.godknewyourname.com
I sent June his CD along with the altered book I made celebrating her. I heard that they shared this book at the visitation at the funeral home when her friends came to say their last goodbyes. I feel honored that they chose to share this book with others. I was not able to go to the funeral since we had a National Executive Board meeting going on at the same time. We (NEB and staff) knew that June would understand why we were not there. I was fortunate enough to be able to say my goodbye earlier. I left a message on her cell phone a week or so before she died telling her she was in our hearts, our prayers, our thoughts and we loved her very much. One of the last pages in her book focused on a poem I really love. I used several figures of dancers and wrote out the poem: "God danced the day you were born. You are a gift to all...His gift of love..." Yes, June was a marvelous gift to us. Wow, what a spirit and love of life she had. Remember --Always say your goodbyes! Have a great week -- life is wonderful and such a fun ride. May we live it with zest and listen to the whispers of our heart!
When I found out in October that June had been diagnosed with cancer (Stage 4), I was very stunned as were many of you out there. Well, anyway, that weekend I went to a "crop" at my local Recollections store and forgot to take my photos I was working on to put in a scrapbook. Like hello - why was I going to the crop? Well, being in a quandary, I decided to make a small collaged book for June. I had a great time working on it and it ended up being very therapeutic for me. I sent it to her around Thanksgiving hoping that she and her family would enjoy the photos of when she was president of MENC, 1998-2000. She loved it and called me to let me know. It was a good day for her and we talked for a while.
I have worked on a one-to-one basis with fifteen National Presidents and have been privileged to know seven others who were presidents before I came to MENC. That's a lot of history. As you walk through this life you learn how precious our goodbyes are. The last time I saw June was in April 2006 at our Salt Lake City national convention -- who knew a few months later June would be fighting her courageous battle against the cancer that was ravishing her body. It (cancer) was never able to beat down her spirit! She fought a good fight and in the end joined the heavenly angels sent to take her home.
My brother is a professional musician and wrote a song entitled "God Knew Your Name." It is a beautiful song and has been performed at many functions across the country. His song begins, "Before the light of day, shined on your little face, God knew your name." It ends with this verse: "As you gracefully grew old you know you had been told, God knew your name. And one day when you died and your friends and family cried, God knew your name. And the angels carried your soul to me and I said 'Welcome home!' You were one of mine, I loved you for all time, I knew your name." You can see all the lyrics at www.godknewyourname.com
I sent June his CD along with the altered book I made celebrating her. I heard that they shared this book at the visitation at the funeral home when her friends came to say their last goodbyes. I feel honored that they chose to share this book with others. I was not able to go to the funeral since we had a National Executive Board meeting going on at the same time. We (NEB and staff) knew that June would understand why we were not there. I was fortunate enough to be able to say my goodbye earlier. I left a message on her cell phone a week or so before she died telling her she was in our hearts, our prayers, our thoughts and we loved her very much. One of the last pages in her book focused on a poem I really love. I used several figures of dancers and wrote out the poem: "God danced the day you were born. You are a gift to all...His gift of love..." Yes, June was a marvelous gift to us. Wow, what a spirit and love of life she had. Remember --Always say your goodbyes! Have a great week -- life is wonderful and such a fun ride. May we live it with zest and listen to the whispers of our heart!
