I am humbled by the number of people who have said that they have found inspiration from this blog. I am happy to hear that many of you have been making appointments to have mammograms and check-ups with your doctors. As Martha Stewart would say, “It’s a good thing”.
One of my main sources of inspiration has been my brother-in-law, Jamie Groves, who passed away from cancer in July 1995. Jamie was wise beyond his 19 years. What I admired most about Jamie was his incredible ability to always make people feel comfortable around him during his fight with cancer. I only hope that I can do the same. Jamie always greeted you with a smile that automatically put you at ease when you felt like you didn’t know what to say or do. During his stay at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Jamie was notorious for pulling practical jokes. One time he took a spoon and held it up under his blankets while he was lying in bed, and when he heard the nurses coming he would pretend to be asleep. The nurses were surprised to see the ‘tent’ in the middle of the bed. He also mooned his mom out the hospital window when she was coming to see him one day. There was never a dull moment and it was great. I can’t say that I’ll be mooning anyone, but I do believe that laughter can be one of the best medicines. Thanks Jamie.
Jamie’s hockey number was 15 and that number has been very special to the Groves over the years. It has been sewn on to the staff uniforms at Muskoka Woods (a camp that Jamie worked at) for the past 10 years and Steve’s mom has incorporated the number 15 into her signature on all her paintings. When Steve and I were buying this lot for our house last year, we knew the lot as Lot 71. It wasn’t until we signed the final papers that we learned that our house number would be 15. We knew we had picked the right place.
The Groves are notorious hockey fans as well as collectors, so I thought I would pass this on to all the Groves out there and others that may be interested. This weekend, many NHL players will be using pink hockey sticks to honour hockey moms and raise money for breast cancer research. The sticks will be used during warmups and games and will then be auctioned off after the weekend on frameworth.com.
Go Pink Go!
me
2 comments:
Hey Kim,
I'll never forget the little philipino nurse's response that morning as I was hiding under my sheets in the cot beside him. She rounded the corner and all I heard in broken english was, "Oh my word.....". We held on for about 2 seconds and then erupted in laughter, she just shook her head and laughed.
KEEP SMILING,
Mark
p.s.It was a big soup spoon......
Hi Kim,
Being a neighbour of the Groves Family for many years, I have witnessed the antics of the "Groves Boys" and know you don't have to go far for the best medicine there is - laughter.
I remember the scared, young paper boy who was being followed down our street by a recycling box. When he turned right, the blue box turned right. When he stopped, the box stopped. It wasn't until he finished the deliveries on our street when the back door of the Groves van popped open and out jumped Mark and Jamie laughing hysterically and running over to retrieve their remote control car from under the blue recycling box.
I also recall a story of a "beverage" case being hoisted into a second floor bedroom window (perhaps Steve's) with rope and pulley system!
I know you don't have to look far for inspiration, they are an amazing family!
Megan
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