Just a note

They say you make your own luck.

I must have lost the recipe somewhere along the way. Because, lately, it feels as if my life is rather unlucky.

Over the holidays I lost several people that made my hometown, my “home”.

With the mayhem of the Christmas rush I didn’t fully appreciate their losses and how much they meant to my life. But today, as I sat down and attempted to write notes in no less than three sympathy cards I thought about each of them.

I attempted to convey to their wives, children and grandchildren how their loved one touched my life.

I clumsily attempted to convey what I was feeling without making people sadder. And after several tries – I was sitting with a dozen crumpled balls of paper and three cards with just our signatures on them.

I hate that.

It’s impersonal. Cold. Dismissive.

The power went out here over the holidays. A large tree knocked down a power line on the main drag and we were left in the dark and cold for nearly ten hours.

As I lit my grandmother’s oil lamps I was reminded of a night when Kate was very small. The power went out in St. Anthony on the coldest day of the year and the entire town was without power.

Kate was just a couple of months old. Newfoundland Hydro had no idea when the power would be back on and my mother’s house was getting colder by the minute.

Our neighbour came and picked up the baby and I without hesitation. It was only after we were sitting safely by their woodstove did I discover that it was their 50^th wedding anniversary and they were hosting a party.

Rather than feeling like an imposition they made us part of the celebration. Like they planned to have us join them all along.

The generosity and love we were shown on that day has stayed with me - I’m not sure I ever told them that.

How do you put that onto a card?

Hallmark has made billions in the greeting card industry but they can’t quite capture that.

I don’t know about making our own luck – but we certainly make our own imprints on those we touch.

I hope mine is worthy of a note someday.

Until then, I’m going to continue to tell my friends and family that I love them whenever I get the chance. I’m going to tell them how much they have meant to my life. You never know when it will be the last.

Call it a resolution for the rest of my life.

Happy 2010!