My friend Coosje, Jim and I just spent a couple of weeks in Europe. Our first week was spent in Austria where we were hosted by Austrian relatives in a small village in the mountains. We did lots of hiking and ate really good food, drank fine wines and delicious beers and ate lots of homemade strudel. One day, after a hike, we arrived back in our village to find that a music festival was going on. Every village in each valley has a community band and on this day they had gathered for a music festival. Every band had at least 40 people, some had kids, all had teenagers and young adults and seniors. Every band was dressed in traditional Austrian clothing. The men wore lederhosen and the women wore traditional dresses. I felt like I was at the music festival that we all watched at the end of The Sound of Music. There was so much energy and delight as the bands roamed the village in between performances. We went into the auditorium and watched a couple of the bands perform. It was so fun. We really enjoyed it. I was grateful to experience the local music culture. Later on in the evening one of the bands was in a pub across the road from us, and came out onto the street and sang a traditional Austrian song to us as we stood on our balcony waving at them. These beautiful encounters are what I love about travelling. After Austria we travelled to The Netherlands for a week and had many more adventures. We met kind people everywhere. We returned home and the next day, in my jet-lagged state, I was back at rehearsal with the Voices Rising choir (formerly the Highlands Harmony Choir). Laurel McCauley directs the choir and we have a lovely group of women who have been gathering weekly since September. I sing in the mezzos and I stand beside Debbie who has a beautiful voice and I follow her lead. I know some of the songs better than her, so she relies on me for the words sometimes. We are a great little support for each other. I love our weekly connection. Debbie and I stand close to the back of the mezzo section and I can see and hear the beautiful sopranos to our left. When they add their voices to the songs I always feel like there are angels singing. The altos, to the right of us, add a deep rich sound to our songs. Our choir doesn’t read music. We learn by listening and singing together again and again and again. There is a lot of joy in our group. Voices Rising is having their annual year-end concert on Friday, May 24 at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion. They will be joined by a live band for a couple of songs. Tickets are $20 and are available at Cranberry Cottage, Canoe FM and Let’s Get Local in Minden. You can also get tickets online at kim.quigley@outlook.com . Doors open at 7 and the show starts at 7:30. All proceeds made from the concert will be donated to the Haliburton Music Exchange. I hope you will come and enjoy our performance. Music connects us and uplifts us.
Jim and I were in Orillia on the weekend for his brother’s wedding. It was such a happy occasion. Rob has had a lot of tragedy in his life and we were so happy to celebrate with him. The morning after the wedding we headed up to his farm. It’s where he and Jim grow their 5000 bulbs of garlic every year. Rob isn’t living there anymore, he rents it out to a young family. The young family have 3 boys aged 10 months, 5 and 7. The two older boys love Jim and Rob. We arrived at the barn and the boys and their 2 dogs came running down to meet us. “Jimmie, Jimmie, Hi Jimmie.” They really love Jim. They were so excited to tell us they were heading off to the Coldwater Fall Fair. They wondered if we could go with them. They wondered if we liked rides and candy apples. They asked where Rob was and when he was coming to the farm. They love Rob too. Rob has a big tractor that he uses to cut his lawns and the boys love to ride with him. The boys had been at Rob’s wedding, running around all night. Their parents had catered the event and the food was gourmet. Jim and Rob spend days at the farm preparing the soil for planting and then planting and harvesting the garlic. The boys are glued to them as they work. I was meeting the boys for the first time and the 5-year-old took me aside to show me his supplies for the fair. He had his money, his juice box, sunglasses and a card for his mom all stored in his little pink sparkling purse. He was ready for a great day. When Jim and Rob work at the farm, this little guy comes out to help dressed in his favourite flowing blue and pink and colourful dresses. He runs around pulling garlic, or digging in the soil or riding in the tractor in his dress. He is happy and loved. This is what we want for all kids. To be happy and loved. Henry is loved and he knows it. He’s not trying to be something or someone he isn’t. He isn’t trying to get his brother to wear a dress. And no one knows what the dress is about at this point anyways. He might just like playing dress up. Maybe he feels more comfortable in a dress or he likes the colours. It doesn’t matter. He is allowed to dress as he wants without one comment from anyone. If Henry is straight or gay, it’s the way he came into the world. And our responsibility as friends, parents, grandparents, teachers, siblings, co-workers are to love him and encourage him to grow into a loving, caring person. When kids aren’t accepted for who they are and aren’t free to express who they are, their mental health can suffer and that can lead to all kinds of issues. If Henry grows up in a loving family and society anything is possible. Love will always be stronger than fear or hate.
John Lennon said “We can’t help everyone, but we can help someone.” In these challenging times in the world we are living with wars, poverty, climate change, artificial intelligence, discrimination, an overwhelmed health care system, homelessness etc. There is a lot going on and it is easy to wake up and turn on the news and feel hopeless, worried, depressed and anxious, or we can choose to place our attention elsewhere. We can acknowledge there are challenges worldwide, and challenges on our front door. And while most of us can’t do anything about the war in the Middle East or the Ukraine (of course some protest, pray or send blessings and that helps) what we can do is get involved with something right in front of our noses and help out. And it will make us feel better. We can each sew little seeds of hope in our own community through our work and volunteering or by being a good parent or grandparent. There are a million ways to do this. Right now people are donating and raising funds for the Heat Bank. Groups are clearing trails to get ready for our ski season. Others are rehearsing for upcoming Christmas concerts which will lift everyone’s spirits. Some are volunteering at our local schools or for our local land trusts. I know people who make soup for their neighbour on a regular basis. Others share their firewood. People are making a difference every day in small and significant ways in their own communities. My family has recently been the recipient of 2 angels that have come into our lives to support my dad John, who turned 95 last week. I am like one big bubble of gratitude when they come because by doing their work, they are helping our whole family in ways I can’t put into words in this article. One of the things I love about these angels is that I have known them from a distance for pretty much their whole lives. Jim taught them and they are both graduates of our Haliburton Highlands Secondary School. Abby Gordon is 23 years old and was born in Australia but pretty much grew up in Haliburton. She started her own business called Karinya which is an Australian Aboriginal word that can be translated to “a happy and peaceful home.” Abby works with seniors and people with special needs. I can tell you that she brings peace and joy with her when she comes to help my dad. He loves her. When she is in my parents’ place, I can overhear her chit chatting with both of my parents. She is laughing and telling them stories and answering their many questions about her life. She is a bright spot in their week, every week. And that helps Jim and I so much. Abby sews little seeds of compassion, caring, warmth, friendliness with every visit. We are all uplifted by her. Thank you Abby! Our second angel is Courtney Bishop, who is a mama, wife, daughter, mother in law, sister, friend and a fantastic nurse who is on top of her game! Courtney has been coming to work with my dad who has leg issues and is in pain. She is so bright and smart and gets things done. She doesn’t judge his beliefs and she gives him so much confidence in his body with every visit. And again, by her sewing her seeds of caring, kindness, attention she uplifts our whole family. And when I feel uplifted I can go and teach my yoga classes which inspire me, and hopefully the people who attend. And the ripples expand from there. The world needs all of us to sew our seeds of compassion. Thank you Courtney.
