Shirl

 

8.5" x 11" on medium drawing surface paper

                                      

Shirl, my step-mother-in-law, was spunky and vivacious, generous and hospitable. I drew this pic of her back in July of '99! I'll always remember how she volunteered to plan my wedding. I trusted her, never doubted once that she would deliver. The colours of that day, the ambiance and setting, the landscape, how she made it all happen, I'm sincerely grateful. She's sorely missed. She passed away this past March...

The days when we all sat around the Christmas tree - me and my husband's family - are fond memories I hold close to my heart. I enjoy thinking about them now, reminiscing about the food, the room, the lights, the rugs, the open space, the trees...the people...These memories leave such a sweet taste in my mouth. And my mind remembers some more...afternoons around the swimming pool or rides on the boat on lake Simcoe, nights around the kitchen table...feeling how it simply wasn't possible that any of it could end...feeling that somehow it would go on and on and on. Gosh, how I miss them.

Or the days we spent in Cuba because of her generosity (and my father-in-law's) are precious...even more now than at the time...when possibilities seemed eternal and never-ending. 

When we're in a moment looking towards the future, this future looks vast and feels impossible to reach, like somehow we'll just never catch up, but we do...and here it is now, without her in it.  

She had a certain look in the eye and I know I captured it here. This is Shirl. This is how I saw her, how I remember her. I thank her for being a special lady.