A personal message from Vicki

Whoa…it’s been a crazy year hasn’t it? Along with the up’s and down’s of the pandemic that we’ve no doubt all experienced - it’s been a difficult year for me personally as well. I wanted to share a little of that with you.

In October my very dear friend Robyn passed away after a short, but mindblowingly (not actually a word, I know - but it fits my feels) courageous battle with cancer. I can say without question that Robyn is the most incredibly brave woman I have ever met and her death has profoundly changed the way I view life and death as a whole. I was lucky enough to spend time with her very shortly before her passing and I had the opportunity to tell her exactly what she meant to me. I think of her every single day and often get the urge to text her and tell her little things about my day, like when I recently won a $200 gift card to a local restaurant. My first thought upon hearing I was the winner was “OMG…I can’t wait to tell Robyn I just won something!” I have a feeling she knows about my big win.

Robyn…I love you. Your life and friendship was a gift…your death, a lesson in selflessness, courage and love. Cheers to you - my beautiful friend.

Robyn and I at KOST restaurant at the Bisha Hotel celebrating my 49th birthday. Thank you to my friend Erin for this amazing capture which is a now a cherished memory.

In September, after an on-again, off-again senior year (which included a pre-recorded You Tube High School Graduation and backyard Prom for 14) - my youngest went off to University. This monumental day for him also signalled the official end of my 21 year job as a stay at home mother. As my kids say “it’s always about YOU isn’t it Mom.” Yes.. part of this was about me. Who was I going to be now? What was I going to do? Where will I find purpose? Will I ever blog again? There aren’t that many career stay at home mom’s anymore - but I can honestly say that I’ve loved my job and my children often tell me how much they appreciate me. That has really filled my heart and has left me with no regrets about the choices I made. The time between Uni drop off and Thanksgiving felt like an eternity - a very quiet and peaceful eternity mind you. But since Thanksgiving I’ve very quickly become used to this new phase of life - just as a friend suggested I would. As for the four big questions above…well, those are yet to be answered. I think I have some time to ponder them. ;)

I know many of you have also had life changing experiences this year, some good, some bad. It seems that we are in the middle of a wave of change - aren’t we? But as the amazing Jon Kabat-Zinn said “if you can’t ride the waves, learn to surf.” So my wish for you this holiday season and into 2022 is to safely surf the wave of change you are personally on, as well as the collective wave of change we are all on. Also, think about actually telling those you love how much they mean to you - friends, family, whomever. Look them in the eye (or email, text, messenger, DM…) and say thank you and I love you…I love that you’re part (or have been part) of my journey. It will be an incredibly powerful experience, you can trust me on that!

Happy Holidays…Merry Christmas…and Happy New Year to you.

Thank you for being part of my journey.