Tag: Facebook

A long week

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Robin_Williams

It is Friday. It has been a long week.

About a week ago I was having lunch with a friend. I was saying that I think I needed to take a ‘hiatus’ from Facebook. I know that there was no way I was removing my account or anything like that, but a break, just a week (or a few days who am I kidding) away from it all.

That was the plan this week….until Monday night.

I worked all day, and then went straight to a condo board meeting. When I came upstairs, the first thing I did was of course look at facebook. What I was saw pretty much changed my trajectory for the rest of the week.

This has to be a hoax. This can’t be real. What is going on? Robin Williams is dead? These were the updates flying all over my news feed. I had to find out what the heck was all of this about, and spent the rest of the night engrossed in this crazy little experiment called social media.

I felt like I was punched in the stomach. Obviously he was not a ‘friend’ of mine, or a relative, or even an acquaintance, but as I am finding from so many posts, blogs, stories this week, he was a part of my life just like he was in so many others. His characters, his voice, his jokes seemed to be like a nicely woven rug through my life.

I started to think about all the ways in which the genius of Robin Williams touched my life.

Let’s start with the obvious….Mork from Ork. Happy days was (and will always be) one of my all time favourite shows. Looking at the clips now, I was too young to really understand what about to happen. Henry Winkler told tv reporters this week that the cast knew they were witnessing something never seen before, comic genius.

There are iconic roles, like Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society, Mrs. Doubtfire, Alladin, The Fisher King, Good Morning Vietnam, I could go on and on and on. Movies that are part of my life, decade by decade. Comedy or tragedy. Patch Adams, Awakenings, Moscow on the Hudson, The Fisher King….really, where does it end?

But it did end. At only 63 years young, it all came to an end this week. A grown up kick in the gut moment. Based on what I have been reading all week long, that would sum up how many are feeling this week.

There is so much more to be said on the topics of depressions, battling demons, getting through the day, but I don’t really want to do that today. Today I want to remember the genius that made me laugh, cry, think and was a part of my life.

May you rest in peace Genie, you are free.

O Captain, my Captain.

As time goes by

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Dear V,

Before I start, you are going to have to forgive me if I go back and forth between my thoughts today. I have so many things in my head that I want to say and I hope that they all come out as I intend them to.

I was out with a friend yesterday, and we were talking for a couple of hours. We talked about all kinds of things, back and forth, listening and sharing about friendship, the good, bad and ugly of life and loss as well.

I shared with her that today would be the 10th anniversary of you not being with us here in this world. She said something that I know that I have thought about as well, but it really does make sense. People never really get over mourning the loss of someone that they love, but it changes over time.

Over the past several weeks I have been cleaning out my home office to get ready to work from home. Of course you never saw my condo, because I moved here eight years ago. I guess now that I think about it, you knew that I had bought a condo because it was February 2004 that I put my down payment on my apartment.

There were a few instances that I ‘stumbled’ across reminders that even though you were never here, you are always here. Like an article that was written about you in the Toronto Star after your passing. About your passion for dedication and zest for life. Like the “program” (for lack of another word) from your funeral service. Like the words that Matthew read at your service. Like a postcard that you wrote to the “Silvers” when you were travelling in Australia and New Zealand. Like a really cool pin that you gave me on my 30th birthday.

Matthew wrote about mourning what we LOST, but really should have been thinking about what we gained while you were here. That was something that my friend and I talked about yesterday.

I am just sitting here now thinking you have been gone ten years. I think I met you when you were 20 so that would mean that you were in my life for ten years. Strange to think about all the things we experienced together in the ten years that you were here, and all the things WE have experienced in the ten years that you have been gone.

I did tell my friend yesterday that you were like the sister I never had. I hadn’t really thought about it that way, but I guess that was how I thought of you. I do wonder about what it would be like today.

Matthew said that you were always so busy with so many things yet everyone always said that you had time for them. For a phone call, a movie, a dinner. You would have LOVED the new smart phone technology. Even though most people don’t talk “live and in person” anymore, we are more connected electronically then you could imagine. There are amazing ‘talk’ tools like BBM, Whatsapp, texting, and this phenomena called Facebook. All of that keeps people connected.

People like you. I am sure that you would have at least 1000 friends on Facebook today if you were on it. You would probably have embraced it, showing your life to the ones that you can’t connect with live every day but want everyone to be a part of your spirit, your love and zest for life that you always had.

I would have loved to stay in touch with you in our virtual world. I have no doubt that we would have always “liked” each others travel photos, foodie photos and stories.

Today is #TBT which is when people post photos of “back in the day” much before the digital age of photography. I hope you don’t mind the photos I will share today.

They are for you. Of you. And the spirit that is greatly missed.

Take care my friend.

Until we meet again,

Lisa