A Woman of Distinction

Last night, the Prince Albert YWCA held its Women of Distinction award banquet at which they honoured five deserving women. One of the women they honoured, Lynda Monahan, holds a special place in my heart and I am so pleased she was chosen.

            Lynda was honoured in the Arts, Culture and Heritage category for her enormous contribution in the field of writing. A wonderful and passionate poet, two books of her poetry have been published. Both books, “A Slow Dance In The Flames” and ‘What My Body Knows” were nominated for a Saskatchewan Book Award. Her second book was also nominated for a World Guild Writing Award. Her work has been published in many magazines, including Grain, Fire, Amethyst Review, Other Voices and many others. Her poetry has been broadcast on both provincial and national CBS radio programs.

            Lynda does a great deal of work in the community. She has instructed special workshops at Prince Albert Youth Outreach Program and has facilitated a series of workshops for inmates at Pine Grove Correctional Centre and for at-risk youth in the Eagle Program. Lynda has worked with adults who have acquired brain injuries and their families, resulting in the book “With A Smile and a Tear: Family’s Story of Acquired Brain Injury”. She has completed a Saskatchewan Writers Guild ArtSmart youth mentorship program for young writers. Lynda has worked with our local schools, Commonweal, Canadian Mental Health Association and Prince Albert Foster Families. Through all of this, she still finds time to teach a Creative Writing class at SIAST. Through her work, Lynda has brought joy, healing and purpose to many lives.

            Lynda is a wonderful a passionate teacher and injects her love of writing to all who take part in her classes and workshops. She inspires all those she teaches into putting their thoughts and feelings down on paper. Under her guidance, her students develop the self-confidence they need in order to write and the bravery to show others what they have written. I know this first hand as I have been one of Lynda’s students. To be a student in one of her classes is to know that you are being led by a passionate teacher who finds good in everyone and, in fact, brings out the best in all her students. Lynda guides her students along with positive advice and encouragement.

            At the Women of Distinction award ceremony, many of Lynda’s past and present students were in attendance to see her receive her award. Their presence is evidence of what makes Lynda so special. It is an indication of the effectiveness of her teaching, the far reaches of her compassion and her calm, encouraging personality, that all who begin as students in her class inevitably come to consider her a life-long friend.

            Congratulations, my friend. Well done.  Deserving people receiving recognition . . . it’s a good thing.

 

 

One Hundred Days of Give Aways

Sometimes the simplest idea turns out to be the great idea.  My friend Barb has recently proven this to be true.  It all started when she decided to “de-clutter” her house.  Rather than simply pack up the belongings she no longer wanted and haul them away, she came up with the idea of having “100 Days of Give-aways”.  Every day for one hundred days, a new item is selected and a picture of it is put up on facebook.  The first person to claim it is the recipient.

            I have watched with interest as she has put up her daily choice.  Barb has offered everything from scrapbooking kits, to a set of glass candle holders to Christmas decorations.  As I watched the items being claimed on facebook and plans being made for pick-up or delivery, I began to realize what a great idea this is.  I didn’t know the half of it!

            One day Barb’s offering was a book I had been wanting to read.  I jumped at the chance to claim it and was successful.  What followed is what made me realize just what Barb had done with her little “100 Days of Give-aways” and how she had, perhaps unwittingly, created a social event with many of her friends.

            Barb and I tried to plan a day to get together for coffee or lunch so that I could claim my book.  There was not one day in that week that worked.  Either Barb was out-of-town or one of us was busy when the other was free.  It simply did not work, which is something that often happens in our busy lives when friends try to plan time together.  One day Barb emailed me to say that she would drop the book off to me at work that afternoon.  I emailed her back to say I would not be in my office that particular afternoon and asked if I could stop by at her house just before lunch to pick up the book and perhaps we could have coffee.  She said that wouldn’t work as she was still in her pyjamas.  I sent back a message to her asking if I could just stop in at her  house and she could slip the book to me through the door.  She laughingly agreed.

            So, it was that I found myself on Barb’s doorstep, admiring her many creations on her porch and knocking on her bright yellow front door.  Barb greeted me, in her pjs’s, book in hand.  We stood on the doorstep and talked for probably twenty minutes. After a great conversation, I walked away with my new book and realized what Barb had just done.  If she had not had had her “100 Days of Give-aways”, we would still be trying to arrange a time to get together.  Because of her inventiveness, we met, had a great conversation and renewed our friendship, even if it was only for a quick visit.  I realize that Barb is doing this with all of her friends who claim prizes – one day at a time for a hundred days!  Ingenious!  Plus, she is cleaning her house.  Everyone wins.

            When I opened my book to read it, there was a little “bonus” from Barb.  She had included a little crafted card (which she created herself, crafty person that she is) with a thank you for giving her item new life and for our friendship.  How perfect is that?

            Sometimes a simple little idea like de-cluttering your house turns into a unique way to renew old acquaintances and forces everyone to take a few minutes to talk to an old friend.  By my calculations, Barb has about eighty days left on her give-away, so who knows, we may slip in another twenty minute visit on her porch soon again.  Good ideas that turn out to be great ideas . . . it’s a good thing.

Remembrance Day

Although Remembrance Day falls on the week-end this year, I hope people will still take the time to attend ceremonies and acknowledge our veterans.   Remembrance Day is growing in significance every year, perhaps because we have a new group of veterans now – young men and women who have taken part in the war in Afghanistan.  Young people, who in the past may not have worn poppies, now do so with pride, respect and thankfulness. All generations are attending Remembrance Day Services in record numbers. We all feel the need to thank veterans, including our new veterans who have returned from Afghanistan or from peace keeping missions all over the world, in a way we never have felt before. Perhaps it is because of Afghanistan, the phenomenon of the Highway of Heroes and the death of our first female soldier that we have become more passionate about honouring our veterans.  For the third year now, students at St. Mary High School have met with and interviewed soldiers, and have recorded their stories in a book.  As the students learn of the sacrifices and horrors directly from the veterans, they come to realize how important it is to always remember and acknowledge what these brave soldiers gave to us.  Because of this project, the stories of our local soldiers are recorded and will continue to be passed on even after they are gone. 

It has been two year since the last WW I veteran died - they are now all gone. We have lost many of our WW II veterans.  It now becomes even more important to honour their sacrifices, and to never forget what they did for us. It is also important to show our gratitude to our young veterans who have fought in a different war. We must continue to teach our children that the many rights they now enjoy were fought for by very brave men and women. As we look at the suffering of people in countries that do not have the freedoms and rights we enjoy, we realize how very fortunate we are. Just as our parents and grand-parents were touched by wars, buried their soldiers and welcomed home those who survived, our generation is experiencing war and we are sending our own brothers and sisters, sons and daughters to fight.

Remembrance Day is the day to remember all the wars we have faced as a nation, to thank our soldiers and to reflect on how fortunate we are. Remembering and being grateful to the men and women in our armed forces - present and past -  is important every day, but never so important as on Remembrance Day.  Taking time to show our gratitude to our veterans and soldiers . . . it's a good thing.