Susie McLeay Celebrancy

06/06/2024

Having just dissolved in tears, suddenly and without warning at the end of my wind down session of yoga, this poem has made me weep again - but more happily. Thankyou Becky.

There are so many things I have discovered since I had to go.

And I want to share this one with you - I want to let you in on the secret.

You see, I know you feel a sudden pull of emotions sometimes. Those moments when you lose composure and losing me hits you afresh all over again. And it might be at seemingly trivial, inconsequential times like when you’re brushing your teeth or getting into the car for work. Or at 2.30pm on any given Wednesday.

And you won’t really know why but you will suddenly remember me. Not that you’ll have forgotten me, but that I am - in that moment - all you can think about.

Overwhelmingly so.

Well, here’s the secret; that’s because of our heartstrings.

We are connected to everyone we love by invisible, unbreakable threads. And when one of us misses the other person, we only need to pull on those heartstrings to bring them a little closer to us.

Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes we grab desperately at the thread like a life buoy in a storm and our string is pulled so abruptly that it burns.

But it never breaks.

And I just wanted you to know this. So that you can be comforted by knowing that, in the moments when you suddenly miss me the most…

It’s because I am missing you too.

********

Becky Hemsley 2023
Artwork by Shawna Erback

‘Heartstrings’ is from When I am Gone
https://a.co/d/7kMndDJ ❤️‍🩹

27/05/2024

One time I met a man
Who only had a month to live
And I asked him if he had
Any advice that he could give

He said “I wake each morning
Knowing I am going to die
So each day must remind me
I am blessed to be alive

You see, my life’s on countdown
As each hour is unfurled
I know the clock is ticking
On my time here in this world

But what you’re overlooking
Is that it’s the same for you -
You know that I am dying
But forget that you are too

So make the most of sunshine
And go dancing in the rain
And sing a little louder
When your favourite music plays

Notice nature’s colours,
Savour everything you taste
Stop waiting for tomorrow
‘Cause you’ve got no time to waste

And could you say convincingly
That you’d have no regrets?
If just the next few days or weeks
Were all that you had left?”

And then my breath caught quickly
When he turned to me and asked
“Could you say that you died happy
If this day had been your last?”

*****

Becky Hemsley 2023
Artwork by Caspar David Friedrich
(I discovered this artwork on a recent visit to London).

From my fourth collection here: https://a.co/d/9OU8lGH

27/05/2024

Interesting…

13/05/2024

Beautiful reminder for those of us living through dementia with someone….💜

When I am older
I might not remember
I might get confused
And I might lose my temper

And there may be times
When I don’t know your name
Because it’s been trapped,
Locked away in my brain

And though it will hurt
To think I could forget you
Offer me smiles,
Hold my hand if I’ll let you

And talk of adventures
We had long ago
Show me the photos
Of people I know

Play music we’ve danced to
And songs we have sung
Read me the books I read
When I was young

‘Cause your voice and your words
Might just be the key
That opens the door -
That unlocks it for me

And maybe the music
Will spark tiny embers
Of memories dormant
And I will remember

Your name and your face
And the words to our song
The times and the places
To which I’ve belonged

And it might last moments
Or minutes or more
As the fire sheds light
Through the crack in the door

But when the door closes
And gone are the flames
When you are once more
A stranger again

Just know you’ll have stirred something
Deep down inside
Something familiar
That I recognise

Something that’s real
That’s not stored in my head
But right at the core
Of my heart space instead

Something that’s stirred
By your smiles and your stories
The touch of your hand
And the songs you sing for me

And though I’ll have no words to tell you
Just trust
That deep down inside
I’ll remember

I’m loved

*******

Becky Hemsley 2022
Beautiful artwork by Lisa Aisato

Today marks the start of Dementia Action Week - an annual campaign run by Alzheimer's Society to raise awareness of ways we can work together to take action on dementia.

This poem is called Embers and Keys and is in the book 'Letters from Life' https://a.co/d/17LrMHGiww

09/05/2024

For myself, and all the rest of us Vilomahs

today and every day, we honor all of the moms grieving a child🫂

28/04/2024

As always, Donna nails it… 💜

Losing someone is a journey, not a one-off. There is no end to the loss, there is only a learned skill on how to stay afloat, when it washes over. Be kind to those who are sailing this tempestuous sea, they have a mission ahead of them, and a daily shock to the system each time they realise; they are gone, again. You don't just lose someone once, you lose them everyday, for a lifetime. Because you love them every day, for a lifetime. ❤️

Donna Ashworth

From I Wish I Knew
UK: https://amzn.eu/d/9jdeXHr
US: https://mangopublishinggroup.com/books/i-wish-i-knew/

Art by the truly talented Lisa Aisato

11/04/2024

Especially in times of need…

20/03/2024

LOVE ISN’T ALL HEARTS AND FLOWERS

Sometimes, love is asking if you’ve remembered to take your vitamins or drunk enough water.

Love is a friend who checks in on you, even when you say you’re fine.

Love is a family member who worries you’re making the wrong choices, and that can often feel like anything but love, but the truth is, they live in fear of you getting hurt because they feel every inch of your pain along with you.

Love can come in all shapes and sizes but never does unconditional love look like an expensive gift or a romantic weekend away. That’s just frosting.
You’re more likely to find it in a cup of tea, made just for you.

Love is real and ugly and shouty sometimes.
Lots of tears and lots of pain as the people involved break and bond and grow together as humans.

Valentines Day should be about counting all the love you have in your world and giving gratitude for it - that may not look like a steak dinner for two...
and that’s okay.

If you are loved my friend, at all, you are blessed.
And if you have found some love for yourself along the way, then you are really winning at life.
That’s worth celebrating.

(By the wonderful Donna Ashworth)

20/03/2024

After feeling like I was about to need one of my own funerals for a coupla weeks, I wandered out for a nature injection… and here I am, cured!

13/02/2024

So so sorry to hear of Steve Wright’s passing… great great human💜💜💜💜

24/12/2023

Sending love and seasons greetings to all, and especially to those who are missing someone special and dear to them, at Christmas. 💜💜💜

09/09/2023

Afterwards.

“If you went, could you ever come back? No, said Georgia quietly. Then how would I talk to you? We’d have to talk another way. There’s lots of ways. Like what? Georgia said, You listen to the birds and feel the wind on your face. It’s a different way of talking. You smell the roses more deeply and watch the sky more closely, how it turns, the change at dusk as lilac finds indigo. You wait for rainbows to come and I am in the colours. And in the shadows, said Bessi. Yes, in the shadows, in the dark”.

Diana Evans, 26a

28/08/2023

He deserves a ceremony…

ON MY WAY HOME. AFTER BEING ADOPTED ❤

22/08/2023

So, I was taking a break from writing a funeral script, and having a wander in the sun with Mr Gus.. I’m so lucky to live somewhere this lovely, and I was looking at the light and shade, and thinking ‘special philosophical thoughts’ about this as a metaphor for life… and then I spotted a giraffe in a back garden… 🤣🤣🤣

07/08/2023

Or these little treasures - the children were giggling at each other like little drains… 😂💜

07/08/2023

Couldn’t resist this mud lark!

04/08/2023

So so sad, saying goodbye to your best little friend…

😢❤️

31/07/2023

Try this… https://www.susiemcleaycelebrant.com - hope you like…. 💜💜💜

19/07/2023

I want her…

Picture of the day!!! cute little mermaid 💙

19/07/2023

When you haul yourself off to Slimming World… then remember the consultant’s son is getting wed - and you’re not the one doing it! 😳🤣😍
Have a wonderful day, Jaine Tucker 💜

15/07/2023

The photo of the day 😅❤️

14/07/2023

Imagine a ceremony, on a boat… here! 😍😍😍

Neptune Cave, Sardinia, Italy 🇮🇹

13/07/2023

To all the young mothers that are working, going to college, are single-parents, and struggling to be a mother and father to your little ones - thank you for staying strong, being responsible, and loving your children.
When times get tough - look into the eyes of your children and there's your only reason to stay strong and determined.

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13/07/2023

Website on its way! 🤩🌈🤩🌈🤩

12/07/2023

Well, I did say, your wedding, your way 🤣🤣

🍕🍕🍕

03/07/2023

Just watching the light change…💙