So, there is going to be a Zylstra family reunion in Holland next month. Alex and I had originally planned on going, but, due to unforeseen circumstances, we are unable to attend. This event is somewhat monumentous. It is a celebration of my paternal Grandfather, Hantje Zylstra.
He was killed on May 4, 1945 near his home in Bolsward, Friesland, the Netherlands.
This is the official invite. Now, I see where my father got his good looks.
Here is a brief history of my Grandfather. Apologies for the bad translation. My Dutch ain’t what it used to be.
This is a brief history of the events surrounding my grandfather’s involvement in WWII
Suffice to say, I am somewhat sad that I won’t be able to attend. There is still next year. Alex and I will be going back to Europe. This time for a longer visit and try to see more of Europe.
So, I have been reporting on some of the plays that I have been working on at the Metro Theatre since I got involved with them. I have more of them to add in the coming weeks, but, I wanted to write about my latest one: UP & COMING – written by Eric Chappel
Come and check us out
Here is a brief synopsis of the show: Philip Conway, Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the House is attending a party conference. But, tipped to be the new party leader, his campaign for power is in serious danger of collapse. Visits from rivals, fellow conspirators and the all-too-attentive Vicky coincide keeping Philip on his toes; the world’s press is in the lobby; there are threats of assassination; students are rioting outside the hotel: an uncomfortable evening is the result! Who will get his – or her – just deserts?
Here are some photos of the cast
from left to right and back to front: Matt Ireland, Simon Roberts, Peter Robbins, Rob Gillespie, Tom Kavadias, Sophie Gardner and Debbie Kagy
The show runs Thursday – Saturday – February 23 – March 9 with two Sunday Matinees – Feb 25 and March 4.
Tickets are quite reasonable for a show of this calibre.
The Metro theatre is located at 1370 Marine Drive, Vancouver.
So, my latest trip to Edmonton was not off to a good start. But, I am always the eternal optimist. I went back to Mom’s nursing home on Sunday with a determination that I was going to have a nice visit with my Mom.
To hell with Dementia. We were going to have a good visit. I left my friend, Pat’s place at 1:00 in the afternoon after having a very nice breakfast with him and Barb. We had Darth Vader pancakes and sausages. Pat is a little obsessed with Star Wars. So, for Christmas, his daughter gave him a Darth Vader Waffle Maker.
The sad part is that the end results looked NOTHING like this. They were still quite tasty, though.
After breakfast, Pat and I had a nice relaxing morning watching BBC Earth on the TV. That took me until almost 1:00 when I packed up and headed out to go and see Mom.
I got to Mom’s place in about 40 minutes. Mom was still asleep but, I was able to rouse her this time. The staff there were able to get her into a wheelchair and we were able to go down to the atrium in the facility. We had a nice long chat about life in general.
We were then able to call my cousins in the Netherlands who were absolutely THRILLED to speak to Mom. Mom was overjoyed to be able to converse in Dutch again. So they spoke for about ten minutes and then it was time for my cousins to call it a night. Edmonton is 8 hours behind the Netherlands.
After we finished chatting with them, I then got back on my tablet and called up Alex. Alex and Mom were able to have a nice chat for about 5 minutes.
Mom’s descent into Dementia seems to be speeding up. Her short term memory is gone completely. She cannot remember anything beyond what is entrenched in her long term memory. Those memories are from when she was a girl in the Netherlands. I am fortunate, however, that she still knows her family. I don’t know how long that will last, though.
She is still one of the most amazing people. I am so lucky to be her son
Unfortunately, all things must come to an end. So, reluctantly after a couple of hours, I had to take Mom back up to her floor and get ready to head out. The wave of sadness and fear took hold of her and shook her with a vengeance. She begged me to stay or to take her with me.
She was so scared that she was going to be by herself. Fortunately, there were 8 nursing staff who were congregated by her room and as I gestured to them, I reassured Mom that she was not alone. These amazing people were going to take good care of her until I was able to get out again.
She wasn’t convinced, but, I could see that she was not as agitated as she was even 5 minutes prior.
So, I was able to make my way out of the facility and made my way back to the airport. My flight home was uneventful… thank goodness. Enough of an emotional rollercoaster this weekend. Didn’t need anything else to add to it.
My latest trip to Edmonton has been a bit of a letdown. Earlier this week, I pulled some muscles in my back, resulting in me missing a day of work and being forced to walk around shaped like a question mark.
I actually considered cancelling my trip but my trips to Edmonton are NEVER about me. They are about my Mom and making sure that I can spend quality time with her.
I arrived in Edmonton last night and made my way out to Fort Saskatchewan where I stay whenever I am in town.
I managed to get into the basement bedroom at my friend’s place without disturbing anyone. Getting ready for bed was a bit of a challenge as my back was starting to seize up again. I didn’t take any painkillers or muscle relaxants prior to getting on the plane as I didn’t want to impair my driving skills when I got to Edmonton.
So, I was definitely not comfortable for the first two hours in bed. I finally managed to fall asleep around 3 am. My sleep was fitful, at best.
I got up around 8 and had a great visit with Pat and Barb. We had a hearty breakfast and great chance to get caught up.
I left the house around 11 and headed off to the nursing home to see Mom. I stopped at a grocery store and bought her some chocolate bars and the bunches of tulips (Mom’s favourites).
I got to the nursing home and made my way to her room. Mom was sound asleep when I got to her room. I tried to wake her but to no avail. She would wake up for 30 seconds and then drift off again. So, rather than continue to try and rouse her, it was decided by the nursing staff and me that I should just go and try again tomorrow.
I left the facility and sat in the car for about 5 minutes. I was, and still am, profoundly sad. I called Alex and we talked for about 5 minutes and he made me feel so much better (Reason 456 of why I love him so).
So, no pics of Mom today. Hopefully, tomorrow.
In the meantime, here is a picture of Barb’s fur baby to tide you over.
So, chances are good that my husband will not see this – for some reason, he doesn’t subscribe to my website (*sigh)
But, this post isn’t for him, but, it is about him.
I have always considered myself one of the luckiest guys on the planet when this man came into my life. He has challenged me at every turn.
His ability to make me feel safe, loved, respected and at ease when everything around me is spinning out of my control speaks volumes about his character.
As he gets ready to celebrate his birthday, I want the whole world to know who Alex is and why I love him and consider myself fortunate to have him in my corner.
So, it has been a few weeks since I posted last. The year end is always kinda busy for me and some things get dropped by the wayside. This blog, apparently, is one of them. But, I am going to try and make up for it with this post.
It has been a tumultuous year for me and Alex. Not necessarily in a bad way, but, it has certainly been a roller coaster of events.
January – 2018
January was the start of a fresh year for us. I had talked to Alex and we agreed that I would TRY and slow down with my work. We were on fairly solid ground, financially speaking and so it was time to slow down a bit. We were still enjoying the post holidays with friends and family.
Pat and his daughter, Marina were here for the first few days of 2019.
Just after they left, our new furniture arrived! We were so happy to get our new sofa, loveseat, chair and various tables.
We haven’t had new furniture in over 13 years and the old stuff was definitely showing it’s age. So, out with the old and in with the new
I was able to go and see my mom in January and that was a great chance to hang with her for a few hours. She was definitely feeling good.
Looking happy to hang with her son.
Mom also managed to find some old pictures. This one stuck out like a sore thumb. *sigh
Apparently, I had a bit of a sweet tooth. Look at that HAIR! I had HAIR!
February 2018
Not too much happened in February, but, I was able to make it out for my Mom’s 91st Birthday. It was definitely a milestone event. I was also able to find a bunch more pictures of my family which I have scanned and saved.
I was staying at Pat’s place and came across this little gem.
My gawd, I had HAIR and no body mass…
April 2018 (March was a bust)
In April, I decided to surprise Alex with a trip to Tofino. We had an amazing time on the West Coast of Vancouver Island
A brief history of the area. One of my favourite places to hang
I made a number of posts about this trip (see Tofino Abound). Suffice to say, that it was a memorable trip and one we hope to repeat in 2019
Alex loving his new Canada Goose jacket in Tofino
I was also able to jet off to see Mom in April
May 2018
May was a quiet month for me. Who am I kidding? I ran around like a chicken with my head cut off. This was the month that Alex was able to get a ton of yard work done. Planting abounds!
June 2018
June brought me back to Edmonton to see Mom and visit with Pat out at his campsite – Wizard Lake.
Wizard Lake is a beautiful campsite just south of Edmonton.
June 2018
DRAGON BOATS ABOUND
June is always a fun month for me. I get to do what I love: Stage Manage
The Canadian International Dragon Boat Festival is a three day event where hundreds of paddlers from across Canada and around the world converge on False Creek for fun, entertainment and some pretty intense competitions. I am fortunate to be able to Stage Manage the Music Festival which takes place at the same time.
July 2018
July is another fairly busy month for me. Canada Day celebrations always see me on Granville Island running the Green Room for the various stilt walkers, performers, face painters, roving musicians. It is always a great way to spend Canada’s birthday
August 2018
August saw me and Alex staying home and doing some much needed work around the house. We repainted the house. It took us 5 1/2 years, but, finally got it looking like I wanted it to.
September – 2018
September saw Alex and I FINALLY making our way to the Netherlands. I have posted numerous stuff about it on this site, so won’t be repeating it here. But, here are a few highlights
October – 2018
October brought me back to Edmonton to see Mom. Mom’s dementia continues to wreak its awful effects on her. She is now in a new extended care facility better suited to her needs. In other words, she is no longer able to do most things. I am grateful, however, that she is in a facility where she is taken care of.
October also saw us biting the bullet and hitting the last room in our house that needed renovating: Our Master Bathroom!
November – 2018
November was a fairly hectic month, too. We finished off the bathroom, we did some more fine tuning of stuff around the house and I got to play Santa for the IRIS Staff Children’s Christmas Party!
November also saw Pat and Barb come out for a weekend visit. We had way too much fun while they were here.
December – 2018
December has proven to be a more relaxing month for me. Work responsibilities have slowed down on all fronts. But, we have added Blue to the Zylstra household.
And that, folks, pretty much wraps up the year. It has been a busy, crazy year filled with entertainment, joy, sadness and so much more.
I can’t wait to see what 2019 brings: 65th anniversary of the assassination of my Paternal Grandfather to be celebrated in May – still hoping we can go.
Ashley, Alex’s daughter is getting married in September and that is going to be quite the event.
Al Zylstra 