Al Zylstra

Every year, my company does what they call, a “Road Show”. This is an opportunity for staff from various locations across the region to get together. We do this to learn how the company fared in the previous year. More importantly, we get the chance to bond, to renew old acquaintances, friends and form new relationships.

I love the energy, the excitement, the joie de vivre that my fellow IRIS people have not only at these types of events, but, all the time.

We get to learn about new innovations in the optical industry and see how we have positioned ourselves.

I also get to hang with my IRIS family and nothing gives me greater pleasure than to visit with these people.

 

The department that I work in also got to shine with their moment in the sun.  Debbi, my boss, my friend, my confidante, my sister and one of my best friends was able to show that our tiny department with only 4 people – Debbi, me, Eleana (my compatriot in Quebec) and my work wife, Laura managed to generate over $7 million dollars in Net Sales in 2017.  We are going to double that in 2018 – mark my words.

 

I also learned today that our next corporate trip is to one of the places that is on mine and Alex’s list of places to visit – to consider for our retirement: COSTA RICA

So, we will be going next January to check it out!!!

So, I know that I have been writing a bunch of posts in the last while that are… well, not dark in tone, but, maybe dusk-like.  I have been remembering (and mourning) my father’s passing, my sister’s passing and my mother’s descent into dementia.  The posts have had their bright spots but, the tone is decidedly not-happy.

I am going to try to fix that.  I have been in communication with some of my siblings and their spouses about collecting family photos.  My sister in-law, Sharon was able to supply with a great series of photos of my parents, their siblings and their parents.

I was over the moon when I started scrolling through the pictures that she had shared with me.

My parents, as you may have heard in my post about my mom, met when my mother and her father ran into my dad at the market.  My dad, a natural born flirt, kept asking my mom out and eventually, he wore her down.  She accepted and the rest is history.  They married on June 8, 1949.

Their Wedding Announcement

One of the best pictures of my parents on their wedding day

Such a beautiful couple

In the Netherlands, you have two weddings.  The first is done at City Hall where the marriage is registered and the second is at the Church for the religious ceremony. This photo is taken on the steps of City Hall.

A horse drawn carriage ride to the Church.  Can it get any more romantic than that?

I loved the fashions of the day.  The style.  The grace.  The looks simply are divine.

They certainly were stylish and knew how to party.

Signing the registry at City Hall

The matriarchs of the clan.

My mom’s oldest brother was the Master of Ceremonies.  Love the top hat!

My mom and her sister.  One of the best pictures of the two of them.

Not really the Andrews Sisters, but, certainly an enthusiastic performance.

Smokin’ styles

I have begun recording more of my mom’s memories during my visits to see her in the nursing home in Edmonton.  These memories are my small attempt at keeping her mind active and focused.

The Dementia prevents her for focusing on the immediate events in her life.  As a result, she finds herself feeling lost, lonely and scared.  Rightfully so.  This disease robs her of her confidence, her joie de vivre, her sense of self.  I hate how she looks so alone and frail.

The glimpses I catch of my mom where she is the woman I admired growing up are when we are able to talk about her past.  Her story, while is one that I know well, is still one that I treasure.  She is able to recall names, faces, places, dates and events with a great deal of clarity.  Those are the memories I am able to record through her words and photos.

It is my goal to record as many memories as I can while she can recall them.   Over the coming weeks and months, I will be adding them to my site.  I hope you can enjoy them as much as I have.  Each memory sheds more light on to my mom’s family and friends.

I am privileged to be the conduit for these memories.

Stay tuned.

Here at the 2018 Zoomer Show at the Vancouver Convention Centre representing IRIS. I love my job.

It is just after 8 am, the condo we are in is quiet, serene and yet surrounded by activity. Somehow, the hustle and bustle of the gulls as they swoop in and around the beach looking for those unlucky crustaceans who were foolhardy enough to venture close to the shore just adds to the calm.

I have just finished Beau and Phantom’s morning constitutional and they have crawled back into bed with Alex. Alex is sound asleep and the boys love that. I swear the three of them are part cat. They would sleep 18 hours a day if they could. Alex would do so because he has struggled for so long to find the right balance in his life. The boys, on the other hand, would sleep because it is so GLORIOUS to be that carefree.

Phantom has become a snorer. Almost as bad as me, apparently.

Beau just snuggles up as close to any source of heat as he can. His favourite position is splayed out UNDER the covers with his back up against a leg, back, chest or butt. He is an equal opportunity heat seeking dog.

Anyways, back to me. I am sitting in a comfortable chair, feet up, sipping on a hot mug of tea and reflecting on nothing in particular. The waves are lapping on the beach and the sky is grey. Not the ominous grey that foretells a day of incessant rain, like yesterday, but the grey that drifts over the West coast reminding residents that the days of sunshine are coming but, only when they are damn good and ready.

It is these quiet times that give me enough time to just be. Ok, I love these times.

Not just these times. I LOVE my life. I am married to an amazing man who puts me above everyone and everything else (except his daughter, the dogs, the rabbits, the fish, the birds and his plants, of course). I have a nice home. It isn’t much, but, it is mine. I have the best “logical family” in the world. I have great jobs – yes, I said “jobs”. I have a few dollars in the bank. We are debt free with the exception of the car loan and our mortgage.

I am healthy – for the most part.

I am content.

There are sad parts, though. My Mom’s descent into dementia fills me with a degree of sadness that I have a hard time articulating. I wish I was closer to her so I could spend more time with her. I am lucky, though that I can afford to fly to see her once a month.

But, when I do see her, she beams at me. Her world, just for a moment, seems less confusing, less scary, and less lonely. At least, I hope it is. We spend hours together and just talk. I have taken a small recorder with me so I can record her memories. The memories of her youth are the most powerful ones she had. We talk about her parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins. Anything to help lift the veil for just a moment. And in those moments, fleeting, though they are, I see My Mom. She is there and she is happy.

Today, when Alex gets up, we will head to the beach. We will take the boys and let them dig in the sand, chase gulls and just be.

Sounds like an awesome way to spend a day, doesn’t it?

Until next time.

Well, we made it. Weather has decided to cooperate. We have a beautiful one bedroom suite overlooking the water. Hello relaxation.

W

hat a great day. Weather started off a bit dreary, but, it has improved dramatically. I think my love affair for Tofino has been rekindled.

Well, I cut the cord!  Facebook is gone.  Now, let’s see if I can stick to my guns…..