blue bird

3 - There is beauty in everything

Soon enough we were all ready to go and started to get into the car when my grandpa's truck pulled up to our driveway. He honked nicely and I could see his smile and excitement from where I was standing. He always got really happy when we were going to visit grandma.

He poked his head out of the car window and waved, saying "morning."

We waved back at him and smiled.

My dad and my mom went over to greet him while Manu and I went back inside the house to grab any last bags or items we wanted to take and placed them in the trunk. We joined our parents and chatted with our grandpa for a few minutes, he was just stopping by to make sure everyone was ready to go.

My grandma, Luna, has been staying at the hospice in Pembroke for about 8 months. She has been battling cancer for a little over two years now and is as strong as ever. Unfortunately we are unable to visit her as often as we would like to because of school and extracurricular activities but we try to go up to see her whenever we can.

We all would have loved for her to be closer to us but since Barry's Bay is so small the closest hospice for her is in Pembroke, which is about an hour drive away.

I know that my grandma hates being so far away from us but for her health, it is necessary and important that she stays in the hospice.

My grandma is always optimistic and positive, that is one thing I have always admired about her. She looks for beauty within everyone and everything, no matter how big or small, she always sees the good in people. She does not judge a person for their past, she simply just tries to live her best life.

She used to always tell me as a child "There is beauty in everything." So if I were having a bad day or felt disappointed because of a failed project, she would always make me smile and feel better. I have learned so many important lessons from her, not only mentally but also physically. She's a warrior, I know that she can beat cancer.

My mom, my dad, my brother and myself were ready to go, we made a quick stop at the gas station to fill up the tank and then we were off.

Since the drive up to Pembroke is about an hour, I sometimes sleep in the car but I also love to listen to music and look out the window at the scenery while we are driving. That is one of the many values of living in a small town; beautiful scenery and quiet environments.

The drive was quiet and everything was going great until about half way through when I saw a strange thing in the treelines of the road. I only caught a small glimpse of what looked like a hunter, a figure hidden behind the shadows of the trees, wearing all black and a strange mask pointing its bow and arrow at something. I tried to look back but the figure was gone. I tried to shake the image out of my head but it was disturbing and eerie. Maybe my head was playing games with me again. I watched as the clouds lightened and cleared from hiding the sun. It was a beautiful day and I was glad we got to spend it with our grandma.

We were about five minutes away from the hospice when I looked up to the sky and could see a faint outline of the moon. It looked like a full moon, only it was missing a sliver on one side meaning tonight there was going to be a full moon.

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We were the first ones to arrive out of the four cars visiting my grandma so while waiting in the car, my parents gave my brother and I the usual talk about being on our best behaviour and using our manners. My brother and I have been getting these talks since the time we could remember, we both know our parents mean well but at a certain age it gets a little irritating. But I suppose a little reminder does not hurt and sometimes we do get too excited and cannot control our emotions.