Lögberg-Heimskringla - 15.04.2013, Síða 5

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Lögberg-Heimskringla • 15. apríl 2013 • 5
In my opinion, God’s greatest gift to me is my grandchildren. March 12
was the fifth birthday of my
twin granddaughters. Sunday,
March 24 a little birthday
celebration took place at their
home in Calgary. Hilary and
Abigayle were treated to a small
animal display by Petland.
Hilary had a tonsillectomy and
removal of her adenoids on
the previous Monday, March
18 and all seemed to be going
well until later in the afternoon
when she was in quite a bit of
pain and refusing food or drink.
As a doting Amma, I was very
concerned and telephoned after
the party to see how she was
doing and into the phone her
mother, Tiffany yelled “she
threw up blood – we are off to
the hospital”. With that EMS
was called and an ambulance
was dispatched to their home,
all to the fright of the parents
and siblings. Apparently this is
rather common in the fifth or
sixth day post op surgery but
not much comfort to the frantic
parents. Hilary was very pale
and had convulsed and fainted
at home. The doctors were
concerned about how pale she
was and did a blood analysis to
determine if she was anemic.
Their story began on
March 12, 2008, just before
the Calgary INL convention.
Hilary Lisa Olafia and Abigayle
Tiffany Audrey Grisdale came
into this world at 30 weeks.
Hilary was the donor baby in
what was called “Between
Twin Transfusion”. Abby was
getting all the blood and Hilary
was not receiving enough and
had to have blood transfusions
at the time of her birth. This
only occurs in identical twins.
Several complications later,
antibiotic treatments, oxygen
etc. had left her with a hearing
impairment. She spent the
first three months of her life
at Alberta Children’s Hospital
where she and her sister both
received excellent care. She
has been a pale child all her
life and very small for her
age. It is hoped that with the
removal of her overly large
tonsils that she will be able to
eat better and therefore thrive
and catch up to her sister’s
height and weight. Her father,
Brent Grisdale, spent the night
in the hospital with one of his
precious four daughters and
she is expected to be fine now. I
have eleven grandchildren and
two great-grandchildren and
after losing my husband, Ted,
in December, all these special
gifts from God have helped get
me through one of the worst
times of my life. I am thankful
for my faith and thank God
daily for all these blessings. I
am also thankful that Hilary is
going to be all right.
The Editor’s Corner Getting it done, small slices at a time
Joan Eyolfson Cadham
How often have you read a memoir and thought, “I should write
something, not for publication,
but just for my grandchildren.”?
And how often has that thought
been followed with, “But I just
don’t have the time. I wouldn’t
know where to start. Lots of life
is boring – how could I make it
interesting”?
I owe a general debt of
gratitude to all L-H writers, the
occasionals and the regulars,
because, every two weeks,
they keep the pages of our
newspaper filled. However,
I also owe a second more
personal debt of gratitude to
three writers who have shown
me something so profound that
it is a solution to a problem that
has plagued me for years.
Ken Kristjanson, Brian
Tomasson and Kristine
Goodman have all provided
L-H with memories, snippets
of life. At L-H we cherish these
anecdotes for two reasons –
they hold almost universal
appeal, and the short ones often
rescue us from the dreaded
“white hole” in the middle of
a page. But, two days ago, I
realized that these writers had
also given me the solution to a
challenge I was not avoiding.
In fact, they provided not one
but two answers.
I read memoirs. They
always create huge waves of
guilt because I haven’t done
one for my family. After all, I
am supposed to be a writer. For
me, it should be an easy task.
But I tried, and, like most of
us, I got trapped in details that
really didn’t matter.
So, what did Ken and
Brian and Kristine, in the most
approved writing style, show
rather than tell me?
Simple. Skip the details.
Skip the boring parts. Tell the
little stories. Don’t bog them
down. Short is good. Fifty
years from now, the exact
date, time and location won’t
matter. The story, the feelings,
the humour will be timeless.
That was the first revelation.
The second was, if possible,
even more helpful.
I’ve been writing columns,
professionally, for various
newspaper and magazines for
30 years. Over that time, I’ve
written about almost everything
that’s ever been important to
me. When I first connected
with the Internet, I printed out
the best email messages. And
I’ve kept Christmas letters. In
short, it’s all down on paper
or a disk or a hard drive. Most
of those columns will require
hacking up, discarding the side
bits, but editing is an activity
that I enjoy.
That’s my answer – and in
a few months I will report back
on how I’m doing.
But what does that mean
for you, the reader who hasn’t
spent several decades as a
freelance writer? The truth is
that we all write – letters, post
cards, Christmas and Easter
and birthday cards, favourite
recipes, diaries, and, now,
emails. If you have kept any
of that, from you or written to
you, you have your base.
The greatest gift we can
offer anyone is a piece of
our real self. Most of us –
including me – are never going
to write a biography if we feel
we have to begin with “I was
born” and work our way, page
by unrelenting page, through
infancy, childhood, school. We
– including me – will quit cold
before we reconnect with out
12-year-old self.
But what if we just write
the highlights – the good and
the not-so-pleasant ones? What
if we stick to the strongest
memories, the ones generated
as we browse through that stack
of old greeting cards? What if
we aim for nothing fancier than
a thin booklet? The local printer
can probably do the job for you?
What if the book opens with a
brief genealogy but is mostly
devoted to a glimpse of the
people, events and situations
that we most remember?
Chances are that we would also
offer up, again showing rather
than telling, an intimate look at
the life situations that moulded
and fashioned us. And that,
after all, is supposed to be the
purpose of a memoir.
Yes, the idea excites me.
THe iCeLAndiC FeSTivAL oF MAniTobA invites you to submit previously
unpublished poetry (three entries per person limit) and/or a short story (one
entry per person). Prize money will be awarded and successful entries will be
published in the festival booklet. Categories are as follows:
Poetry and Short
Story ConteSt
POETRY
SHORT STORY
1st prize $35
1st prize $50
1st prize $100
2nd prize $50
1st prize $100
Junior (12 and under)
intermediate (13-18)
open
open
Submissions which contain material reflecting icelandic interest
or icelandic culture will be given preference. entries will not be returned.
Send your material before May 25, 2013 to:
FeSTivAL WRiTinG ConTeST
c/o Helga Malis, box 2153, Gimli, Mb R0C 1b0
Margret Grisdale
Calgary, AB
Photos courtesy kinder care Preschool
Hilary (left) with her twin Abigayle Grisdale
God’s greatest giftsOp-Ed