Sending you energy, care, nurturance and love. I am filled with reverence of how you are navigating and moving with and through this illness. May you be blessed with what you need from moment to moment.
Dear Maija you may still remember us as Merril's old friends from Melbourne Australia. We had dinner with you both some years ago now in Merrill's residence in Sacramento. We have sent message to her before re our hope for your return to good health but this is the first time I've used Substack. We send you our love and best wishes as you continue your journey with such courage. We are playing the Makeba and Seeger songs as I type. Your beautiful photo shows your life force shining through despite all the difficulties you have recently encountered. We hope you and Hally are able to attend concerts again in due course. Michele Harris and Greg Eckersley
Maija, as always, THANK you. It is a dark shadow of our culture that the person most affected by .....(fill in the blank: sadness, loss, grief, fear.......) is the one who reaches out and ends up providing comfort to those around them. But I find your words as a boon and am so appreciative of your willingness to share your thoughts and journey. Thank you!
You continue to be an AMAZING woman, even through stunning adversity! Your courage, smile, and joy keep me going. You are a love and a guide. Kiss your bride and hug your kitties. Continue to savor every bit of beauty you see each day.
Maija! Big deep breathe. Thank you for including me in this sacred space. You are reminding me so much of Jackie in your clear sighted - even through the fog - fortitude. You are facing down an often painful present moment as well as all kinds of psychological challenges this circumstances presents with grace and humor. What a gift to this world and all of us, every minute of you is. And Haley, I hope you have support as well. Please reach out to me if you need more of that. So much love to you both.
First you look stunningly beautiful… glowing in this photo! And I LOVE THAT HAT!! You’ve been in my prayers the whole time and I was hoping to open my mail to your post. Please include me on any list for meals or visits for head rubs. Not that you’ll need any but I’m retired and available. As usual your writen words move me and thank you for sharing the quote by Cole Arthur Riley which I seem to need during this time of world chaos! Sending much LOVE!!👩🏻🌾❤️
Thanks Nancy. I appreciate your offer. I'm sure our needs will change as we progress, and I may take you up on that. Congratulations on Sailor Bar! I remember our lovely walk there
Thank you for spending your limited energy sharing your beautiful thoughts. I've been thinking about your mother this week because the topic of commencement speeches came up. I'm the only one in my circle who remembers my h.s. commencement speaker (your mom) and what she said: while some students were getting recognized for academic achievements, ALL students had something more important and more powerful. That is, the ability to love another human being. Her wisdom and heart clearly got imbued in you. Sending lots of love your way.
Living in the beauty is a great option and I am grateful you are choosing it. Music heals and saves lives; I am a firm believer of that. Music has gotten me through so many difficult periods but also present for the beautiful ones. Did you know your mind can’t have racing thoughts while you’re singing? I shared that with Eli to give him another strategy to calm his mind chatter. Which actually makes me think about Alice in Wonderland. There was a lot of singing in my Spanish version. Maybe that was a coping tool for her too 🤭
Thank you for your beautiful words and for sharing these moments with us 🙏
Thanks Diana! 100% agree about the healing power of music. I love that about singing controlling racing thoughts. I used to be a hummer. I wonder if that works the same way
Oh, Maija, I am sorry to learn what you've been going through. But buoyed to know that you haven't lost your words or your beautiful soul. You're in good company with Anne LaMott, who says it so well, "Frankly, I was hoping to see more white cliffs and beaches, fewer swamps and shadows, but this was real life, the nature of things, full of both wonder and rot."
Sending you energy, care, nurturance and love. I am filled with reverence of how you are navigating and moving with and through this illness. May you be blessed with what you need from moment to moment.
thank you
Dear Maija you may still remember us as Merril's old friends from Melbourne Australia. We had dinner with you both some years ago now in Merrill's residence in Sacramento. We have sent message to her before re our hope for your return to good health but this is the first time I've used Substack. We send you our love and best wishes as you continue your journey with such courage. We are playing the Makeba and Seeger songs as I type. Your beautiful photo shows your life force shining through despite all the difficulties you have recently encountered. We hope you and Hally are able to attend concerts again in due course. Michele Harris and Greg Eckersley
Thank you for your kind wishes and words Michele. 💗
You radiate beauty and grace Maija. Sending you a virtual head rub 🩷
Thanks Helen💗
Your beauty shines and inspires and comforts us when I wish I could comfort you. Thank you, dear heart. We send you love and more love, always.
Thanks Katie. 💗 Community is comforting
You are loved and your Dad would have said by the Velveteen Rabbit
Thanks Barbara💗
Maija, as always, THANK you. It is a dark shadow of our culture that the person most affected by .....(fill in the blank: sadness, loss, grief, fear.......) is the one who reaches out and ends up providing comfort to those around them. But I find your words as a boon and am so appreciative of your willingness to share your thoughts and journey. Thank you!
Thanks Celia.💗. It is ironic, but it also gives some meaning to the struggle. This reminds me of Mary Oliver’s poem:
Someone I loved once gave me
a box full of darkness.
It took me years to understand
that this, too, was a gift.
💜💜💜
You continue to be an AMAZING woman, even through stunning adversity! Your courage, smile, and joy keep me going. You are a love and a guide. Kiss your bride and hug your kitties. Continue to savor every bit of beauty you see each day.
I love you, you amazingly brave woman!!! KS
Love you💗
Love you, Maija. You are beautiful, and so is your writing. You are in all my meditations, always.
Thanks Kathleen💗
Here's wishing you a little ray of beauty every day.
Thanks Tracy!
🥰
So happy you are writing again. You are amazing. Love you ❤️🙏🏻❤️
Thanks Diane!
Maija! Big deep breathe. Thank you for including me in this sacred space. You are reminding me so much of Jackie in your clear sighted - even through the fog - fortitude. You are facing down an often painful present moment as well as all kinds of psychological challenges this circumstances presents with grace and humor. What a gift to this world and all of us, every minute of you is. And Haley, I hope you have support as well. Please reach out to me if you need more of that. So much love to you both.
Thank you Alyson. I wish I could have met Jackie.
First you look stunningly beautiful… glowing in this photo! And I LOVE THAT HAT!! You’ve been in my prayers the whole time and I was hoping to open my mail to your post. Please include me on any list for meals or visits for head rubs. Not that you’ll need any but I’m retired and available. As usual your writen words move me and thank you for sharing the quote by Cole Arthur Riley which I seem to need during this time of world chaos! Sending much LOVE!!👩🏻🌾❤️
Thanks Nancy. I appreciate your offer. I'm sure our needs will change as we progress, and I may take you up on that. Congratulations on Sailor Bar! I remember our lovely walk there
Thank you for spending your limited energy sharing your beautiful thoughts. I've been thinking about your mother this week because the topic of commencement speeches came up. I'm the only one in my circle who remembers my h.s. commencement speaker (your mom) and what she said: while some students were getting recognized for academic achievements, ALL students had something more important and more powerful. That is, the ability to love another human being. Her wisdom and heart clearly got imbued in you. Sending lots of love your way.
Thanks Stephanie!
Living in the beauty is a great option and I am grateful you are choosing it. Music heals and saves lives; I am a firm believer of that. Music has gotten me through so many difficult periods but also present for the beautiful ones. Did you know your mind can’t have racing thoughts while you’re singing? I shared that with Eli to give him another strategy to calm his mind chatter. Which actually makes me think about Alice in Wonderland. There was a lot of singing in my Spanish version. Maybe that was a coping tool for her too 🤭
Thank you for your beautiful words and for sharing these moments with us 🙏
Thanks Diana! 100% agree about the healing power of music. I love that about singing controlling racing thoughts. I used to be a hummer. I wonder if that works the same way
I would say so. When Eli was a newborn I would hum in his ear to get him to calm down.
Oh, Maija, I am sorry to learn what you've been going through. But buoyed to know that you haven't lost your words or your beautiful soul. You're in good company with Anne LaMott, who says it so well, "Frankly, I was hoping to see more white cliffs and beaches, fewer swamps and shadows, but this was real life, the nature of things, full of both wonder and rot."
Great quote Adrienne. I've walked through a lot of years with Anne Lamotf. I miss you and your writing.