Spring Cleaning

The weekend weather turned out beautiful, sunny, cool in the mornings with a crisp breeze, and warm but not yet hot in the afternoon. Perfect for working in the garden, and for opening all the windows wide and start spring cleaning. Michael got busy filling our window boxes for our bedroom and patio and deck with petunias and Morning Glory. He prepared a window box by the green house steps for Sweet Peas. Our green house looks so busy now, with the sunflower seedlings growing strong, so soon we will be able to transplant them into the garden behind and in front of the green house. The scent of fresh soil filled the air and smelled so invigorating, so full of promise. I cleaned the bathroom thoroughly, and finished polishing the big mirror in there. I cracked up, seeing my reflection in that mirror so squeaky clean made me startle at the fact that I was definitely in my fifties from what I saw. Yet, I rarely felt older than about 27. Kind of fun, however illusory, as long as the energy and optimism is there. A few grey hairs and sneaky wrinkles can be covered up. As I got busy dusting and washing down my dresser shelf in our bedroom, going down memory lane with each picture frame I cleaned and each precious item recalling a happy moment or time, I thought of growing up and helping our nanny Julienne clean our big house that was stuffed to the gills with expensive furniture, family heirlooms of silver and 19th century crystal, expensive art and carpets. But what I treasure now of those memories are what I learned from Julienne, when she would share memories of her own hard knocks childhood and her life now as our house keeper. She was also often our chauffeur picking us up from school , our cook, babysitter and friend. She was married to a man who worked as a janitor at the local plant where my father was CEO in charge of over 1500 people. Her house was a small row house in a working class neighbourhood, very much like my neighbourhood now. I remember spending the night at her small, but cozy house many times, hanging out with her two daughters who were already old enough to wear make- up, which was very exiting to be part of as an 8 yr.old. My house, like Julienne's, is devoid of fancy furniture, and expensive silver and crystal, or carpets and art. A lot of our furniture was made by my husband Michael, and the art decorating our walls is done by my son and me. I have learned to appreciate work done by one's own hands, be it a garden, a piece of furniture, or art. I taught myself to do small tapestries, in honour of both my parent's family traditions, where my mother came form a family of artists who painted, and my father came from a family where the women were skilled seamstresses. I have done 9 tapestries so far, and really enjoy drawing onto the fabric from a photograph, and then choosing the colour of my own interpretation. The writing grew out of the therapy sessions I had for two years after the tragic deaths of my two younger sisters and the total disintegration of my parents' marriage and their subsequent deaths on opposite sides of the globe in 2008. I grew up in luxury and now live modestly, but the lessons I have learned about integrity and commitment and true love and devotion were worth all the loss financially and socially. I am a different person, and  I am very grateful for that. My friend Brenda reminds me of Julienne in many ways. She is 5 years younger than me, but has always felt like my big sister, a big sister watching out for me. We met in 1998, when both our sons were in  Kindergarten together and became friends. She is so real, so warm and caring, and feels like family after all these years. She is always there for us, and has rescued us many times when we got stranded somewhere in the past when one of our used cars would break down. When Nicholas and I were in a collision last week, she was the person I called to come pick us up and she dropped everything and was there 10 minutes later. I love her big heart, that is always there to listen, to encourage and laugh. Like Julienne, she is a friend for all seasons, always optimistic, always a ready smile and an encouraging word. Springcleaning could be a bore, but with the memory of Julienne then and Brenda now, adding a bit of sparkle is actually fun.