25 Years - Built Ford Tough

Hard to believe but it was 25 years ago that my brother John landed his first job. He was in high school and started working Wednesday evenings at Grogan Ford. That job led to a career as a Ford Class A mechanic.

Before Christmas John was commenting to me that his 25th anniversary was coming up. After sufficient reminiscing, I asked what the date was so I could put it on my calendar. I knew that I wanted to mark the milestone but I wasn't sure how. Obviously if it was my sister, I would send flowers. However, sending flowers to the garage just didn't seem to be a good idea.

I decided on cookies. I just happen to have a car shaped cookie cutter that looks more like a VW Beetle, but I used blue icing to Ford-ify them. My friend Char helped me with the icing and Mom & Dad acted as delivery agents.

I'm super proud of my brother. Congrats on the hard work and dedication. Love you loads.

Sensational Send Off

I've said this before and I'll say it again. I have worked with some pretty fantastic people during my years in TV. Last Saturday I had a farewell party that was a testament to this fact. I had so much fun with my colleagues that have become like family.

In addition to all my friends that currently work at CTV London, some old friends showed up too!

I worked with Jo Ann for about 8 years during which, I started to call her my London Mom. This stemmed from a time when I had to get an immunization needle and I was scared. I said I needed to squeeze my mom's hand and she offered to substitute. Since then she became my confidant and advice-giver!

Another blast from the past was Richard! Richard & I worked together while he was the 6pm producer. The guy kept me in stitches constantly. He's hilarious. We also share the same taste in music and have had many great talks about the merits of different artists/albums. I'm so glad we have kept in touch over the past 7 years since he left. (can't believe it's been that long!)

And, making a surprise appearance...Mr. Lightfoot. The trickster told me he had to work. This didn't surprise me as he works most weekends, so what a great surprise when he walked in. It's been nearly 2 years since Scott moved on to Toronto but happy to call this talented guy my friend.

My friend Lisa pulled this event together. That's her thing...and she's so good at it! Lisa &I met on my first day when she was training me as a PA. She was also planning the company picnic and I was amazed at how she could multi-task and pull together such an awesome event. Since then we have gone on to be great friends. Friends that love board games, planning events, stalking celebs at TIFF and watching ER, Survivor and The Oscars.

So many awesome people (some of which I didn't even get pictures of!) were there to celebrate with me. Special thanks to the late-comers who had to work but came when they finished up. Norm, Lisa, Trevor and Laura - you guys showed stamina!

Possibly the best part about the evening was the CAKE. Special thanks to Cristina Howorun for arranging the most amazing cake ever. It was a VW beetle with Paul McCartney sticking his head out the window! How perfect is that? It was the most photographed item of the evening. LOL. And it tasted great too!

Thanks All! It was a blast.

Flashback

It's funny how a small thing can trigger a memory at any moment. Over the holidays, my uncle Doug drove me to the airport and picked me up after my trip to France. He used my Beetle to do this and when I opened the door to climb in, my senses were overwhelmed. My car smelled like my Grandad.

I'm not sure exactly what the mix was (perhaps a cologne + fisherman's friend?) but to me, it smelled just like Grandad. It has been nearly 20 years since he passed away so it was a bit startling to me when I first caught the scent. The sense of smell is a powerful thing.

And then it happened again. This weekend, I was at the Petrolia hospital and walking down the corridor was like walking in a time warp. Not a lot has changed in those hallways over the years including the very same black and white photos hanging on the wall. As I walked past one room in particular, I was overcome with emotion. It hit me like a ton of bricks and immediately brought tears to my eyes.

I flashed back to being 6 years old and sitting in the "family" room while my Grandma Mills was in that very hospital. I remembered being really sad because everyone else was really sad. I remembered staring at my red corduroy pants as my mom explained to me what an aneurysm is and how Grandma would not be coming home with us.

Thirty years have passed and it was just like yesterday. Again, it caught me completely off guard with a wave of emotion.

I am thankful to have such a great memory for such details because sometimes all you have left of someone very special is memories.