Monday Mimisms ~ You see, there were these bees....

....and before I knew it, they were a'flittin' and a'flying around the internet dropping ripples like sweet dripping honey on a sweetness starved day.

Where did they come from?
Glad you asked.

Once upon a time in a faraway right here on this blog universe, there was a very tired Queen. Ahem. That would be moi.

She was busy tending to personal matters of an extremely painful kind. Her father was very sick, still is very sick, and the Queen was overwhelmed...with worry and to-do lists and angst and not enough hours in the day to brush her hair much less wage a peace campaign. But that's not what this is about really. And this where the Queen steps out of her third-person-3 dimensional- Internet self and speaks from her heart. That would be now. Ahem.

Has there ever been a time in your life when it was so full of hurricane force winds that the days start to run together? You can't tell day from night? You forget what day it is? My life for the past 22 days has been like that. I've been sitting with my dad at every possible moment as he fights with his liver and his heart in a Palliative Care unit not so far away. He is still very sick and will most likely be moved to a Hospice facility soon. My sister and my mother have also been there. It has been and continues to be one of the most sobering and painful times in my life....watching him slip away and try with all his might to stay.....reversing the roles....his pain, his struggles, learning about end-of-life stages of a disease....and becoming a parent at times to the man who raised me.



This was and is my view from the third floor.

Had it not been for a certain group of blogger friends - and I do mean friends - I'm not sure I'd even be posting this tonight. But I had to take a moment to do so. It would not be like them to want credit, to ask to be named or to seek glory or praise for themselves, in fact, they might just be embarrassed. I am not. I am honored and humbled at the lengths to which they've gone to keep me surrounded with concern, laughter, advice, prayers, offering open safe spaces for venting, phone calls to and from them at all hours of the day and night came my way and continue to.. At one point there were over 300 emails in one day within the group (!) and when it was impossible for me to respond I'd always read what they were saying as I wandered the halls to the cafeteria or sat while Daddy slept, while I tried to keep working and singing and carrying on running on empty and full of adrenaline. They cracked me up. They made me cry. They were - and are - my net...........so Vinny and Nancy, Travis and Pam, Julie, Katherine, Starr, Desert Songbird, Anndi and Dawn.....you're busted.

My heart and mind has not been on blogging, my posts have been sparse. They knew how much the loss of that connection, especially at this time, would bother me. They started an email thread to make it easier for me to keep in contact with all of them about my dad. This little group, in addition to so many of you who've emailed regularly offering comfort and hugs - literally has become my lifeline.

I will post the details of some of my shenanigans later when things calm down and how some of you played a major role in them at a later date (I'm talking to you, Julie) -like the cute security guard caper in the House of Death or the night I spent in the emergency room downstairs from daddy in the same hospital with a half-crazed man on a stretcher (don't ask) and really, do you want to hear that the Queen cussed in the hospital Chapel?
I didn't think so.

But back to the Bees and me.
I had a Blackberry. I had a laptop.
They had a plan.

Just when I was about to break out in hives - literally - they started a hive.
Literally. Vinny had a brainstorm and it was all a buzz from the get-go. There is no stopping them, I tell ya. Remember how every year the CAT BLOSOPHERE is a force to be reckoned with? (and still is...I bow to the kitties) Now we have winged bees!
I know they love me and I love them. We've been through a lot of "stuff" together. I also know they love peace globes. Many of them met through the movement way back in 2006 (that's a loooong time ago in blog years) and are fiercely passionate about it. We've grown together as a group of bloggers with a common purpose and some sort of magical thing that gets hold of all of us this time of year. I can't explain it. They can't explain it. But the first week of November is nothing short of inspiring. And that is because of all of YOU.

The globes spin, the world speaks, the tears flow, and every year the posts I read become more powerful. And although the Universe has thrown a huge challenge my way this year, I have a solid inclination in my heart-of-hearts that this year is going to inspire all of us in ways we never expected. For my dad I want peace.....in whatever form that takes. I am ready for him to be at peace and out of pain. That has taken some internal work - work I couldn't have accomplished without the time I needed to back away from the blog a bit - permission granted by the Worker Bees en force.

They said it was OK for me to let go.....in more ways than one.
I don't know all of what they've planned in that Beehive of theirs (I've been politely told to BUTT OUT and GET SOME REST) but I know that today they're planning to launch a massive meme offensive sometime around midnight Blogosphere Standard Time.
I am quite sure the United Nations missile defense system is not as well-organized, from what I hear through the brapevine.

Don't be surprised if Google goes down today. It could happen.


Sidebar: No, you are not hallucinating. There is an ocean in the hospital...and it makes wavy sounds. Baby Boy loves it!

I have had some downtime and rest today. It's been good to focus on the Facebook peace project and simple household chores for a change. The upcoming week promises to be difficult. I am still tending to my precious dad, making decisions about work and his placement, and feeling the stress of the time crunch of this launch.....but not nearly as much as I did before the bees showed up.

I'm quite sure that tomorrow's thread convo will be back to "Why did they give him this medicine NOW??" and "Why can't I find a decent cup of coffee in the whole hospital??" and "PUHLEASE somebody keep me from having a meltdown right here and now." ....to which I will either receive a "Snap out of it, Mimi! Don't make me come over there" from Starr, a virtual hug from Nancy, a prayerful tune from Songbird, a poem from Travis, an across-the-border Canadian phone call from Anndi, a stern "Drink your water, Dear" from Vinny, marvelous sage advice from Kat, a giggle from Julie or simply "Just checking. You're in my heart and my prayers today" from Dawn, who by the way, climbed a rock in the wilds of Newfoundland to wave at me and take a picture which she won't let me post. .....

To say "thank you" is totally inadequate and besides, I will admit, I still need them and depend on them. And YOU guys, my readers, just to know you are here and praying for my dad and the whole situation with comments and letters and chats to check in...how can I ever repay you? I've had to learn to lean on somebody else - all of you - and trust that it will work out.

I now understand that's OK. That's what they expect. That is what they do. It's in the Worker Bee Manual or something.

I must do my part and let the bees buzz.
Hands off the Beehive.


So if you see this Worker Bee thing buzzing through the sphere, consider offering them a hand if you feel so inclined and know this: It was not borne of minutiae, cuteness, boredom, or trivial fodder ran amok; but of concern for someone who needed help, of friendship, and a commitment to a common passion known as Peace Globes.



When one fell down - that would be moi - a whole hive came to my rescue.

It's not likely I'll ever forget it.