Please Donate to Haiti

The North Side

approx. 2.5x6.5

acrylic on 200lb paper

I made this painting on the last day of the Emma Lake painting class in the summer of 2001. It was a pretty fast study of a mossy pine tree near the studio on campus. This was the class in which I finally figured out how to get acrylics to do roughly what I wanted them to do. This little study was an exercise that built on the breakthrough I had. When I got home from "camp" and showed my family the work I had created, my mom had a strong (positive) reaction to this painting, so I had it framed and gave it to her as a gift for her birthday. Which brings me to the reason for today's post...

It's my mom's birthday today! She is a pretty darn special lady and boy, does she love her family. She was a nurse for a few short years before my sisters and I were born, from then on she was a stay-at-home mom. I think it is because of the life she gave us girls growing up that I had the motivation to try to find a way to give a similar experience to my children when I had them. I remember in elementary school that I loved coming home for lunch to see my parents (dad was able to come home for lunch, too) and watch "The Flintstones" even though that hour went by quickly. And having mom home at the end of the school day gave me a sense of security that, looking back, was really priceless. She also volunteered at the school library for many years, so she was available if we ever needed her. At the same time she wasn't a crazy, clingy, over-protective mom. She was as good as it got and still is. I actually sometimes think, though, that if it weren't for us girls mom would have gone on to have an amazing career... she was born to care for others and there are so many people who would have benefited from having her as a nurse. To this day she loves medicine and is fascinated by it. She hasn't practiced for about 43 years, but her knowledge is as sharp as if she just took classes yesterday.

This year for her birthday mom asked us all to forgo buying her gifts. What she really wanted was for us to take that money and donate to an organization sending aide to Haiti. Right now through to Feb.12 the Government of Canada will match any contributions made to eligible organizations. So please, if you are Canadian and haven't done so already, consider taking a bit of your hard earned money and channeling it through one of these agencies to help the people of Haiti. Here is a link to the organization I used: Plan Canada- Haiti Earthquake and click on "make a donation today" for the quick and easy steps to do just that. I can't help but think that if there was some horrific disaster in our country we would not want the world to forget or ignore us. It is unimaginable what these families are going through and I am pretty sure there is a part of my mom, the nurse, who would love to be there helping the injured. By asking my sisters and I to make these donations on her behalf, she has found a way to help and she has made a difference.

"... I've got a good mother

And her voice is what keeps me here.

Feet on ground, heart in hand,

Facing forward, be yourself..."

- Jann Arden