Because he believes in miracles, miracles begin to happen. Because he is sure that his thoughts can change his life, his life begins to change. Because he is certain that he will find love, that love appears.
Now and then he is disappointed. Sometimes he gets hurt.
Pacific Dragons 2km Premier Mixed Team - (b-f-l-r) Kaizer Austin, Michelle Hone, Lisa Green, Rachel Mosen, Joanne Petterson, Nicola Frowen, Geoff Eldridge (Jenny's Candle), Kerry Davenport, Helen Papin, Paul Smith, Di Morgan, Michelle Ng, Stuart Young, Anne Weber, Christian Happich, Annett Happich, Christophe Pistoni, Craig Stewart, Graeme Bacon, Matt Spies, Michal Hrcka, Justin Spake, Mark Hall, Todd Skeels, Norman Joe - Macau/China - Thu 29 Jul 2009
A candle for Jenny - Macau/China - Thu 29 Jul 2009
Pacific Dragons Small Boat 200m Premier Womens - (b-f-l-r) Michelle Hone, Nicola Frowen, Joanne Petterson, Annett Happich, Michelle Ng, Anne Weber, kathaleen Burrows, Di Morgan, Julia Ryall, Suzy Kong, Kerry Davenport, Helen Papin, Lisa Green, Rachel Mosen - Macau/China - Fri 30 Jul 2010
Geoff, Joanne and Mike Haslam - Macau/China - Fri 30 Jul 2010
Premier Mixed 500m Final - Macau/China - Sat 31 Jul 2010
Pacific Dragons Premier Mixed 500m Team - Back (l-r) Geoff Eldridge, Norman Joe, Rachel Mosen, Kerry Davenport, Darren Ma, Todd Skeels, Craig Stewart, Justin Spake, Michal Hrcka, Suzy Kong, Annett Happich, Mark Hall, Lisa Green, Stuart Young, Toby Wilson, Graeme Bacon Front (l-r) Michelle Ng, Helen Papin, Christian Happich, Matt Spies, Michelle Hone, Nicola Frowen, Di Morgan, Paul Smith, Christophe Pistoni, Julia Ryall, Kathaleen Burrows - Macau/China - Sun 01 Aug 2010
just because you have looked at something doesn’t mean that you have seen it. Just because something is available instantly to vision (*) does not mean that it is available instantly to consciousness. Or, in slightly more general terms: access is not synonymous with learning. What turns access into learning is time and strategic patience (*).
via A lesson in strategic patience (*) by Nicholas Carr' (*).
A great acoustic version of this song and something different to their normal approach/style. Great to see them so relaxed (love the Malaysia T-Shirt that Billie Joe Armstrong is wearing). The song has an interesting background.
There seemed to be so much hope as I took this photo.
For me, it was the hope that we could take her home (she had negotiated it to be Wed, so Jo and I could go to our Aus Dragon Boat training session that Tue night) and care for her until she quietly left us, like Jenny and Jo had done with Margaret, their mother, 10 years earlier.
It was not meant to be and it is amazing how quickly things can change and how you need to accept, adapt and let go to the circumstances which we are confronted with as we move through life.
It is in these moments that I came to fully understand the following words from Paulo Coehlo's novel, The Fifth Mountain (which I would read 6 months later):
Fear reaches only to the point where the unavoidable begins; from there on, it loses its meaning. And all we have left is the hope that we are making the right decision.
A story for another day.
For now, I remember Jenny and the final week of her life, that she spent in Intensive Care Unit of St George Private Hospital, before she left us on Tue 30 Jun 2009.
Postscript
Amazingly, about an hour after posting the above (maybe about the time Jenny's heart failed two years earlier), a post titled Regrets came through from Paulo Coelho. It is based on this post:
It touchs on the time I had hoped for at home with Jenny and things we might have been able to talk about.
In the end, she left us very suddenly (and with much trauma - unlike her Mothers passing which was very peaceful and serene, if you can understand that) and we were not able to say goodbye.
I carry some of the regrets Bronnie mentions, but in the end I would like to think we lived a good life that allowed us to make the most of the time we had together.
The Cancer made us better people and we did live life to full - Do what you can, when you can. I would say. For Jenny, it was Don't Wonder 'What If?'. Every time we parted, I would say I love you and often many times in between.
One thing I know for sure, it is that through Jenny's life and passing, I have become a better person - I feel guilty about this in many ways, but at the same time I draw some comfort.
