Dear Donimo,
I know you sideways, in my role as a member of Jackson’s health care team.
Our times together were often quiet, centred on the well being of the wee lad,
but people can say a lot with few words, and the love of their companions speaks volumes –
so I’ll do my best by Jackson, (and Sarah), until you can re-constellate in the stars.
“The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers & cities; but to know someone who thinks & feels with us, & who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden.” — Goethe “The joy of meeting and the sorrow of separation … […]
I “met” Donimo online nine years ago. Soon after she asked if anyone in the UK would like a visitor and she and Sarah arrived on our doorstep to stay for a short while. To me, it was a bit like having some really interesting, creative and beautiful superstars turn up: Like Tilda Swinton and […]
Living too far apart, hadn’t seen my niece-in-law
for too long, but my memories of her from Vancouver
and Fredericton are full of nonsense and mischief.
That photo of her on the balcony, holding Jackson
shows her beauty and love. Weeping and smiling . . .
I only met Donimo recently, but I’m sure glad I got to spend some time with her. I didn’t know a whole lot about Donimo’s preferences this way but I always thought she was pretty classy. The night I heard she’d passed on, I wanted to raise one to her, so I decided to make […]
I don’t remember when exactly I met Donimo, but I know, bodily, my uncommon impression of her that I’ve felt ever since — her solidity, her calm presence and extraordinary grace, inquisitiveness, her thoughtful considerations, her deeply moral and big-thinking way of knowing this world. I know Donimo as authentic, electric. Special. Especially among so […]
I would like to share with you something I learned from my sister in her final days. For months my sister was bedridden and in constant severe pain for which no medication was helping. A few days before she passed she was strong enough to be carried downstairs to their patio. She spent about an […]
This is an excerpt from “Permission to Believe,” by Marc Gellman, in Jewish Insights on Death and Mourning, ed Jack Riemer. I read this quote to D repeatedly in the days before she died, and twice on the day she died, the second time in the moments before she lost consciousness. This book helped us […]
I have not seen Donimo for many years. When I last saw her, she had some physical challenges and she was doing ok. I particularly remember her artistic talents, her keen intelligence and her fierce passion for life. Reading Sarah’s tribute, I am absolutely struck by the love that she both gave and inspired. It is an inspiring and touching legacy. I am glad that her pain is ended, tho, like everyone, I wish that our healing resources had had more to offer. I wish as much ease as possible to those who knew her, loved her, and were loved by her.
For Donimo, a favorite poem by Rumi:
We come whirling out of nothing
scattering stars like dust.
The stars make a circle
and in the middle we dance.
Come out of the circle of time
and into the circle of love.
