Linda Marie Romeril
I grew up in a fairly typical family. A mom and a dad, an older sister, a younger brother, and 4 grandparents that we loved spending time with each week. Most of my aunts, uncles and cousins lived in the same city, too, and we took for granted our frequent and friendly gatherings. I’m not saying we were a picture perfect family. There were sibling squabbles and parent-child power struggles, and times when things didn’t seem fair, but there was always the underlying sense of knowing we belonged, that we had worth, and that our contributions mattered. We were raised with a strong work ethic and we knew that our efforts would influence the outcome of our choices in life. We were given the room to make mistakes and the support to find agreeable solutions. As kids, we had a lot of freedom, a reasonable amount of responsibility, and a whole bunch of people in our lives that loved us and believed in our ability to gain value from our experiences. We had strong role models and a healthy sense of community. In short, we were luckier than we realized.
I believe the sense of family connection I had not only gave me roots, but also wings, and ultimately the courage to step out of my comfort zone and step up for the next leg of my journey. A few years later I found myself living almost a thousand miles away from my hometown, in a marriage that sadly wasn’t destined to last forever, and at the same time, celebrating the birth of a beautiful baby girl. By the time my little girl was 2 1/2 years old, I knew I needed to follow my heart to keep her safe, and my heart took me home again.
The open arms, the open hearts, and the everyday, unconditional support were things I no longer took for granted. Eighteen months after my homecoming, my 81 year old grandad died, and 6 months later, we said our goodbyes to my dad…he died at the age of 51. The following spring, his mom (my grandma) also passed away, and I believe she died of a broken heart at the loss of her son. Our family changed that year, big time, but as the number got smaller the love got even bigger. I came to understand (at a whole new level) what it meant to be connected to a long line of strong, heart-centered women. For my daughter and myself, it was my mom, my grandma, and a very dear great aunt that became the cornerstone of our family unit, and the easy togetherness the 5 of us “girls” experienced, was a reflection of the old adage that “home is where the heart is “.
Out of that caring, compassion and honouring of the things that really matter in life, “Rainbow the Clown” eventually came into being. Realizing first hand that sometimes life can throw us a curveball, my mom understood that a a splash of colour, a little bit of fun, and some laughter, could go a long way to brighten up a day. Her time as “Rainbow the Clown”, cheering up sick kids in the hospital, has been proof positive ♥
As for being luckier than we realized, those of us who know and love my mom today, also know how very blessed we are to have her in our lives ♥
