I ♥️ Aidan and SPACE

It was a cool and damp morning, and my friends chose to walk at Ricki Ave. That meant climbing a long hill, so I was not terribly keen to walk yesterday morning, but once I am warmly dressed and we got ourselves moving, I felt much better about being outdoors. Still, I was looking forward to coming home to a big fire, a warm and cozy house and my book.

When we got home, I opened the book as soon as I could. I could not be happier! I am over the moon about being so engaged by a book again. And I have three more books to read by Mr. Mason. But I must confess, the heat and my joy had me fall asleep as I was reading. I woke up just in time for lunch.

After lunch, it was time to Zoom with Aidan. It was so, so great to be back in touch with him, and as we talk, I am becoming clearer about SPACE. I want to help, but I’m not sure how. However, I find myself advocating for the creation of memberships as a prelude to becoming more active in fundraising and communications.

Aidan asked me about becoming a board member. I told him I’d love to be a board member because if I am to help with technical writing for SPACE, I have a lot of learning to do about their institutional vocabulary and becoming a board member will be an ideal training ground for me.

I’m very excited to be so engaged by Aidan and SPACE. My brain is waking up; I’m reviving an enthusiasm for advocacy work. I’m becoming who I once was a long time ago again, and I couldn’t be happier. And I’m ‘meeting’ very, very interesting people.

My story on the Library of Dysfluent Voices is a hit. I’m thrilled of course, but I’ve been listening to all the others who have submitted their story. And yesterday, the curator of the Library sent me an email asking me to “draw” my voice. He, Connor, is revising his dysfluency font and by asking people with stories on the Library to draw their voices, he hopes to be inspired with ideas for his new font. 

As each day passes, since I met Aidan, I’ve become far more integrated with the international stuttering community. It’s positively thrilling. Stuttering is proving to be anything but a disability; it is opening my mind and my heart to an amazing community of people. My fingers are crossed that I become a SPACE board member because I’m so incredibly inspired by Aidan and by everyone whom I meet through him. I am terribly proud to be part of his world. 

Last night I watched The Great Escaper, a PBS Masterpiece show. And oh my God, I loved it. It was a bittersweet masterpiece for me. I was so charmed by Glenda Jackson when she burst into my consciousness with such fury and genius. It was through tears that I watched much of this program knowing that it was her last work. 

And watching Michael Cain was incredibly moving. He is a master actor and seeing he and Ms. Jackson work miracles in this dramatization of a true and terribly touching story was profound. War stories devastate me. The scenes shot in the Bayeux Cemetery absolutely shattered me. There are five thousand graves there. Five thousand young men were robbed of their lives. War is obscene.

We haven’t had rain for a long time. We’ve had brief showers of angel piss, and overcast skies, but no heavy rain … until today. It’s mighty wet out there, so I’ll be spending my day reading and, yes, doing more baking. I’m going to make one of my favourite fruit cakes: a plumb cake. I’ve an invitation for lunch tomorrow at new neighbours Lynn and Hugh’s place, and I’m taking the cake.