About

My Story...Create joy

That is what it is all about for me. Creating space for the arts and entertainment. Creating memories that can last a life time either through performance, events or creating a craft that brings a smile to an adult or child. To create the wonderment and excitement that can block out a tragedy is a skill I learned very early in my adult life.

A long time ago I had a son. He was a beautiful little boy who just so happen to have cancer as a baby. His life was not meant to be a long one. He was incurable. My goal as his mother was to create joy in all the moments I had with him. I wanted to give that to him as a way to cope with the reality of his existence. I made that decision early on in his fight for what little life he was given. Things were very hard for me. His suffering was immense, and I had to watch. I remember sitting in the tiny rooms at the oncology ward. The walls were thin and one could hear all the cry of the kids and parents getting bad news down the corridor.  Sometimes we would have to sit for 2 hours, sometimes 12 hours. It depended on the chemotherapy that day. It was all bitterly exhausting. I figured out a way to save both of us. I loved balloons. I bought tons of mylar balloons and blew then up prior to clinic days. Max loved this. The balloons were small and I could fasten them on sticks and make a giant bouquet. I took them to the clinic and gave them to the nurses to hand out each time we went. Instead of hearing cries I got to listen to joy coming out of the rooms. The nurses would walk in and give them to all the kids and I could hear the nurses say, “these are from a mother just like you in one of our other rooms.”

That little burst of magic changed my experiences during 4 years of clinic time. I created joy. It was easy and didn’t even cost much at all but what I got back was a way for me and my son to survive clinic times. He couldn’t wait to sit and watch me blow up all the magic the night before no matter how he felt. I later went on to throw parties in the bone marrow unit, dress in costumes for radiation days and turn his bone marrow unit into a magical balloon filled place. I never stopped creating joy.

I no longer have the little boy but I have the memories. I have the lessons I learned, I have the photos of all the joy I created for him. So for me, it is ALL about creating joy.

Create joy in all that you do. Children hold memories in their hearts for a life time.  I am a 51 year old woman and I still remember every single adult that created joy for me.