Nora

Kate and I visited her Aunt Karen, Uncle Andres & Cousin Zion in Costa Rica for a much needed break.   We had many exciting adventures, and wrote Nora’s name wherever we went.

It turns out that there are two fundraising events on Mother’s Day weekend for causes that are now very dear to our family.

Meagan’s Walk, which raises funds for pediatric brain tumour research at SickKids, is always the Saturday.  Team Nora’s Narwhals was created for this event — Nora was very fond of the mysterious whale.  Macy’s hockey fundraiser from February went towards our total, as well as individual fundraising by friends and family.  Nora’s best friend, Tristyn, with help from friends, made beautiful bookmarks to raise money at the school.  Mark designed t-shirts based on Kate’s request to have Nora riding a Narwhal.

The Sporting Life Run, which raises funds for Camp Ooch, is always on Mother’s Day.  Participating in this run really helped me get through this day, running for Nora & Kate and the amazing Ooch.  Afterwards we went to High Park, which is our new Mother’s Day tradition that Kate started the year before when Nora and her dad were on their train trip across Canada.

 

Dylan & I went with friends to New York City in April to see John Prine at Radio City Music Hall (thanks to David for buying the tickets that got us all there).

I was reluctant to buy a souvenir for Kate because it was too hard knowing Nora wasn’t waiting at home for one too.  I decided to get one for Nora anyways, as she had asked that I continue to buy things for her.  When we finally went to a souvenir shop on our last day, I found these just as shown in the picture:

Camp Ooch was so amazing for Nora, and this month we started participating again in their programming, like Bluegrass Brunch that we attended last year with Nora.

Kate eagerly signed up for their Teomul Weekend at Camp (WAC) because she wanted to go to camp like Nora did.  Teomul is for kids whose sibling died from cancer.  The Ooch director sent us a picture to show her happily joining in on her first night at camp.

Our lake was frozen solid, so the 3 of us walked across it to Bon Echo Rock, visited the rock paintings, and thought about Nora.

 

Shirley Street School held their first annual Valentine’s Bake Sale in memory of Nora.  This is their way of keeping Nora forever in their hearts.  The $1,100 raised went towards Macy’s Hockey Fundraiser (see last post).

The amaryllis that Nora had planted with Leslie in November was in full bloom for us on Valentine’s Day.  Kate was so happy to see that there were 4 flowers in total, one for each of our family.

Also in February, a memorial was read about Nora at the Toronto District School Board Trustee meeting. It has been archived and is available online. Her memorial was read almost 1 hour into the meeting, so I recommend you fast forward video to 57:00. 

Nora’s cousin Macy and her hockey team — the Delta Wild Female Prep — held an exhibition game against the Vancouver Comets Midget AAA Female hockey team in Richmond, BC.  They raised over $25,000 dollars for pediatric brain tumour research at SickKids hospital (through Meagan’s Walk).  Please look at the links below for more information, pictures, videos and publicity.

Meanwhile in Toronto, we had a small gathering at Lisa & Mark’s house to commemorate Nora and keep tabs on the hockey game being played out West.

Fundraising_page:  https://www.sickkidsdonations.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?RegistrationID=4029086#&panel1-1
Delta Optimist interview of Macy:   http://www.delta-optimist.com/sports/wild-hosting-charity-game-on-sunday-1.23168570
Fundraiser Photos: https://www.flickr.com/gp/146593164@N08/wPhWe4
Game Photos: https://www.flickr.com/gp/146593164@N08/Cf8ed0
Silent auction Video: https://youtu.be/w_500D5hhQA
Macy’s speech Video: https://youtu.be/EqKjAD_RVGs
1 ^st period Video: https://youtu.be/Uye36AFNfKY
2 ^nd period Video: https://youtu.be/EPTzvKr2d5A
3 ^rd period Video: https://youtu.be/AtKBjVXdicc
Puck toss Video: https://youtu.be/vFC3L0kARDw
Post game ceremonies Video: https://youtu.be/WnDDsLMOFu4
SickKids tweet: https://twitter.com/sickkids/status/966357040145862656
Meagan’s Walk Newsletter piece on Macy’s fundraiser (see pg 2): click here

For her 7th birthday, Kate wanted to do what Nora did:  take 2 friends to a movie and then have lunch at Montana’s.  She chose to take Tristyn (Nora’s best friend) and Tyn’s younger sister, Kenzie.

Also on Kate’s birthday, an amaryllis flower started to open that Nora had planted in November with our friend Leslie.  It was a very special gift to Kate  on her birthday from Nora.

Our first Christmas without Nora with us…   Friends brought us trees to help us still go through the motions of having a Christmas for Kate.

This is a picture of Maya (Kate’s preschool teacher) and the little tree that she got for Kate.

Shirley Street School recognized the shared grief that our community feels about Nora’s death by lowering their flag to half-mast. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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If you were accidentally missed on the invite for Nora’s celebration, please read below and RSVP ASAP (jdyoung@friendlyfire.ca).   If you’re coming from out of town, we have had a few offers by neighbours/family of places to stay.

Date & Time:  Saturday, November 25th, 2017, 12 PM – 3 PM

Location: Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St W, Toronto, ON

The Parkers are inviting friends of Nora to come together to celebrate her beautiful life.  There will be a light lunch and bar service available, a special sharing of stories and memories at around 1 p.m., and the creation of a scrapbook (please bring a photo of Nora if you would like to incorporate it).

**RSVP** We know how loved Nora is, and how deeply her passing has affected her community. Lula has a fixed capacity, so it is important that you respond ASAP with your intentions regarding how many will attend.

In lieu of flowers or gifts, the Parkers would welcome donations to Meagan’s Walk or Camp Oochigeas.

For those who won’t be attending on Saturday but would like a way to send their thoughts to the Parkers, the entire community is invited to deliver cards and messages to Shirley Street Public School. The school staff will ensure that the family receives them.

A private family burial for Nora will be held in Gores Landing on Monday, November 20. A kid-friendly celebration of Nora’s life will take place at Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. W., on Saturday November 25, details to be confirmed shortly.

Globe and Mail notice

http://v1.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/Deaths.20171118.93395488/BDAStory/BDA/deaths

Nora passed quietly this morning at 6:45AM

Nora Kathleen Parker,  Sept 15, 2008 — Nov 16, 2017.

Our super strong and healthy girl is still hanging on.   I’m not going to lie, this is very difficult watching her like this.  The doctor and nurse assure us she is comfortable, and that we’re doing everything we can for her.

Kate has been staying home from school, spending her days quietly reading or playing (she’s made a little fort in her tiny little closet).  The grief councellor made a special visit to see her today and told us that she’s determined to keep her happy face on, and that’s Ok.