My Queen Victoria

This weekend marks the birthday of Queen Victoria, whom all of us are too young to remember and probably wouldn’t at all if our country hadn’t declared a holiday in her honor.

So I want to write about my own personal Queen Victoria. She’s somewhat of an icon in Portage la Prairie, known and loved by many. She’s been lovingly referred to as “a party wherever she goes.” She celebrates an important milestone birthday this month—though you’d never guess—and I’m proud to call her my friend.

I’m talking about the unsinkable Vicki Hooke.

One reason Vicki’s so recognized in Portage is that she taught at Crescentview School for nearly four decades and continues to substitute since her retirement. Countless students remember her fondly as the teacher who encouraged them and made school fun. But even if you never had the privilege of being one of her students, you’ve probably played pickle-ball with her, partied with her, seen her in a play, sang show tunes or Christmas carols around her piano, or volunteered with her somewhere.

I first met Vicki when she began attending my church in the late nineteen hundreds. Knowing Vicki, her friends quickly convinced her to join the church drama team which I led. I soon came to appreciate this bundle of energy who brought life and fun to every rehearsal, laughs and applause to every performance. She served with us for close to two decades, until church drama teams became passé and ours dissolved.

Today, Vicki serves our congregation as an usher and greeter—a perfect fit for my gregarious friend. Years ago, I declared her a “little pillar” of the church for her faithfulness through thick and thin. And so she is.

I soon dragged Vicki in with me when I became involved with the Prairie Players, our local community theatre group. We continued to act, laugh, and learn lines together. As a playwright, I’ve lost count of the parts I’ve written especially with Vicki in mind, for both these groups.

Our latest shenanigans involve riding the Herman Prior Centre bus to see plays at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, followed by shopping and supper at Polo Park, and gabbing all the way there and back. Vicki’s unparalleled ability to make friends everywhere we go makes me feel like a wallflower in comparison, but I love it. Her energy at 70 surpasses what most of us enjoyed in our thirties. You can’t hang around with Vicki and not feel better about everything. Her three young granddaughters are blessed.

If all that’s not enough, under the sparkly earrings, feather boas, and musical laughter, Vicki is a woman of depth and character. I’ve seen her handle real struggles with strength and grace. She’s not afraid to ask for help when she needs it and she passes on praise generously. Vicki grew up in a family that valued education, hard work, and service to community. She’s living proof that a woman of faith and substance can also be the most exuberant party hostess, that wisdom and humor can reside in the same little body, and that a merry heart really is the best medicine.

I thank God for my friend, my Queen Victoria, and for the wonderful way He created her. If you know Vicki, wish her well this birthday month and thank her for all the joy she brings to our community and our world.

The real Queen Victoria, after surviving her eighth assassination attempt, said, “It is worth being shot at to see how much one is loved.”

Happy Birthday, Miss Vicki. I hope that, even without getting shot at, you know how deeply you are loved. 

Vicki and Me

 

Ornaments I Love, Part 2 - The Pageant Bears

Long-time residents of Portage la Prairie remember the energetic Christmas banquets put on by Portage (now Prairie) Alliance Church through the 1990’s and into the 2000’s. At its peak, our banquet ran for eight nights over two weekends, just to accommodate all the guests who lined up outside our doors early on an October Saturday to purchase tickets. Contrary to popular assumption, the event was never a fundraiser, but a labour of love by dozens of volunteers over hundreds of hours and months of rehearsals. The banquets became known for magnificent music and drama, marvelous meals, and delightful decorating throughout the building. For many guests, the ambience of Christmas sights, smells, and sounds provided their kickoff of the season.

Although usually involved on some level, I’d never had to lead the whole production. Until 2003. Previous leadership had moved away, and it fell on my shoulders to steer the team in gifting our community with another creative Christmas experience. We chose a 1950’s theme called Christmas at Velma’s Diner.  It turned out to be our biggest undertaking and probably the most fun one yet.

I was scared stupid.

One of the smartest things we did, though, was recruit prayer partners. We asked members of our congregation to “adopt” one person who would be serving all the nights of the banquet—musicians, actors, technicians, etc. They agreed to pray for that person every day for a month leading up to and throughout the banquet nights, and find ways to encourage them. Each “adoptee” knew they had someone to call if they needed prayer for their health or anything else.

I hit the jackpot when my friend Susan Beauchamp adopted me as her prayer partner. I knew she would faithfully talk to God about me. What I didn’t know was:

a) how challenging the event would become;

b) that during that busy season, my husband would take a fall on the ice while working hundreds of miles from home and fracture a bone, putting him off work for a month and increasing the stress to a whole new level; or

c) that Susan would bring me a gift each week leading up to the banquets. By the end of the stint, I had collected a set of four adorable “Christmas Pageant Bears.” How appropriate!

Photo courtesy of G.Loewen Photography

Lined up together, the little bears were reminiscent of children presenting the Christmas story on stage. Each day when I saw them, they reminded me someone was praying specifically for me and for each of my teammates. 

Eventually, PAC’s Christmas banquets ran their course and we moved on to other ways of blessing our community. But I still delight in unwrapping my pageant bears every December and displaying them—a wonderful reminder of the power of prayer, of God’s sustaining grace through a stressful time, and of the loving care of a sweet friend.

Of Friendship and Gratitude and Spa Days...

What do you do when you have a significant life achievement to celebrate?

What do you do when there’s something you’ve always wanted to do but you’re too chicken to do alone?

What’s the best way to thank a friend for free professional services?

The answer to these three seemingly unrelated questions is the same: you kill all three birds by taking said friend for a day at the spa!

My photographer friend Gayle has been taking my head shots for years, free of charge, in hopes that one day her work would show up in her author friend Terrie’s published novel. When that day finally arrived this past January, I knew it was time for celebration. And gratitude. And, since she’d already experienced the spa, I knew Gayle could walk me through it so I wouldn’t feel like the complete idiot novice I was, wandering around lost, not knowing how it all worked, and inadvertently eating the sugar scrub. All I had to do was foot the bill and book the appointment. Then call to reschedule the appointment. Then call to reschedule THAT appointment.

Can't believe how good we look. Oh wait. That might not  actually be us.

When life finally settled down enough for us to actually get to the spa, it was heavenly! Hours of sitting around in fluffy bathrobes, sipping tea and chatting; soaking our stress away in a mineral pool, hot tub, and sauna; getting tucked into cozy beds for facials; being served lovely snacks and lunch; sharing witty repartee with the gregarious ladies who did our nails, all while listening to relaxing music and catching up on one another’s lives. What’s not to love?

So why was I conflicted between relishing the treat and feeling guilty over such extreme indulgence?

I had no problem with my gift to Gayle. After all, she had earned it and more! But why did it seem like such a stretch to believe I might also be worth it?

If you’re a hardworking mom who’s grown used to putting herself last, you can probably relate. Journalist Kristin Wong says when we’re overwhelmed with life, self-care is often the first thing to go. But self-care isn’t merely a good idea. It’s crucial. As she points out, “self-care prevents overload burnout, reduces the negative effects of stress, and helps you refocus. Breaks are the epitome of self-care, and studies show they’re great for helping you perform better.”

Gayle and I both found it a challenge to simply relax for the 15 minutes our facial masks took to work their magic. What time is it? Aren’t the 15 minutes up yet? When is that girl coming back? Shouldn’t we be moving on to the next thing?

That’s when we decided it’s actually good discipline for us to go to the spa. Being pampered teaches us to relax, and relaxing is a discipline right up there with exercise and a healthy diet.

I like that theory, don’t you?