IN 2008, MY MOM PASSED AWAY after a seven-year battle with ovarian cancer. It crushed me in every way to lose my best friend and strongest ally in life. During this time, I also lost a job due to layoffs, had to quickly move to accommodate my new “broke” status and ended up in a boxy, white-walled apartment in the suburbs. Not my dream—and certainly not a cottage.
Discouragement set in and, my goodness, I sure missed my mom, who would’ve had great ideas for making that plain unit more livable. She was industrious and creative, always painting, wallpapering, sewing, rearranging and making a warm and welcoming home for all.
After a few months of moping around after she passed, it struck me that by not making my apartment more homey I was not honoring my mom’s memory, I was not appreciating what I had and I was not being present in the moment.