{"id":710,"date":"2011-12-04T01:47:33","date_gmt":"2011-12-04T05:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hamiltonartist.com\/blog\/?p=710"},"modified":"2011-12-05T00:09:10","modified_gmt":"2011-12-05T04:09:10","slug":"a-bittersweet-homecoming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hamiltonartist.com\/blog\/?p=710","title":{"rendered":"A BITTERSWEET HOMECOMING"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was tired and drained as I sat in the Vancouver airport. \u00a0I was on my way home; home to Hamilton. \u00a0I was travelling on WestJet – the same route that I had taken that first time almost 3 years ago. \u00a0It is a bittersweet homecoming as I walked through the terminal, passing the art installations and shops that I had passed once before. \u00a0I remember the excitement of new love; the anticipation of meeting Lennie for the first time and the joy of planning a life with someone. \u00a0Now there was an ache in my heart. \u00a0If I had been shot or stabbed through the heart I would have died. \u00a0But this pain, as if my heart was cracked in two, was not one that I would die from, no matter how much it hurt.<\/p>\n

Lennie and I had always stayed in constant communication while I traveled, making sure that I was okay. \u00a0But this time I sat there, feeling completely alone. \u00a0Lennie is gone, his ashes scattered over the blue ocean of Hawai’i and my once deep affection and love for his 29 year old daughter, Malia, shattered by her and the ex-wife’s covert actions as Lennie lay dying.<\/p>\n

Life can often seem unjust, but we never know what lies ahead for us. \u00a0No one could have ever\u00a0prophesied\u00a0on February 13, 2009, that the very next day, by\u00a0serendipitous circumstance I would meet, fall in love with and have 996 days and nights with a man who would become one of the most important people in my life.\u00a0 For all of our trials and tribulations over the past 15 months treating his cancer, and for all of the sorrow and betrayal that I have endured with 2 of Lennie’s daughters and his ex-wife since his passing, I am grateful to God for putting Lennie in my life and I in his. \u00a0Although our time together was short he was the best time that I ever had.<\/p>\n

Thank you Lennie Schneider for giving me the strength and courage to go on. \u00a0And most of all for giving me your unconditional love. \u00a0I will not\u00a0desecrate your memory by floundering in a sea of tears.<\/p>\n

I am now back in my old life. \u00a0The old life that fit me so comfortably. \u00a0But I am not the same person. \u00a0I will take the love and the memories and tuck them away in a special place in my heart as I move forward to see what life still holds in its hand for me.<\/p>\n

~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n

This Saturday, December 10 and Sunday, December 11<\/strong> I will be hosting\"\"<\/a> my annual Open House & Sale<\/strong> at my home and studio at 47 Duke St – apt 2 in Hamilton from 12 to 4 p.m. <\/strong>both days. \u00a0This year it will also be a tribute to Lennie with some photos, memorabilia and Hawai’ian treats. \u00a0I hope to see you there.<\/p>\n

Kathryn<\/em><\/p>\n

www.kathrynsmith.com<\/p>\n

905-528-4197<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was tired and drained as I sat in the Vancouver airport. \u00a0I was on my way home; home to Hamilton. \u00a0I was travelling on WestJet – the same route that I had taken that first time almost 3 years ago. \u00a0It is a bittersweet homecoming as I walked through the terminal, passing the art […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-710","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lennie-and-kathryn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hamiltonartist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hamiltonartist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hamiltonartist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hamiltonartist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hamiltonartist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=710"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.hamiltonartist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":726,"href":"https:\/\/www.hamiltonartist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710\/revisions\/726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hamiltonartist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=710"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hamiltonartist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=710"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hamiltonartist.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=710"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}