Yesterday, I went to Oshawa for lunch, leaving Jay on his own to fend for himself, which was a good test for him. Last winter, while Rick and I were parked in Miami, we met a couple, Vic and Val from Oshawa. We have been keeping in touch and when Val heard I was in Markham, she invited me over for lunch. We had a terrific visit though it was far too short and my lunch looked and tasted like something you would expect from a five star restaurant. (Thanks so much, Val!) When I returned to Markham, Jay was just enjoying some quiet time and it was evident that he had managed just fine alone.

This morning I was up bright and early and on my way to see Rosemary Altea at the Holiday Inn downtown Toronto. She is a world-renowned author, gifted medium and healer who I had seen last summer through The Learning Annex. Today's event was a daylong workshop about her new book Soul Signs. Rosemary is an entertaining speaker whose stories are both fascinating and informative and she had the audience's full attention. The morning session covered the topic of her book and the afternoon was spent with Rosemary doing readings throughout the crowd. Her accuracy is uncanny as I discovered for myself last year when Jim came through her.

The best part of my day was meeting several other ladies and sharing our life experiences. We exchanged phone numbers and email addresses and I hope to hear from them through the website. At lunch I sat with a woman who used to own a marina on Lake Kashabog, where Jim's parents had summered for years. Later in the day, at a small informal reception, I sat beside a woman who happened to be from Shanty Bay. We learned that we both did Reiki, we knew many people in common and she had heard about Jim's death in 1993 and even knew where I used to live. I had felt Jim's presence there all day and I marvelled at the synchronicity of my meetings with these women, reminding me that we really live in a tiny world after all.

It was another good test for Jay and Rachel with no one there to cook for them all day, however it was a test this time they failed. I arrived home at 7:00 PM, just after they were coming home from a late "lunch" at a Thai restaurant. It seems their cooking skills had escaped them and this dining out venture was the easiest, quickest solution. I had to fight with my fear that Jay will be unable to maintain his new eating habits without me when I leave but I know that it is something only he can resolve. His fate lies entirely with him and I can only hope he will do well without me when I head back to Vancouver. (I really do need to stop being such a "Mom"!)