The last few weeks have been a bit of a blur. Yet other than the normal stresses of overseas travel and the odd grumpy client because timelines could not be met, most of it has been quite joyful.

For the “One Comes In” portion of this post, my son Chris and his lovely wife Diane have welcomed a new son, Ryan, into the world — a whopping big baby that was about the size of 3 month old babies back when I was doing the new-mother rounds. And he was just over 2 weeks early. Yikes! But everyone is doing well, his almost 3 year old brother Ian thinks he’s pretty cool, and all of that is a source of joy.

Our “One Goes Out” example was my husband’s beloved grandmother — Nan. I had listened to an inner instinct to book a trip to New Zealand several weeks ago and I’m so accustomed to those psychic nudges that neither I nor my husband questioned it.

A mere few days before departure we learned that she had been raced to the hospital and was not expected to live. But when the surprise factor was wiped away and my husband’s uncle told her to hang on — Mark would be arriving on Friday — she did. And she rallied splendidly so that they had a lovely visit over the next two days and chatted about all kinds of subjects. I am grateful for her nurturing presence in Mark’s life as a child because I truly know that he would not have been the kind-hearted person that he is today without that support and encouragement.

She left this world on Sunday, easing gently out after 96 years and a very full life. Those hours spent sitting around her bed over 3 days had been a celebration of her life and the funeral the following Thursday had the exact same tone — a celebration.

I am up to my eyeballs in catch-up work right now, but I shall endeavour to begin posting more often again.

If there’s one essential message that is transmitted by those moments of birth and death it is this. Do not put things off and think that there will always be time to do, see, be. The advertising execs at Nike knew the power of the phrase when they snagged it as part of their marketing — Just DO It!

We are personally living that message right now and it shall become an unfolding theme in my posts over the next several months.