BOOK OF JUDE – Mindful Revelations

A Life Well-Lived

I am Jude. My heart goes out to everyone grieving Angie’s transition and I offer my sincere condolences to the Parker family.

Death is never easy.

However, I have come to believe that there are gifts on the other side of grief. 

Angie has left a remarkable example on how to Live Well While Dying. 

Her courage, purpose and inspiration have created a lasting legacy. Among other things, she was an amazing mother, friend and role model and we each have our own special memories forever. 

She didn’t allow her diagnosis to limit her. In fact, for Angie, it became a call to action. 

She confronted ALS with Full Capacity Sparkle and inspired people around the world to Break Free and Be Better along the way.

She was a warrior, in the truest sense of the word.

Surprisingly, somewhere during this difficult process, she became my heroine. 

Not the romanticized version we normally see in movies, jumping over tall buildings and swooping in to save the day. 

Angie was so much more. 

She never stopped fighting or sought any sympathy, despite her condition. She simply showed up everyday without blame or complaint and put the work in. And it was hard work!

Imagine being in the advanced stages of this debilitating disease while raising teenage twin daughters, managing your home and trying to maintain your health and mental wellness. 

And if that wasn’t enough, she created a blog, began sharing her struggles and experiences and subsequently wrote Writing with My Eyes: Staying Alive While Dying in only two months, literally one blink at a time.

It’s incredible when you consider it. 

But she didn’t do it alone. That would have been impossible. She had a team of caregivers, close friends and family members who have selflessly supported her and the girls through this challenging process.  

There were two people in particular who demonstrated unwavering faith and dedication in this fight from the very start. 

Angie’s mother Carol, and her sister, Bev. 

They are both superheroines in their own right. 

Neither of them would ever want any public recognition for what they have done over the past five years but their care and uncommon commitment have inspired me, and many others, to Be Better.  

They have exemplified love through their everyday actions. 

Their devotion provided me with a regular reminder of the sacrifices and support I have received from my mother and all of the other important Black women in my life.

https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/n-s-mother-and-author-who-used-her-eyes-to-write-her-life-story-has-died-1.6279771?fbclid=IwAR2gx9JsIntLj132dTnprKXODbx5Jy6wUR19F0QjeoKHv3GiQgRAggNop9o

I have learned that our lives are measured by the quality of our relationships, how we respond to challenges, the level of joy and fulfillment we create for ourselves and others and whether we use our time well?

Using those metrics, AP lived an exceptional  life. 

Thank you for the lessons and for being a beacon of strength and light. I will miss your smile, your spirit and your dogged determination. 

You have left an indelible mark on the world and your memory will live on through the countless hearts and minds you touched. Your work is done here. 

The best part for me is that I am convinced that you have moved on to something better. Something that I no longer fear and accept as the natural next step in the human condition.

See you on the other side sister. I am Jude.