Karren Collings

Karren Collings
Fenwick, ON
Extended Family

I am Ted's sister Heidi's mother-in-law; her husband Christopher is my son.

I only was in Ted's company a few times, but when I saw him & talked with him, he always had a smile on his face, as the pictures in these blogs emulate so well.

The last time I saw Ted was here at my home a couple of summers ago, when he was holding & frolicking in my backyard pool with his two young nephews, Theo & Evan (Heidi & Christopher's sons). He was having such fun with them & they with him. He adored his nephews & nieces, and that feeling was mutual, as Theo often mentioned his Uncle Ted. One of the boys' presents from Ted was a little wooden boat that they play with in the bathtub at bathtime - the boat is propelled by air escaping from a blown-up balloon (which I quickly learned to blow up to a decent size) attached to the back of it..The boys would watch with joy as the little boat would move on the water with the burst of air...And they told me that the boat was from Uncle Ted...I must get more balloons for that little boat...I also talked with Ted when we were standing outside the church after a service (I don't remember which one...perhaps Evan's baptism)..We were watching Theo playing in the dirt & climbing on some objects back there in his dress beige pants (we laughed about that)...Ted was smiling the whole time he was chatting with me as he watched his nephew playing. He had such a great love for his family, & it showed on his face & in his conversation.

Christopher & Heidi sent me the blog website, & I learned more about Ted from reading these blogs this morning. Here are some of my thoughts from reading them...

It is important for us to try to continue Ted's mandate: To follow Ted's example & beliefs to work with God's earth & His people to create & sustain a healthy, better life for ourselves & others with developmental or emotional impairments; to be sensitive to others; to listen without judgement; to encourage others by using kind words, & showing love & respect to them to help restore their dignity & strength.

Practically speaking, we can continue Ted's respect for God's earth & try to minimize our impact on this earth by following Ted's example of energy conservation (eg. turning off lights, using energy efficient bulbs), recycling paper, etc., driving our cars less...you get my drift.

In a nutshell, I think that Ted would want us to be kind & gentle to all of God's creation, both human & fourlegged, & the earth; & most important: to preserve the earth & use it to help heal & strengthen others, as was Ted's dream to fulfill.

May God Bless all of you as you continue your lives in your chosen fields to do His work...Amen.