GemsByBren
Potti Team Blog
There are many kinds of Etsy teams. Some represent a geographic region, and others connect team members with common interests. Some teams are formed to meet specific needs, or engage in specific activities. The Potti Team has members from around the world, and we represent a mix of shop items - homemade, vintage, even some digital. I believe what most defines us is support of one another - both as mutual shop owners, and as friends.
On teams like ours, there are always certain members who just seem to draw you closer together. From the very beginning, Brenda has been one of those special people.
The word compassion describes Brenda well. Her love for gems, which led to the creation of her Etsy store, GemsByBren; her love for and rescue work with feral cats; and her desire to help others who struggle with cancer as she has are all bound up in the compassion of Bren.
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When the team was formed, in September of 2013, she was still struggling with breast and lymph node cancer, which led her to end her Etsy profile with this, "PS: I am very happy to talk/listen about your own cancer concerns and try to help as many others have been helping me. We learn useful "stuff" as we go through the processes! i.e., I have a SUPER protein powder, fruit, yogurt, milk smoothie recipe to share!"
Brenda proved to be as loving and easy to know as those words seemed to indicate. The one thing that she didn't do, however, was talk much about the downs of her cancer experience. Unless she was hospitalized, as happened when the chemo weakened her into a bout of heart failure, and she really couldn't promote the team, we didn't hear much about it. We prayed for her, and tried to encourage her, but she encouraged us as much as we did her!
We were all so relieved when she recovered from the heart failure. She also had a new oncologist, who would do more testing, and be more careful with her treatments.
It made us all cheer to see Brenda tweeting more (her RoundTeam account was set up to retweet our team, even when she wasn't able to do it personally), and making treasuries. I remember a particular treasury that she made, around the middle of December, "Just Blingin' in the Rain." I wrote her a message, "I'm so glad that you are feeling like singing a little these days!"
She responded, "Well, I didn't say that, but it helps cheer me up to think about ;-) I just don't like to complain in the discussions, but I'm trying hard." And she was - still tweeting and supporting her team.
About a week later, Brenda told us that she was having a CT scan of her upper and lower abdomen scheduled after Christmas, and that she was feeling too weak to keep up with all of the team promotions at the moment. We were familiar with the ups and downs, but we knew she was getting better.
Our new year began with a thud, when one of our team members saw on Facebook a post that Brenda had passed away December 30th. We were stunned. We were bereft. The team essentially went into mourning. So many things occurred to us; her cheer and bravery shone in ways we couldn't begin to fathom.
Brenda still belongs to our team. Her shop is still listed with the others on our Etsy page. Her RoundTeam account still occasionally sends a tweet our way. But most of all, we have discovered for ourselves that nothing that is loved is ever lost and no one who has touched a heart can really pass away because some beauty lingers on in each memory of which they've been a part. (Ellen Brenneman)
~^..^~ Michele Davidson
Michele this is such a lovey tribute to our GEM! I miss her and she will never be forgotten as you said. She left an imprint on us all of bravery and the fight to live while she had the time.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you did this : ) Thank you
Thanks, Debra <3
DeleteMichele - This tribute to our LifeTime Member and one of our founding members as well, really tugs at my heart... She was a brave women, who not only believed in the team, but truly believed that she would one day be Cancer free... When she lost the fight it was a sad day for all on this earth that knew this lovely lady... I must say I have tears in my eyes and rolling down my cheek, but at the same time your post has also put a large :-) on my face as well... Thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul for posting this lovely tribute to our "Bren:...
ReplyDeleteThank you for suggesting this topic Jesse - I don't know if I would have been brave enough to have tried to put Brenda into words had you not done so...she deserves this, and so much more.
DeleteMichele - you put tears into my eyes. I knew Bren before I joined the Potti Team and we used to converse occasionally and I knew of her issues. I was bereft when I heard of her death. I believe also on FaceBook. You have put together a beautiful memory of a beautiful friend and I totally agree with you that the Potti Team is special. Whenever I feel it is too much for me; I remember the friendships and I would never think of leaving. Thank you for putting together such a gorgeous memory of our friend Bren!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Vallee - I would expect you, with your special gift for empathy, to have gotten to know Brenda, and to have appreciated her. I know that you (and others who were not members of our team then, or even now) felt her loss as keenly as we. We need you on the team, so if you feel overwhelmed, speak up!!
DeleteMichele a beautiful tribute to a beautiful person. Bren and I were Etsy "Buddies" even before we both joined this great group of friends, know as the Potti Team. Bren always knew what to say and when to say it. I too believed that if there was any way that Bren could kick her cancers butt, she would have. Bren was the first one to cheer up those around her. Always the first one to have the kindest words, and possess such a positive outlook that it was contagious. Her inside loveliness showed in her beautfiul creations. I believe that she is still creating and loving the beauty that now surrounds her.
ReplyDeleteThank you Joyce - beautifully and honestly said!!
DeleteWhat a beautiful tribute. Yes her tweets we still get makes me feel like she's still with us in a way.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Debbie. I think some found them a little disconcerting at first, but we all seem to find them comforting now.
DeleteAw Michele, by the time I finished reading your tribute I had tears in my eyes. Brenda was the sweetest, kindest, giving person I have ever had the privilege of knowing in my Etsyland travels.
ReplyDeleteWe all love you Brenda ♥♥♥
Thank you Marg - and yours just brought tears to mine. You describe her so well.
DeleteA beautiful tribute to a wonderful brave lady. She was a joy to know and every time I get on twitter I think of her as she pops up with her retweets. Michele, you have done a lovely job here, and we are very lucky to have you as a Leader of the team. Brenda was certainly a gem and I wish I had known her longer.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Caryl - I certainly had a precious subject to write on. We all wish with you that we could have known her longer.
DeleteAs for the team - well - I've got great material to work with in another sense!
What a touching tribute to Brenda! Thank you for this post Michele, I have tears on my eyes...
ReplyDeleteI'm sure people in her life were lucky to have had her around and were proud of her.
Thank you Ester - she would have loved you!
DeleteA wonderful tribute to a very special person! Brenda touched so many of us with her love and kindness.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rose Anne. I know you were one of the hardest hit by her death. I included the cat doodle for you, because she would have. <3
DeleteThank You, Michele, I so miss our Bren, and like the rest of you, when I see she RT's me, I look up and see her smiling & winking at me!
ReplyDeleteEven though this made me cry, it fills my Heart to hear and know you all feel the same way I do about our Sweet Bren....I just know she's Happy, and at peace, and watching and winking at all of us!
Thanks Again!
xoxo
Thank you, too, Michele. I know her passing was extra hard on you, too. I know she would want us to think of her with a smile as soon as we can! <3
DeleteA heartfelt tribute to such a kind gentle soul. She will always be in my heart and it makes me smile and think of how kind she was when I see a tweet from her. Thank you for sharing the memories.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dear Char... We were all so privileged to share her.
ReplyDeleteHer courage and spirit is an inspiration and reminds me that I need to be grateful for every day I am gifted.
ReplyDeleteThank you Rose Anne - she would be pleased that you take such a positive thought from her memory.
DeleteMichele, Your words take away my breath for so many reasons. Brenda was an angel on earth as she is now in heaven. Did not know her but she reached out to both Donna and I with offers of counsel as soon as we joined. I think of her often and love your tribute, thanks for do it. Joyce
ReplyDeleteMichele, Thank you for such a beautifully written tribute to Bren. She was such a beautiful, caring person and so determined to keep fighting. I only met Bren through the potti team, but we conversed on Etsy several times and it didn't take long to realize what a gem she was, in a world that has far too few gems these days. She cared about everyone, and even through I knew her only a short time, she seemed like a long time friend right from the start. Thanks again for honoring her in this way. Linda
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda - your words explain so well who she is, and why we love her.
DeleteThank you Joyce, I understand why she touches you so much... she truly is, as Debra says, our Gem. She loves us all so much..
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely tribute Michele, thank you, even though it tears me up. Brenda is never far from my mind, especially today, as my last chemo treatment is tomorrow! Bren was and continues to be an inspiration to me. She never complained, but on those days she wasn't doing well and mentioned it in the team discussion, she was so thoughtful and private messaged me with words of encouragement so I wouldn't worry.
ReplyDeleteBrenda will be with me as an angel overhead as I ring the 'last chemo' bell tomorrow, and I'm sure she will keep watching over me as I carry on the fight and finish my upcoming radiation too. I can only hope to be as gracious and kind as she was throughout her too short influence in my life.
Donna
Oh, Donna - I am so glad that your last chemo is tomorrow!! I know the radiation will be another ordeal, and I wish Bren were still here to cheer you through it... You set a pretty high bar yourself, with your good humor and work ethic through it all. :) I am sure she is proud of you.
ReplyDeleteWell said Michele!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely tribute, to a wonderful lady!
I was just getting to know Brenda, and then she was gone... but certainly not forgotten.
Thank you, Angie - she was gone too soon for all of us... <3
ReplyDeleteThis is such a beautiful tribute to a wonderful person who bravely fought against cancer! My deepest condolences to Brenda's family & friends. I will light a candle for her in my church.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Panos! That is so very thoughtful and kind of you. I appreciate your empathy too.
ReplyDelete