If you've been on Hive for ages, you're probably addicted, and it's very likely part of that reason is because of the people you've connected with here. You might not have ever met them face to face, but you've shared their griefs and losses, their joys, their passions.
And when they disappear, we wonder where they go.
This week we learnt of the passing of @lizelle - being a community leader and a real life friend of some, news travelled fast. Some of us messaged each other via Discord, Whatsapp, Instagram - did you hear, did you hear? - and were left pensive if not devastated, considering our connections with her, realising how lucky we were to know her, because we are human, and sometimes we forget these things.
The blockchain being what it is, her stories are still there for anyone to read: the South African home she loved, her garden, her baking, her beloved Arthur, her adventures in retirement, the cottage she turned into an Airbnb, and eventually, the difficult process of leaving the home where she'd spent so many years and the memories she'd made there.
She was always such an energetic woman and was never ready to retire. She turned the garden cottage on her property into an Airbnb, and she and Arthur decided to give it a try. I think it had belonged to her mother, Lily, and the cottage was named after her. It often featured in Lizelle's Hive Garden posts, too - of course this is how we often connected, via the garden.
Lizelle loved meeting people from all walks of life, so it's no suprise she loved Hive and started the Silver Bloggers community (after I flippantly commented she should start a community for retirees!). She ran an Air BNB in her home in South Africa with her beloved Arthur, who sadly passed away suddenly a few years ago, which was a real shock to her.
I used to love Lizelle's posts about food and baking. They were never just about the finished dish; they carried family history, memories and the pleasures of everyday life.
She also shared her thoughts about South Africa and the possibility of travelling further afield. Even after Arthur died, she still had dreams and a curiosity about life.
These things matter to me because they show, yet again, that Hive is not merely a publishing platform for us. It was — and is — a place where we can find one another, learn from one another and create things that outlast an individual post, even if we disappear, or god forbid, shuffle off this mortal coil.
I wish I could have another conversation with Lizelle about gardens, homes and the changes that come with time, or hear how she was finding joy in the little things despite missing Arthur so much. His death was difficult for her. She had to navigate all the practical matters he'd previously taken care of, while coping with the emotional reality of being without the man who'd shared her everyday world for years.
I can't claim to have known @lizelle as well as many here, but I did treasure those very human moments with her, talking about grief and loss, about gardening, food, travel, health. Her own posts about grief reminded us that laughter can coexist with sadness, a meaningful life walk alongside longing for the past and the one's you've lost.
I remember thinking how brave she was to pack up her home and move into a new chapter of her life, which she, and us too, imagined would last longer than it did.
I imagine her with Arthur now, in a beautiful garden in the sunshine.
Rest easy, Lizelle. We'll miss your presence on Hive.
