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Mom Story-August 2019

Growing up, I always wanted to be a mom. I wanted to have children and raise them like my parents raised Me. I grew up on a farm and it was hard work but it was fun and I learned a lot from my mom and dad.

My dad taught me to drive a tractor and, how to feed a baby lamb using a sterilized bottle with a big black nipple we bought from the vet.

My mom taught me how to cook and bake and many other amazing things that would come in handy when I became a mom. We put in a vegetable garden and did a lot of pickling in the summer. We would go to market on Wednesday to get the produce we needed to can. We did many types of fruit and vegetables and several kinds of pickles.

My husband and I moved to Kenova, Ontario where he got a job at the local radio station. It was a long way from home, but we made the best of it.

I became a first time mom on August 20,1984 to a healthy baby boy. He was a great baby, and I enjoyed reading to him, going for walks, singing to him. When he was young I had a home daycare. The children I had would cry when leaving my place, not when coming. I loved baking with the children and doing crafts. We would go for daily walks. While out for our walks I would point out the things in the world around us.

On May 13,1987 we had another healthy baby boy. I had a 2 year old and a baby, and no family for many miles. People have asked me how I did it. I had no choice, so I just enjoyed every moment of my children’s lives. It was hard being so far from family. We had developed a circle of close friends when we attended prenatal class. We were all in the same boat….away from family. We celebrated our kids’ birthdays together and other celebrations.

While they were growing up, they watched me cook and bake. I made most food from scratch, just like my mom did. I loved to cook, and bake. For each holiday we would do crafts and bake shaped sugar cookies. The sugar cookie recipe was from my aunt. The boys would grow up in a happy, family-centred home.
We had holiday celebrations together. We played together and learned together. For several summers I planted a vegetable garden, in the neighbour’s garden. The boys would help me plant and water and weed. They watched the plants grow and were excited when they could pick something out of the garden. Many of the places we lived, we had the neighbour kids and the boys’ friends spend time at our place. In the summer, I had a good supply of homemade popsicles, homemade cookies and homemade muffins for any kids who came to our house. As the boys got older, their friends would spend a night and sometimes a weekend at our place. We had sleeping bags, blankets and pillows for them. There was always room for any friend who needed a place to stay.

During their high school years, we hosted several students from France for the summer as they were in French immersion. One of our summer students, got to witness a live bear in a tree in our front yard. It was tranquilized and he got to pet it, take pictures and send them back to family and friends. The bear weighed around 700 lbs. He was tranquilized and taken back to the woods. Both boys were in the high school band. One son played trumpet, the other played Alto Sax. The annual fundraiser was delivering phone books. We would have band parents cook hotdogs at our place. The kids would come after band practice, have supper and head out. We did this for many years. The members delivered around 1200 phone books (which were dropped off at our house). We also hosted a girl from Ireland and a young girl from Japan. They were with us for 3 nights when UP With People came to town. Our final host student was from Germany and he was with us for a school year. This was a great experience for all of us. We have kept in touch with him and his family. He is now married and has 2 beautiful children.  We are hoping to meet the children and his wife some day.  I highly recommend this experience with your children. Your family will learn traditions from other countries and you can teach your traditions and show them a new life experience.

Our school year exchange student got to experience a true North western Ontario January. The temperature dropped to – 50 with the wind chill. We were used to it. We had to show him how to dress for the extreme cold. He survived that and many other adventures in Canada. He had lots to share with friends and family.

They grew up to be amazing young men and are happily married. I don’t have grandchildren, but grand pets (2 grand dogs and 1 grand cat). When the boys were finished high school we moved to Ottawa to be closer to family.

I worked at Babies R Us when I moved to Ottawa. I would have first time parents asking for advice on raising their children.

The advice I gave them and I give any new parents who ask are:
-enjoy every minute
-talk to your children when they are little, and they may talk to you when they are older. We had a great relationship with our boys and that has continued into adulthood
– make memories (it’s amazing what our grown boys remember, and talk about when we get together with them and their wives)
– you don’t need to give them everything they want, give them what they need
– be a good role model
– teach them to respect other people

There are so many more things I could write about but I don’t want this to be any longer. I have enjoyed sharing my story of being a mom.