Day o3 - Your Parents
My dad worked for my grandpa’s window and door company. I’m not sure what he did there, but he had an office and I think he was some sort of salesman, and I’m guessing he was damn good at it. My dad was the kind of guy who had no enemies. He loved his poker nights, rum, Jimmy Buffett and Gordon Lightfoot. He loved quoting movies - A Christmas Carol, Good Morning Vietnam and Beauty and the Beast among his favourites. He did this to entertain and he always succeeded. He loved taking us to BC to visit his sister. No matter how tired he was he always made time to tuck me in at night and rub my back, and he once told me, “You know, one day you’re going to be too old to want me to do this” and I can say with perfect certainty now that that isn’t true, because sometimes it’s all I want. One of my earliest memories is riding on my dad’s back through Simcoe Park when I was very small. I think I must have been about 2 or 3. I can still remember his smells - sweat from working out in the basement (he loved to lift weights) or Ralph Lauren Polo (in the green bottle) for any other time. He loved the heat and people constantly asked me where he was from because his skin was so dark, but he was just a white guy who loved to tan. I really don’t have any negative memories of my father, but I only had 11 years to spend time with him. He died on Feb. 6, 2000 and nobody saw it coming.
My mom is a behavioural consultant with an Alberta school board. She is my main support in life and I would be absolutely lost without her. She is without a doubt the strongest person I know. She has gone through so much loss and she always bounces back, even if it takes a while. She owns a condo a few towns over and she is here for the summer, and I’m really glad. I feel like we’ve gotten closer lately - I’ve been going through a lot of mental health issues and she is always there to listen to me freak out and she does her best to calm me down. Most of my memories of my mother come from after my dad died, but I remember her loving the sun just as much as he did. In my eyes they had the perfect relationship and I have no doubt that they’d still be together today if it were possible. My mother is a great example of perseverence. She has always gone for what she wants and she has almost always gotten it, and I could definitely stand to learn a few things from her. She loves trashy grocery store novels and the musical stylings of Annie Lennox, Reba McEntire, Rod Stewart and Phil Collins. She loves colourful shirts. She pretends to hate pets but I think secretly she really loves them.
I think I’ve been really blessed to have such great parents. Even though I can say I did not turn out perfectly, it had nothing to do with them. I wouldn’t be half as awesome as I am without their help.
