PEOPLE & PETS
Sandra's Family
Whenever I tend to characterize Sheila, the elder, as the more outgoing, strong one and Laurie, the younger, as more reserved and sweet-natured, they will surprise me and reverse roles. They share a love of athletics, as you'll see below. They were a joy and a challenge as children (aren't all kids?), and are a delight to know as adults. Their sister relationship reminds me of mine with my sister Joan.
This is Sheila. She is in year 16 of a challenging and rewarding career. Her hobbies include Middle Eastern dance and Ironman distance triathalons. Maxine, her dog, brings her great joy and frustration at the same time.
This is Laurie. "Still waters run deep" is how I sometimes thought of her as a little girl. Now her workday is as a dispatcher for a public transit company, and she also shines as an aerobics instructor. Her athletic accomplishments include bicycling from Vancouver to San Francisco …. twice! She has recently come through a major change in her life, and has handled it with great consideration, grace, and humour.
Who can be objective about their youth while they're in it? I always thought everyone else's family was like ours, but in retrospect, I think it was unusually good. Our parents, Ethel & Ron Cunningham, loved and respected each other. Dad was a "kidder", a bit of a dreamer, and very affectionate with Mom, who was warm, kind, and very hard working. They bought some property on the edge of our Ontario town, and built a home for us, doing a lot of the work themselves. This was besides both working 5-1/2 days a week in a hardware/appliance store.
I have just one sibling, my sister Joan. She is a wife, a mother of 3 and grandmother of 6, a friend to many, a hard-working businesswoman, and very involved in her community and church. Amongst many things, I admire her energy in managing all this.
Although Joan had just turned 19 when she married her husband Bev, their marriage has survived since 1961 and is still going strong, something I admire in both of them. Bev is a good guy and has been like a brother to me. Rod & I very much appreciated their hosting our wedding at their cabin on Gambier Island. Joan and Bev raised three great kids --- Joy, Brent and Scott. Because Joan's 3 and my 2 children grew up for many years just a few blocks from each other, the kids bonded well and Joan & I enjoyed being aunties to each other's kids, and continue to do so.
This is Joy with her husband Andrew, and sons Greg & Todd. Joy's name is apt both because she was born in December and is a joy to be around. Besides a job and her family, Joy finds time for her other great love - quilting. They live in Calgary AB.
This is Brent with his new wife Jennifer and his children Parker & Hanna. Rod & I helped decorate their Christmas tree for 2005, and Buddy enjoyed playing with the kids. Brent was a smoke-jumper up north in his younger days & has incorporated this concept into his business logo. They live in Mountain View CA.
This is Scott with his wife Sarah and their boys Garrett & Blake. We enjoyed having them all at our wedding. Scott's involved in politics & business development. They live in Comox BC.
I've also included in my family page my friend/step-daughter/friend, Lissa (shown here with her son Bryant). To explain this description, she was my friend first -- then I started dating her father without any of us realizing the connection as she was in Toronto at the time, her Dad & I were married for 12 years until his death -- and Lissa & I have remained close since then. She is a lovely woman, and I've known Bryant since he was born, almost 18 years ago at the time I write this. They live in North Vancouver BC.
This is my cousin Barry from Ottawa ON. He and his partner Getsa came to Joan & Bev's for a visit in 2005, and Rod & I spent some good time with them. Barry & Joan & I had many happy summers together during our youth at the family cottage on the Rideau River.
Joan & I kid each other sometimes about our age difference (I'm 2 years older). Although we share many values, our personalities are different. Perhaps for this reason, we've been able to maintain a good friendship throughout our lives. I value this consistency and shared memories, and remind her that I've known her since she was born.
I have many other cousins whom I rarely see as most of them live in Ontario.
These are my two daughters with Rod & me at Thanksgiving 2005.
This good childhood ended abruptly with the sudden death of our father when I was 19 (he was only 47). Within a year my mother developed cancer, and she was gone at age 49. I miss them so much, to this day, and never more so than when my two children were born.
Both of my daughters are very pretty (no maternal prejudice here, of course). Only 18 months apart, they have been pals to each other all their lives.
