I'm not sure if I've shared this yet.
This summer when I was up in Stewart, my old roomate Renna's hometown, I met a woman named Chantal.
She and Renna grew up together, and Chantal has stayed in Stewart, got married and had 2 daughters.
Chantal has been through a lot, it turns out, though you would never know it to meet her.
We learned from Renna that Chantal's dad died when she was a teenager, and her mom turned to drinking. Her mom then met a man who shared her love for drinking, and left 14 year old Chantal alone with her sister to be with him in another town.
This other man eventually died, and Chantal's mother turned to vodka, and not much else.
When we were there her mom was in the hospital, yellow and with a liver that no longer functioned. Chantal, even though she had 2 pre-school aged daughters to take care of by herself while her husband worked 15 hour days 7 days a week blasting in mines out in the mountains and a job at the pub to hold down, was by her mom's side every day. They made plans to go to Mexico together once she got better.
We and her neighbours were helping as much as we could, with dinners and taking the girls for awhile, but still, the load she was carrying was enormous.
This woman was amazing. She had no grudges against her mom, no complaints about having to take care of the girls alone, no issues with asking for or accepting help from anyone in the community.... there was no bitterness in this woman whatsoever. She laughed with us, but wasn't ashamed to cry in front of anyone. There was never any question about what was appropriate where or with whom - she just did what needed to be done and kept on loving her friends and family and mom.
Despite the tragedy and hardship she was going through she didn't for one perceivable second feel sorry for herself, nor did she stop enjoying life.
I really admired her and the way she lived.
Her mom died soon after we left.
Soon after that, she found out she was pregnant, which was funny, cause the whole time we were there we were commenting on how she was glowing. Pregnant women really do radiate that light.
She and Renna grew up together, and Chantal has stayed in Stewart, got married and had 2 daughters.
Chantal has been through a lot, it turns out, though you would never know it to meet her.
We learned from Renna that Chantal's dad died when she was a teenager, and her mom turned to drinking. Her mom then met a man who shared her love for drinking, and left 14 year old Chantal alone with her sister to be with him in another town.
This other man eventually died, and Chantal's mother turned to vodka, and not much else.
When we were there her mom was in the hospital, yellow and with a liver that no longer functioned. Chantal, even though she had 2 pre-school aged daughters to take care of by herself while her husband worked 15 hour days 7 days a week blasting in mines out in the mountains and a job at the pub to hold down, was by her mom's side every day. They made plans to go to Mexico together once she got better.
We and her neighbours were helping as much as we could, with dinners and taking the girls for awhile, but still, the load she was carrying was enormous.
This woman was amazing. She had no grudges against her mom, no complaints about having to take care of the girls alone, no issues with asking for or accepting help from anyone in the community.... there was no bitterness in this woman whatsoever. She laughed with us, but wasn't ashamed to cry in front of anyone. There was never any question about what was appropriate where or with whom - she just did what needed to be done and kept on loving her friends and family and mom.
Despite the tragedy and hardship she was going through she didn't for one perceivable second feel sorry for herself, nor did she stop enjoying life.
I really admired her and the way she lived.
Her mom died soon after we left.
Soon after that, she found out she was pregnant, which was funny, cause the whole time we were there we were commenting on how she was glowing. Pregnant women really do radiate that light.