[2023-08-27] Olivette's 85th birthday
My mom was born on this day in 1938. She is 85.
Five years ago, we had a surprise birthday party for my mom. The toast to Olivette included this tribute:
You also set an example for ingenuity.
Partly out of necessity and partly out of resourcefulness, you transformed raw materials into children's mittens, a boy's winter coat, a little girl's dress, a granddaughter's dance outfit, a grandson's costume.
We never lacked for food—and not just any food. Even our teachers in elementary school would trade their store-bought cookies for your homemade date squares.
You're still taking care of us, ready with a bowl of soup, homemade bread and dessert every Saturday.
You not only fed us well, but—in the process—fed others too: sweet corn, produce from your gardens, maple syrup. You weren't just providing for your family—in some cases, you were providing for the community.
Of course, that wasn't always fun for us. Sometimes, we'd find a pan of freshly baked squares in the kitchen and our mother would say, "Don't eat them—they're for the church." Or a cottager would pull into our yard looking for sweet corn, and my mother would send us out to pick a dozen or two—the worst was when it was raining.
In the process, Mom, you were teaching us children how to be resourceful and generous ourselves.
I try to emulate my mom's ingenuity. I'm not as crafty as she is (she sews and knits), but I do see potential in objects to be repurposed and to fill a need that doesn't require me to buy something (a recent example being my homemade breast prosthesis). And I've taken the expression "they're for the church" into my own family. When I make a dessert, my husband will often ask, "Is this for the church?" which simply means, "Is this dessert for us or to give away to someone else?" He's always delighted when I say, "No, it's for us."
I love the photo of my mom in tonight's visual. I asked her about it today, but she couldn't remember a lot of details—only that it was taken by a professional photographer in Ottawa when she was 18. She said that, at the time, a lot of people were having their portraits taken.
I'm blessed to have my mom in my life to this day. I hope that she enjoys many more birthdays in health and love.
