Growing up…how we grew up in Canada was unique because it was a big acreage I like to call it a farm… My mom was a nurse and my dad was in the oil business. So dad was gone a lot… And mom had to do a lot of heavy lifting with two boys and one of those boys not being very well-behaved–not gonna say any names here.

My mom wore many hats. She was a mother, sister, daughter, farmer, gardener, housekeeper, bus driver for school and Sunday school, an EMT, ambulance driver, and full-time Nurse. She was in the system for almost 40 years. Yet somehow she was so dedicated to our family, and as much as I complain about the chores we had to do on the “farm,“ I’m so grateful for the upbringing that I had and my relationship with my mom.

Raising me as a teenager was not easy, But I always knew I was loved. I always had an amazing example of loving parents and a good relationship; they modeled who God was to me. It wasn’t easy for mom because she had to be the dad and mom many times because my dad was gone so much.

So On this Mother’s Day, I acknowledge you, Mom. I want to thank you for doing such a beautiful job raising Stephen and me against all odds. It Looks like we turned out all right.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms today. You are appreciated and loved.

PG