My Dad was the most prominent person in my family. He was good at public speaking and became a preacher at quite a young age. Later he became a politician and was elected to the House of Commons in Ottawa, Ontario. (He was elected the year I was born.) From that time on he was away from our family six months of the year. Despite this absence he was still by far the most influential person in my life. In his absence he wrote letter to me. I would write letters to him although when I was first learning to write in Grade 3 I’m sure the letters would have been very simple.
He made the best of his time at home in terms of caring for family member. I remember when my sister and I were about 12 or 13 he bought a pony for us and proceeded to build a barn and a coral. He took us on summer vacations going by car to Vancouver and visiting his brother and family (more than once). One time he built a “surf board” using my buncle’s basement. This was about five feet long and two or three inches thick and was hollow. I’m sure I didn’t use it very much but I did appreciate that he took the time and effort to build it.
The fact that my Dad was absent from the family fifty percent of the time forced my sister and me to develop independence. I know my sister left the home right out of high school and a could of years later went to England to further her education. I know when I left home to go to the University of Alberta in Edmonton – that became my home. It was nice to go back to Vulcan – but as two and three years went by I was feeling more and more at home at the university.
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“Die to be heard.” – Dagmar
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After my fourth year of university I went back to Vulcan but my parents had moved to Calgary! This was because my Dad was defeated in the election. Since his town (and constituency) had cast him out there was no need for him to continue to live there. When he sold his house he subdivided the property and I bought a strip of the property with a cabin on it. That summer I lived in the cabin and did a lot of construction on my own. All this shows that I learned quite early to be independent of my parents.