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Hadasah

  • Posted on November 9, 2009 at 10:01 am

baling-boatMom may have given up a lot, when we all moved from High Prairie to Edmonton, such as working with Dad, and being active in the town, but I think in some ways, she managed to find an outlet.

One of my earliest memories, is the Haddash Baazar. Mom was very active in it, and come that time of year, I remember looking forward to the big day. I mean the house would have all sorts of stuff in the basement, to be sorted, then sent out to the Baazar. It was big too, as it was in the local sports complex, but I remember the time as being when Bubbah Becky would be over a lot more, helping with baking.

And it was nice too, because while they made all those home goodies I loved, like Cinnimon Buns, Strudel even, she always managed to make me something to nibble on. Guess it is why I was never a skinny runt.

The smells were so mouth watering, and the house was always jumping with people phoning, dropping stuff off, or just showing up to help. Funny how that has all changed today, where the sense of community seems to have passed away, like so many other things. Oh sure, there is one here, but so tiny in comparison, so, well uninviting.

Maybe it is me, I don’t know, but things have changed. No more sense of real community, least not for us. I mean we dropped off a lot of stuff once, and hardly a word passed. Hardly even a notice today of when the Baazar is happening, or if it is.  I miss those times, and you know, I think Mom does too.

It was like you felt you belonged, to something beyond just those immediately around you. There was that ‘small town’ feeling, even in a big city like Edmonton. Everyone knew everyone, didn’t matter which Shul they went to, or if they even went, they were Jews, and came together. Today, it is like a collection of people who have little in common. Maybe I am being bitter, I don’t know, but I miss those days of going to the Baazar, of smelling all that Jewish Cooking, of hearing a thousand different voices, speaking in different languages, and yet not, because everyone was chattering away in Yiddish.

When Mom passes on, that feeling will too, because there just isn’t that sense of community anymore. Call it what you will, modern times, progression, whatever, but you know, the old time values, the old time beliefs, are dying out, as the older generation moves on to God.

Strange how ‘modernization‘ isn’t really all it is cracked up to be.

Being Involved

  • Posted on July 13, 2009 at 1:44 pm

One of the most potent memories I have, of growing up with Mom & Dad, is how nothing seemed hidden from me. It didn’t matter how old I was either, they always included me in their discussions, their choices too.

Sitting back, right now, while Mom takes a rest on her bed, I can’t seem to get that out of my head, and yet, the tears well up today, because I honestly believe she is hiding something from me.  Maybe not, but I think she knows what is happening to her, and rather than discuss it with me, she’s hiding it. WHY? I think to protect me, when truth is, I’d rather know.

Nothing every happened around our house, without the three of us discussing things. Sure when I was small, I just listened, but I was always a part of their world. When Dad had to go up to Slave Lake to the store, or Barrhead, we’d tag along too. Mind you, that was only if it was for the weekend. Otherwise Dad went alone, and I remember how the phone would ring at night, at he and Mom would talk, and that was when they’d been married a couple of decades.

And going with them, on those weekends, wasn’t about playing either. I helped in the stores, and I even remember making a nice sale to a local, who told Dad to butt out, when he came to see if he could help. Felt kind of good, but you know, the smile on his face, felt even better.

I miss those times, and I think Mom does too. I think she spends a lot of time missing Dad, and not talking about it. I wish she would.

After School

  • Posted on July 10, 2009 at 11:23 am

Some of my most vivid memories, are coming home from School. It didn’t matter if it was elementary school, or junior high. Everytime I came home, Mom was there waiting. Rarely was the house empty, and I wonder, how that all got lost in today’s frentic paced world?

I know, economics makes it sometimes impossible, but is it truly necessary for Mothers to not be there for their children?

Annice Kovnats

Annice Kovnats

Thing is, I would come home, and there was this smiling face, asking me how my day went, what did I do, learn, and all that motherly stuff. At the time, let’s be honest, it seemed a pain in the butt, but today, decades later, it has a lot of meaning. I never knew if other Mother’s did that, still really don’t, but to me, it makes mom special.

She didn’t want to be just a stay at home mom, she had other ambitions, but my development took precedence, and that appears to have been a  rarity, even back then. I guess in a way it is about putting your desires on hold, your dreams, for someone else. Many religious leaders talk about a leap of faith, in order to believe in God, yet I look at Mom, and wonder at her faith. How she, obviously, had faith that I would grow up to be someone worthy, whether being just a shop keeper or some mover and shaker. She truly had faith, the real kind, that these religious leaders just talk about.

Funny, how at the time what we think is an annoyance, we later come to realize was really something special. I mean that is a true sign of love, not just words. Too often we say them, but they have little conviction behind them. They are just words, devoid of the actions needed to make them have meaning. Mom had more action, more deeds, behind those words, that make them very meaningful, today.

Maybe it is just a trick of my mind, believing all that, and yet I don’t think so. Deep down inside, I feel it, and despite the frustrations of today’s situation, I remember how good it felt, to see her at the door. I remember how it felt odd not to see her at the door, and only until I did see her, did I feel that I had come home. Until then, I felt, well let down. I mean she was there, but not at the door.

In so many ways, that simple act of love, of sacrifice, is what makes me, who I am today. It is the example that stands every single test you can throw at it. It is what love truly is, and something one needs to try and hold onto. Too often, we forget or take those actions for granted, yet they are the backbone of what guides our own actions, decades later. Least they do for me.

Sense of Adventure

  • Posted on July 8, 2009 at 9:29 am
Uncle and Aunt with Mom

Mother's brother Babe Shaw and his wife Francis

One of my fondest memories of my childhood, was that usually on Friday nights, my aunt and uncle would pop over, and we’d all go out.  Nothing fancy, but we’d try out the new restaurants that had opened, or simplyh one we hadn’t been to yet.

Not all were good, in fact most were either just okay, or simply not a place to go to, again. It was that bad!

It was fun, and different. Every weekend was an adventure, and I remember how we would wait for Dad to get home from work. How he would come in tired, or if he was already home from working the morning shift, how he’d be resting or something, and be the one who always needed coaxing to go.

Odd, because I always think of my Dad as being the one who was out there, who was the ‘people person’ while Mom was the more reserved, shy one. Yet she was always the one ready to go, who would cajole Dad into getting dressed, and coming along.

Yet he was the life of the party too. I mean it is strange out that worked out.

Sacrifices

  • Posted on July 6, 2009 at 10:48 am

grinOur family moved to Edmonton, Alberta, when I was just five years old. The reason wasn’t that they sought better pastures, but that they felt I needed a good Jewish education, which wasn’t available in the small town we lived at.

High Prairie, Alberta, was not a hub of Jewish families, so Dad sold his store to the Hudson’s Bay Company and moved us to Edmonton. My mother, who worked hand in hand with Dad, opted to become a stay at home mom.

At the time, what did I know, but when you think about it, it was a huge sacrifice. I mean she used to work with Dad, now they would be apart for a great part of the day. Not something one adapts to easily, and yet she never hesitated to do that.

In fact, looking back on it, she was always doing things like that, making the sacrifices for either Dad or me, always ignoring her own needs, or desires. Funny, how one doesn’t realize it at the time, or even really later on. We just take it for granted, which I don’t understand.

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