Life Unfolds as We Live it.

One day, a few years ago, I was driving my Grandmother up to our family cottage. My grandfather built the cottage with his friends. It’s a little building with three bedrooms, a bathroom, tiny kitchen and living room. In the centre of the cottage is a giant fireplace. It is so beautiful. The cottage is one amongst several in a little community. Since our family has grown, we added two more bedrooms and a wrap around porch. I used to spend every summer up there - I loved it.

I love asking my Grandma about her life and hearing stories about it. This day, I was driving her, she was reminiscing and recalling memories of when they first bought the grounds for the cottage, they all resided in a small three room cottage. Her, her sister, and both their families, and their children. I converse with my Grandma mostly in Ukrainian.

I asked her “Baba (Grandma in Ukrainian), you’ve lived so much life - did you plan it out? Did you ever see your life as this when you were growing up?”

She responded “Not a chance. We just lived day-by-day. I had no idea of what was going to happen. We were more concerned about living each day. Your grandfather worked in the mornings and I would work nights. He would take care of the kids when I worked nights. We loved the cottage and were all able to spend weekends here. Sometimes I would drive to the cottage in the wee hours of the morning, just so we could wake up there.”

At the place I was in my life at that time, I was ridden with nervousness and anxiousness about the future. What I was going to do, what I wanted to accomplish, who I was. Something about this conversation landed for me and I relaxed into the moment. My Grandma didn’t plan anything and look at the life that she lived. It was so beautiful.