How can I tell about some of my mother’s life special moments and leave music out? When we were young, the radio was always on. No doubt about it, we have inherited our love for music from her. If as a teen her idol was French-Corsican legendary Tino Rossi, the music she adored above all was the one of the great Frantz Schubert. My mother was not an adventurous woman but after my father’s death she went all by herself to Vienna and Salzburg where she attended numerous classical concerts. Vienna was one of her best memories. Until the end.

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Just imagine this. My sister and I are at a sporting goods store requesting some advice from the seller. My mother doesn’t have hiking boots. We would like her to have something that would provide more stability for the foot and ankle. My sister says: “Just so you know, she has no intention of climbing Mt. Washington!” Our first time out hiking with my mother is in New Hampshire. Here we are on a long hiking trail but we intend to walk only a mile or two. And me to say: “Look, it goes right up to Mt. Washington’s summit!”

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We are together in Vermont strolling on the hiking trails of the Von Trapp Family domain in Stowe. My mother wants to sell me the idea that wearing a headscarf in her days was such a good thing and to make me laugh puts one on her head. Later on, an old woman coming toward us takes my mother’s hands and speaks to her in German calling her Maria. Then, realizing her mistake, she says: « Of course, she’s dead, what am I thinking? ». Afterwards my mother said: « Come on, I don’t even look like Julie Andrews! »

* Quiproquo means misunderstanding in French. Sorry for cheating on the alphabet!

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I loved this picture from the moment I saw it when I was very young. Perhaps because I couldn’t believe that this little girl on the right on the photo playing cards with her family could be my mother. My grandparents had rented a cabin in Chertsey in the Lanaudière Region which is about 90 km north of Monteal. The stray hats hanging on the chairs, which were bought by my grandfather at the beginning of the trip, were the big stars of these summer vacations. We see them on all the pictures which are so funny to look at!

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For my mother, the happiness of our annual early summer trip to Ogunquit in Southern Maine meant those little pleasures one can expect to find in that lovely coastal village: the sea, the Marginal Way, the Sparhawk oceanfront balcony, the bench under the green fabric awning (now blue!) facing the beach near the Norseman Hotel, her crossword puzzles and her mystery novel. Each and everytime I would leave her to walk the beach, I would ask her: “Are you sure you’re OK? You won’t be bored?” She would burst out laughing and say: “No worries! I have my crossword puzzles!”

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My parents, like many couples of their time, had chosen Niagara Falls for their honeymoon which in the mid-fifties was the ultimate destination for honeymooners. If I remember well, my father had been there before and thought it was spectacular. I have found in my mother’s postal cards collection, a huge post card of Niagara Falls with a couple looking as Hollywood movie stars photographed in front of the falls. My father probably asked a stranger to take this picture, the only one in fact from Niagara Falls. All the other pictures were taken on the day of the wedding.

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My parents look so happy on this picture… but, still, take a look at my father’s tight fist. And my mother seems so stiff. As their wedding was in mid-May, at 8 o’clock a.m., they probably wished for an early Spring. But it was so cold that morning of 1956 that they even saw some snow flurries in the early hours. In the group picture, all the ladies wore fur tippets and men enjoyed thick winter coats. As for my parents, even if they were truly happy, they were probably just thinking of rushing to the inviting heated reception room.

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My mother had the chance to attend her grandparents’ 50th, 60th and 65th wedding anniversaries. We see her in first row on the 50th anniversary group photo, frowning because her cousin Simone, just three days older than her, was the one holding the bells. From what we’ve heard from my mother, Simone had taken charge quite rapidly and my mother always held a grudge against her. I remember that my father always wished my mother a happy birthday three days in advance to tease her and she would get mad and once again, here comes the tale of the bells!

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If I ever learned something from genealogy, it has to be this: No money, no photos! My mother’s family albums show her at all ages while my father’s is almost empty until he was able to buy himself a camera in the 1940’s at about 30 years old. With the money earned from my paperboy (euh… papergirl!) job for La Presse, I was able to buy my first Kodak camera and my photos are all blurry. Even so I am very proud to publish here one of my “masterpieces” in memory of my mother. (I can hear you laugh Mom!).

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My mother’s photo albums are full of pictures of her and Jeannine, one of her cousins. Jeannine was her best friend. Even if I have never met her, I know that my mother adored her and found her so funny. After their respective marriages, they lost track of each other but my mother always spoke of her with nostalgia and deep affection. I will never forget that phone call that my mother received in July 1975 announcing her Jeannine’s death. She was shaken up. I thought it was so sad they haven’t seen each other in more than a decade.

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