Cathy and I went to Ottawa to visit with my mother this Mother's Day weekend. We are welcomed to my brother Frank and wife Nola's home by our niece Lia. Little Lia loves to sing. As we settle in, five year old Lia sings us a song accompanied by gestures. She sings, "To everyone in all the world I raise my hand and shake like this" [Lia extends her arm straight out before her] and she continues, "I may not know your lingo, but by jingo, no matter where you live, we can shake hands."
Four years ago, Frank and Nola traveled across the world to an orphanage in China in order to bring Lia home to Canada with them. She has settled in and the family is her family. Lia is gifted with a clear, loud voice and this evening after she is to be quietly in bed her voice resounds through the house. She is not getting a response and so she calls out: "Is anybody there? Anybody at all?"
Nola speaks of Lia to Cathy, "She is very good about delayed gratification. She really is a delight." Lia has her many friends on the street. However, she does have her boundaries. Her little friend Spencer has annoyed her and got on her wrong side. I ask about the sheet of paper attached to the front door screen. It is a circle with an 'S' in the centre; there is line drawn through the 'S'. It seems that Spencer is not to enter Lia's house. Later I see that Lia and Spencer are playing together out across the street.
Cathy and I visit Mom at St. Patrick's Home. We exchange our kisses and hold hands for a while. Brother Frank and daughter Lia visit Mom almost every day. The caregiver tells us that she hopes her sons will be as attentive as Frank when the time comes to be in a home. We leave with the happy knowledge that Mom is well cared for. The woman who cared so well for her children, is herself well cared for. Happy Mother's Day.
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