Growing Up

As a child I always felt blessed.  I grew up with 6 sisters and 6 brothers.  I was raised by two of the most amazing parents on earth who taught me to maintain a strong faith in our dear Lord, the value of hard work and the importance of family. We did not have a lot of money but we always seemed to have a lot of fun and the most incredible meals prepared by Mom.

Summers were spent at ‘camp’ which in Sault Ste Marie meant a cottage. My days at Leigh’s Bay were filled with swimming, playing bocce ball, kicking the can, running bare foot, singing by the bonfire, roasting hot dogs that were still okay even if they fell on the ground. Dad told us stories of his childhood.  Winters in the Sault were all about outdoor ice rinks and staying out until you could no longer see the puck or until you could no longer feel your toes. There were snowball fights with neighbours and we built snow forts.  We were always so disappointed when we would hear dad whistling to call us in.

Life did exist without cell phones, computers and video games.  Families spent time together having innocent fun (although my mom may not completely agree that it was entirely innocent, especially when we were with our good friends the Celetti’s)

I always wondered why I was the lucky one to be born into this family.  My parents worked hard and would often remind us that as long as we had our family, our health and trust in God, we would be okay. We were not a rich family. In fact, we were sometimes referred to as the ”poor Italian family in the West End with all those kids”. If those people only knew how very rich we were.

I went to high school at Mount St. Joseph College, an all girls Catholic school with uniforms and  nuns. And I truly loved it!  Life was simple.  I woke up, put on my white blouse, skirt (with my basketball shorts underneath, of course), high blue knee socks and black shoes.  Sometimes I brushed my hair, I never wore makeup (I didn’t have to, there were no boys).  I worked hard at school both academically and athletically.  I certainly wasn’t the best athlete but worked darn hard trying to be.  I loved our school masses, singing “Father Abraham” over and over again so we could delay going to class.  Life was about school dances with the boys from St. Mary’s and Friday night football games. I watched my brothers play and secretly knew they were that good because of all the practicing they did against their sisters at home.