Fresh Start

For this particular challenge about women who inspire, I chose to focus on someone very near and dear to my heart named Grace. She has shown me the importance of not only following you own dreams, but also supporting the ambitions of your spouse and children.

Grace had very humble beginnings in Saskatchewan. She was the oldest of four children in a farm house that only had two rooms. This meant that her sisters actually slept in the attic because of the lack to space. Everyone on the farm worked very hard. Although the siblings differed a bit in interests, they had the common ground of music. The whole family sang in parts and played various instruments. The piano took up a lot of space in the living room. Grace and her sisters received piano lessons every once in a while, however because of being a small town there was no consistency.

Grace had ambitions of becoming a nurse, so after high school she attended a three year nurses training program. The same year that she graduated as a nurse, Grace married Matthew. I can't imagine the stress and sleepless nights involved in finishing her training and planning a wedding. The two of them were married in early June in 1968. Matthew was a teacher and wanted to earn his Masters in Education. Not long after their wedding they moved to Ontario in order to continue his schooling. They had both grown up in Saskatchewan, so moving to Ontario meant leaving their families behind. They told their families that the move was temporary and when Matthew's schooling was done in a year, they would live in Saskatchewan.

When Matthew graduated there was a teaching opportunity in another part of Ontario at a high school. The contract was for one year. At the time they thought this would give Matthew some extra teaching experience and would increase his chances of getting full time work in Saskatchewan. While Matthew taught Grace worked on the surgical floor at the hospital.

There was an unexpected turn of events. Matthew was offered full time employment as a professor at a local University. This changed their hopes of moving back to Saskatchewan as they realized that Ontario was their permanent home. They moved from an apartment to a small house as they realized this was their fresh start.

It wasn't until 1971 that Grace started to take weekly piano lessons. Over time she achieved the highest Conservatory level of piano. Just as Grace had supported Matthew to follow his dreams, he also encouraged Grace to reach for the stars with her ambitions. He would simply sit back and enjoy Grace's music. Eventually Grace would become a piano teacher for students of all ages.

As Grace and Mathew settled into their new home, their family started to expand.They had a son and daughter who were two years apart.With their young family they moved to Saskatchewan for Matthew's one-year sabbatical, so he could work on his PhD.

After they returned to Ontario, Grace and Matthew had two more children.

In 1985 Grace resigned from working at the hospital and took a regular part time position at a home for the aged. She enjoyed getting to know the residents and the environment was far less stressful than the hospital.

Like most families, the children grew up having different interests (piano playing, sports, and singing). Matthew and Grace loved and supported each of their four children equally and encouraged them to pursue their interests. When the children were in high school Matthew and Grace pointed out different things they'd noticed each child was good at and careers that corresponded with those skills. Ultimately they realized that each child had to make their own decisions about which degree or diploma they would pursue in post secondary education. All of the children were involved in the cooperative education program in high school. Two of them ended up continuing their education in that area.

The reason that Grace's story inspired me so much is because in the middle of supporting Matthew, she dug deep inside of herself to realized what her own aspirations were. It took her many years to achieve her ARCT certification in piano. She was in her fifties when she finally completed it. Grace's story shows us that you are never too old to follow your dreams.