By Sandi
At the young age of 66, I have experienced an
interesting journey that took many twists and turns.
As a child, my dream as some young adolescent females,
was to be happily married…have four children…first a son, then a daughter...the
order of the last two children did not matter. I wanted a son, Todd, first so
that my daughter, Tanya Leanne, had and older brother to protect her if needed.
My third child either, Wade or Leah would also have their older brother to
guide them.
My dream home was a bungalow consisting of a large
kitchen, a bedroom for my husband and me and bedrooms for each child. The yard
would be large so that my children could enjoy the outdoors as much as
possible. We would live on a safe street with other young families and in time
become friends. The purpose for the large kitchen other then the obvious,
cooking and eating, was for my family and I to sit around the kitchen table and
chat, play games such as crib, board games etc. and to get to know each other
by communicating.
Dreams take many turns.
At the age of 21, I joined the Air Force. My journey
from Nanaimo commenced January 3 1969 by taking the boat from Departure Bay to
Horseshoe Bay. My journey continued from Vancouver by an enjoyable train ride
to Halifax N.S. The last trek of the journey was via bus to CFB Cornwallis. At
CFB Cornwallis, I commenced my military career as a very proud recruit (Private
Starling) with basic training during the very cold and miserable winter months
of January, February, and March of 1969. I lived in a barrack block that was
identified as South Block with many other women who were military career
oriented. Some women wore the army uniform, some the navy uniform and others
including myself wore the air force uniform. We did not have the pleasure of
wearing the actual uniform until the last week of basic training…instead; we
wore dresses, which signified the three military elements. My choice to join
the military was one of the best I have made and I would do it again. People
thought I was a “bit out to lunch” as one of the routines I enjoyed during my
journey was drill…marching…looking sharp, ready for inspection on the parade
square. I felt very proud of myself…in fact was complimented once by the
inspecting officer.
My
military journey took me to CFB Borden for my trades training which was finance.
The last trek of my military journey ended at CFB Rockcliffe…a very
beautiful base in Ottawa. Along with my career at CFB Ottawa, I volunteered to
be on the Base Defence Force. I learned out to use a gas mask…take an FNC1
rifle apart and put it back to together…how to use a baton during a riot.
As a volunteer with the Base Defence Force, I experienced
two outstanding highlights:
· A Commonwealth
Convention was held in Ottawa and I had the privilege to be on duty at the
Airport terminal when the dignitaries arrived. One of my duties was to check
for identification. If I had any doubt that a person should not be going to the
tarmac, I would ask for ID this also applied if I had suspicions of anyone who
was entering into the building where I was on duty. It was a great privilege and honour to be in the
same building with numerous leaders from around the world….I even had the
opportunity to give the odd direction when asked. The second duty was to be on guard
outside of the VIP lounge and allow only classified personnel to enter.
· The
second highlight while on the Base Defence Force was being on duty at the
Officers Mess at CFB Rockcliffe during the presentation of a medal to an honoured
gentleman by the Queen. My location of duty was by the clothe room where I hung
up various coats of VIPS. In attendance at this prestigious event were Queen
Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, Princess Ann, Governor General Lège, Prime Minister
Trudeau and other dignitaries. After the presentation of the medal was over and
the VIPs were preparing to leave, I had the honour to hand Prime Minister Trudeau
his “Top Hat” white gloves and scarf…it feels like it only happened yesterday.
I still
remember what Queen Elizabeth wore. She had on a beautiful middle green velvet
coat, and a gorgeous hat to match. Pinned to the lapel her coat was beautiful
pin. I was within five feet from Her Majesty.
I requested and received an honourable discharge from
the military, the end of March 1974. I lived and worked in Ottawa as a civilian
until June 1976 and eventually moved to Calgary.
You might ask me why I choose to move to Calgary as
compared to Nanaimo, the city I am from...my answer is “a voice inside me told
me to do so”…I listened to my intuition.
Living in Calgary has had its experiences (ups and
downs). I compare my life experiences to climbing up Mount Everest…one climbs
so high…stops because of some plateaus or crevices and then commences climbing
a bit more. Another analogy is “the little train that could”. I experienced 28
wonderful and educational years with various departments within the Federal
Government: (Revenue Canada as a administrative support with Special Investigations;
Agriculture Canada as a Staffing Classification Assistant; Human Resources
Development Canada as a Senior Contract Support Assistant) I won’t go into the
last 10 ½ years of my career with the Provincial Government. (There were more
downs than ups)
Volunteering
in various capacities helped to make my life seem more successful.
· During my
career with the Provincial Government I was involved with Calgary Corporate
Challenge…great experience…this was the best learning experience for me as a
Provincial Government Employee as it took me out of my comfort zone and taught
me how to become a leader.
· I joined
the Royal Canadian Legion in 1976 and eventually became involved as an
executive…for some reason, this gal, me…seemed to have a problem just being a
member…she always had to jump in with both feet and be on the board.
· As if I
didn’t have enough on my plate, I joined an Air Cadet squadron and became a
civilian officer for a couple of years. This part of the journey took me to Maelstrom
Air Force base for an enjoyable weekend tour with other officers and cadets where I challenged myself to rapell Aussie Style down the outside of a small building.
· My self-esteem
and confidence needed a good boost; therefore, I became a Toastmaster. I was a
Toastmaster for 15 years and again concentrated on being involved with the
planning and organization as compared to concentrating on doing speeches and
presentations. Over the 15 years I was involved in two separate clubs. The
second club, Twin Rivers, was where I think I burned out. The club was
identified as “the old boys club”…, would you believe, I had the honour of
being the first female president of the club…how awesome is that? With the
support of the outgoing President, as well a good executive, I worked hard to
ensure the success of the club. In 2008/2009 I planned and organized the clubs
60th anniversary celebration with the assistance of other club
members. I think I burned myself out because I did not delegate well. The
event was very successful.
The newest twist/turn on my journey is being part of
the Bubbies and Zaidas Blogging Group through the Jewish Community Centre…it has
not been what I expected it, in fact, it is better in many ways. I have met
wonderful people. I have been mentoring a woman pertaining to the use of a lap
top and writing a blog. I have had the pleasure to meet some students at the Jewish
Academy. My first day at the Jewish Academy was a fun. I connected with a
lovely student named Lauren…to sum the day up; she helped to make it perfect.
The facilitator, Mariette, is astounding.
As I am typing up some of my life’s experiences, I am
thinking….hmmm I guess Mom’s do not experience these “types” of twists and
turns that have challenged me. It was not meant for me to be a Mom. Well, now
that I am settled down to a degree, maybe someday, somehow, I will have the
pleasure and experience of having children in my life…maybe in some way I could
be a mentor.
Life is what a person makes it…Life is great…All the
bumps in my journey have helped me to become a stronger person and also have
helped me to learn who I am as compared to who “others” what me to be.
Dreams
take many turns...sometimes what is not planned, fulfills one's life in unexpected adventures.
