Friday, November 2, 2012
Pat took me and my brother in when I was 4 years old and Tyler was 5. We were confused and difficult children to care for, troublesome... but Pat never gave up on us. She was the loudest cheerleader at our soccer games, the most festive on holidays, and NEVER made us feel different than any other kids. To her we were her children and loved us unconditionally though sometimes it seemed undeserved. She always believed everyone was capable of good, and pressured us to always be ourselves, to love ourselves and respect our neighbors as we should.
After years has passed her life lessons she taught us made me want to be a better person, to be someone i was proud of and that Pat could be proud of. She taught me that helping others is a worthy cause, that it is a life worth living to do good and feel good doing it. She was always the one to forgive and forget, to be the voice of reason. I understand how difficult that can be now that i am older, and to know she always tried to take the right choice even if it was a difficult one... it shows how strong she was.
I remember her one weakness, it starts when the weather gets warmer... garage sales, i knew every Saturday we would be walking the blocks of Markham finding all the treasures to be found. as a kid, it was an adventure every Saturday, sometimes we'd get tired and board... but looking back it was a lot of fun.
Pat will be sorely missed, she was more than a foster mom to me, she was my teacher, my friend, my mother. And she will always be remembered.
