For some time, I have wanted to write about my mother’s love story; I suppose I just wanted it recorded somewhere.

It is a tale of unexpectedly finding a second chance at love, and a testament to the idea that sometimes fate has a way of intervening in ways we may not have understood at the time.

The origin of my Mom’s love story actually began during the Second World War, when a number of children were sent overseas to Canada from England, as a means to protect them from the war raging around them.

During this time, a young girl by the name of Ida would find herself residing in the town where my Mom grew up. To the best of my memory, I believe Ida arrived somewhere around the age of 7 or 8 and remained in Canada until about the age of about 13.

I can’t imagine how desperate a parent must feel to send their children thousands of miles away to places unknown, not to mention how frightening it would be for such a young child to be separated from their family.

Ida and my Mom became the best of friends, going to school together & spending summers together at the family cottage owned by my grandparents. When Ida returned to England, my mother & she wrote to one another for a number of years, the only means of communication back then, but as as often happens as life moves along, they eventually lost touch with one another.

Fast forward about 35 years later from Ida’s return to England, when my Aunt & Uncle took a trip to Europe. While on this journey, my Aunt was determined to find Ida and reconnect with her. Successful in her quest, she was elated to reunite with this long lost family friend.

During her visit, my Aunt learned that life had been quite challenging for Ida. She had had great difficulty readjusting to life when she returned to England, and at the time of my Aunt’s visit, Ida was experiencing some health challenges. She was living with a gentleman named Bill and after much discussion, Ida and Bill accepted an invitation to visit Canada the following summer to reunite with my Mom’s family.

I have a very vivid recollection of my Mom receiving the news that Ida had been found and for the next number of months, she & Mom resumed writing to one another, in excited anticipation of reuniting after so many years.

Sadly, this reunion was not to be. A mere few weeks before her departure to Canada, Ida passed away. My Mom was devastated.

But it appeared fate had another plan for my mother. After some discussion, it was decided that Bill (Ida’s partner) and Ida’s son, Steve, would come to visit after all, splitting their time between my Aunt & Uncle’s family & ours.

What happened next is like a story written for a Hallmark movie.

As my Mom shared with me so many years ago, she and Bill felt an instant connection, perhaps initially over the loss of someone they had both loved dearly, but as the month of Bill’s first visit to Canada progressed, that connection only deepened.

After returning to England, my Mom & Bill remained in touch through letters and phone calls over the next few months, and eventually Bill mustered up the courage to invite Mom to visit him in England. Just the two of them. I suspect to explore further, without teenagers present, the relationship that was clearly developing between them.

In my adult years, my Mom told with me how terrified she had been to make that first solo trip to England to visit Bill. She also shared that she felt like such a teenager on that visit. In great detail. I will let you fill in the blanks on that one!

I have often given thought to what a giant leap of faith it was for my Mom to follow her heart. To have the courage to fly over 5500km to explore a relationship with someone she barely knew at the time.

The result of that leap of faith was the evolvement of a deep love between two people, albeit through a bizarre set of circumstances. Call it fate or the stars aligning or the universe bringing them together. The love between them was undeniable.

After 3 years of flying back and forth, the decision was made that Bill would give up his business in the UK and move to Canada. He & my Mom were to be married within 30 days upon his arrival (immigration laws at the time). They would remain head over heels in love for the duration of their lives together.

I am ever so grateful my Mom followed her heart all those years ago and that Bill had the courage to leave behind the life he knew, to begin a new one with the woman he loved, and her 3 teenage children. Bill was such an incredible partner in life, not only for my Mom, but also a steadfast stepfather to myself and my siblings.

Today would have marked their 48th wedding anniversary. I hope they are dancing amongst the stars, together for all of eternity, just as their beautiful love story would suggest.

I miss you both so much.

Hugs,

L💕