Me, Mom & Omi - Christmas c. 1984
On this day in 1994, my mother, Carola Beate Teschow, died in the palliative care unit at Toronto Grace Hospital.
In order to commemorate her life a bit, and share the family history with Alex & Simon, I kept the boys home from school this morning for a special breakfast and to look at photos of their “other grandma”, as they call her.
The boys had questions: Why did she take a boat instead of a plane from Germany to Canada? Were the small black and white photographs of her as a child stamps? Why were they so small? Why was Auntie Jeanette in some of the photos? Who took the Easter Egg Hunt photos? Why did Auntie Adele's hair look different? If stress was a contributor to cancer, why didn’t Daddy have cancer?!
After our photo and question session, the boys gave me a big hug, helped clear the table, and then headed off to their room to make playdate invitations for friends at school. Then we walked to school, and I biked off to work.
Below are some photos taken in the days before digital cameras and the possibility of deleting the appalling shots and keeping the good ones only, when bad hair and imperfect smiles were just a part of everyday photography. Enjoy!
In order to commemorate her life a bit, and share the family history with Alex & Simon, I kept the boys home from school this morning for a special breakfast and to look at photos of their “other grandma”, as they call her.
The boys had questions: Why did she take a boat instead of a plane from Germany to Canada? Were the small black and white photographs of her as a child stamps? Why were they so small? Why was Auntie Jeanette in some of the photos? Who took the Easter Egg Hunt photos? Why did Auntie Adele's hair look different? If stress was a contributor to cancer, why didn’t Daddy have cancer?!
After our photo and question session, the boys gave me a big hug, helped clear the table, and then headed off to their room to make playdate invitations for friends at school. Then we walked to school, and I biked off to work.
Below are some photos taken in the days before digital cameras and the possibility of deleting the appalling shots and keeping the good ones only, when bad hair and imperfect smiles were just a part of everyday photography. Enjoy!
I'm glad to be a mom myself now -- Having a first hand understanding makes some aspects of my grief more painful, but it also gives me a richer appreciation of my mother.
Vida and her boys, 2008 Me with Simon & Alex, 1 week old! Mom in Bancroft, 1980s
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