My Mom’s legacy of love and resilience

Today, I want to share something very personal something that continues to shape who I am and how I show up in this world.

Whenever life feels overwhelming or the path ahead looks uncertain, I think of my mom. Her story grounds me, lifts me, and reminds me of what true strength looks like.

My mom immigrated from India to Canada with my dad while pregnant with me. She arrived in a new country with four children: a one-year-old, a four-year-old, a seven-year-old, and me on the way. She didn’t speak the language, didn’t have a community, and had very little support. Yet, she made it work.

She learned to speak and write English on her own. She learned to drive. She made friends and found work. She and my dad worked opposite shifts my mom on the graveyard shift, my dad during the day, so someone was always with the kids. It was pure teamwork, sacrifice, and love.

Back then, there was no social media, no instant support groups, no Google to search how to do things. It was just her courage, her faith, and her deep love for us that carried her forward.

Even today, at 86 years old, she amazes me. Years ago, a knee specialist told her she had some of the worst knees he had ever seen on an x-ray, yet she was still walking, cooking, cleaning, and climbing stairs. Why? Because she doesn’t make her pain the focus. She’s always thinking of others, her family, her grandkids, my dad.

She is the embodiment of faith, patience, and forgiveness. She never speaks harshly. She reminds us to forgive. To let go. To trust.

Every single day, I continue to learn from her. And I am so deeply grateful for her example. Her strength lives in me and through me, in everything I do.

With love,
Christine