SASKATOONEXPRESS - May 2-8, 2016 - Page 1
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Volume 14, Issue 15, Week of May 2, 2016
Saskatoonʼs REAL Community Newspaper
May flowers You know it’s spring when . . . it’s Mother’s Day and greenhouses, such as Floral Acres, are awash in colour (Photo by Sandy Hutchinson)
Memories of Mom, sweet and sad
“I
t’s been a week and I don’t think he’s coming back.” My mother and I had been left behind in the wilderness by my father. When I was eight, my parents and I moved to my home reserve. For me, it was the start of a fascinating journey into a world I didn’t know existed. It was an exciting time for a boy with a wild and creative imagination. However, my parents, especially my dad, couldn’t adjust from being trappers to living on a reserve with no place to hunt. It wasn’t long before Dad fell into the cycle of alcohol abuse. He tried and tried, but the addiction was too much. On the reserve, I could hear my parents making plans to move back to the trap line. At the start of the school’s summer holidays, we packed up and moved into the bush. This wasn’t our trap line, but an area of the northern bush which hardly, if ever, saw human activity. Being a boy, I was thrilled to start a new life once again as a trapper’s son. For
the first month we had a great respond, but I could tell by her time. We hunted, picked berries expression we were never goand fished. The best part was ing to be a family again. There seeing my parents sober and wasn’t even a trail, much less a living a life filled with laughter, path, to the closest road. and the unmatched unity of a We walked along a river family. until it got dark and had to set The area in which we chose up camp. I remember falling to pitch camp was totally asleep in my mother’s arms isolated. The closest road was as she softy hummed a song. about 30 miles away. One day, There were bears, cougars and when we were short on supother wild animals close by, Columnist plies, my dad decided to trek to but I wasn’t afraid because I the closest town to get supplies. believed my mother when she After a couple of days, my mom started to told me the animals were there to escort us worry. to safety. I didn’t know much about praying, The sun was just coming up when my but I remember asking God to bring my mom woke me and told me to get ready. dad back so we could have a normal and We ate the last of what we had and started stable life. But, after almost a week, there on the final portion of our journey. She was still no sign of him. That was when was holding my hand when we spotted a my mom decided we should start making bridge. plans to walk out of the bush. He had been “There’s the road,” my mom said. gone for a week and we were almost out of “We’ll wait for someone to pick us up.” food. My mother packed what few berries While we were sitting there, I said to and little smoked moose meat we had and my mom when I grew up I was going to we started on what would be a two-day buy her a house so we would never have to walk. sleep in the bush again. “Do you think he left us?” I remember I remember her looking at me and sayasking my mom. She didn’t know how to ing, “I know you will, my boy.”
KEN NOSKYE
When we reached the closest town, we began the search for my father. The last time someone saw him was at the local bar. He had left us in the bush to go drinking. We made our way back to the reserve, where we learned my dad had gone to jail for getting drunk and fighting. That was the end of their marriage and the beginning of what I would learn to be a mother’s strength. My mom spoke limited English and never held a paying job. But somehow, that little woman managed to keep me healthy and sheltered from the world of alcoholfilled chaos. In many ways she was free, able to laugh, sing and dance. She didn’t have to fear the constant abuse and didn’t have to live in a world where she felt like she was walking on egg shells. She was happy. That was almost half a century ago. I’ve since lost my mom to cancer. Since her passing, I go and visit her grave every Mother’s Day. We used to sing together when she was alive. This time I would sing by myself, but I could still feel her in my heart. I can still feel the safety of her arms when I go to sleep. For me, a mother’s love never dies. The promise I gave her when I was a boy of getting her a home came true.