Margaret Shaw My mother and I returned to Sarnia three years ago, following the death of my father.
Margaret Shaw
My mother and I returned to Sarnia three years ago, following the death of my father.
Mom and dad raised three children here between 1950 and 1962, and my heart broke when dad was transferred from his job at the Blue Water Bridge to Toronto, and then to London.
No prejudice to either city, but mom and I were so happy to return to a community of peace and compassion.
We needed a physician and a dentist, and found great ones. My mother received a pacemaker last year, and her heart specialist and surgeon continue to pay close attention to her. I have suffered spinal problems and am in the hands of efficient specialists.
One day, in bad weather, my mother was walking between bus stops and a transit driver slowed down and nodded after she motioned she would walk the next few blocks.
We’ve noticed very few homeless people sleeping on the streets or by the river. The police have answered our calls for information on fraud and security. When my mother spilled her coffee at coffee shop they replaced it for free.
One day, shortly after moving here, I was walking from a doctor’s appointment in the rain and was soaked. A woman pulled up beside me and insisted I take her umbrella.
I have since paid that kindness forward.
Whenever I feel sad I walk along the river and pass the wonderful people who frequent the park. It cheers me up. One morning, I tripped and fell and two women stopped to ensure I was OK.
I’ve been offered water, a cell phone, a ride home in other times of need. I am grateful that someone cares enough.
Not a lot has changed, and mom and I have a deep appreciation for that ‘quaintness.’ We feel as though we’ve come home.
Yes, we left some things behind: fast buses, bad service, people who look the other way.
We give what we get and reap what we sow in Sarnia. We feel safe. We feel we count for something here.
We volunteer at the Inn of the Good Shepherd and are blessed by those we serve.
I am proud to be part of a place where young and old work together, a place that tries to make no distinction between religion, race or wealth.
Sarnia is, and I hope always will be, a city of lights, in more ways than one. Let us not move so quickly to become a “metropolis.” We moved to Sarnia to count for something, not to be lost in a crowd and pushed from behind.
Thank you all, from the hospital personnel to the taxi drivers, the politicians and public transit staff and postal workers and service clubs – to everyone who has made Sarnia into a place that we don’t want to leave.
Margaret Shaw is a retired small businesswoman happy to have escaped big city living.
