Betty Would Love That…
“To honor loved ones who have passed away, adopt their best qualities and live your life in a way that would make them proud.”
We are three sisters (two seniors and one senior in waiting) on a serious mission. What might that mission be you ask? Well, it is to honor our deceased mother Betty while having as much fun as possible……actually we’re not THAT serious! We enjoy each other’s company and somehow we manage to laugh a lot and have great adventures when we’re together.
To understand our mission, you have to understand Betty. She was:
- up for anything, particularly games, and always a good sport
- outgoing and genuinely interested in people
- relentlessly cheerful and optimistic
- funny and a bit quirky
- a lover of dogs and babies
- interested in travel and far away places
- partial to a small glass of wine or Champagne
When our father passed away in 2012, Betty was left financially secure and ready to take on the world. For five delightful years we watched her do just that. She travelled, shopped, played bridge and golf, went out to dinner and movies, walked to the neighborhood Starbucks every day, (stopping to pat every dog and marvel at every baby along the way) and socialized to her heart’s content.
When she passed away our hearts were broken. Although our guiding light was gone, we realized that this lovely lady had left us an inspiring legacy. Not only was she a wonderful example of living life joyfully, but she left each of us enough money to follow in her footsteps. We are not only following in her footsteps…..we have “A Plan.”
Mom walked in many 5K events with us, so that is the cornerstone of said plan. We are above all else finely tuned athletes (at the very least we are legends in our own minds) and she would be thrilled that we are planning to walk a 5K in every province in Canada. Wowzers, that’s a tall order! It will take a while because we will only do one 5K a year, but we’re up for it!
Mom also loved to travel. No problem……we’re on it!
Mom liked games and so do we!
Mom didn’t spend much time in bars (in fact we’re not sure if we ever remember that happening) but we have found that the occasional drink serves to add to our pursuit of fun and laughter and Mom would certainly be all for that.
Mom loved dogs. Mag has that one covered…..Kerri and Shauna not so much.
This is Mag’s dog Biscuit
And so people, we have lots of territory to cover. We will be busy walking 5Ks and travelling to places that Betty would have loved to see. Along the way we will have the occasional alcoholic beverage, engage in much laughter and silliness and shine the spotlight on our incredible athletic abilities. In short, we will have fascinating (well at least mildly interesting) stories to tell.
A wise person once said:
“To honor loved ones who have passed away, adopt their best qualities and live your life in a way that would make them proud.”
This is our guiding principle and fortunately for us, Betty’s best qualities were having fun, laughing a lot and living every day to the fullest. She is a constant in our life. We think of her often and now when we are faced with difficult decisions, or question if we are being too silly or irresponsible, we ask ourselves “what would Betty do?” The answer it would seem, is obvious…..
Betty Would Love That!
So, please join us on our mission, as our adventures in honor of Betty unfold. We will be very busy having fun but we’ll post a story regularly and hopefully you will laugh along with us and share in the fun.
30 Comments
Al McCaig
Amazing lady & wonderful daughters – excellent blog well done loved the pics😍
Bigsister
Thanks for your kind words Al. Betty was amazing and we did our best to capture that in this post. We think the pictures show the many facets of Betty’s personality perfectly!
Len MacDonald
Great job, ladies. Hope to meet all of you some day. I walked across Spain last May (the Camino -713 km) so I figure I could do one of your 5km walks with you… and write about it’
Bigsister
Hi Len,
Thanks for your comment. We appreciate feedback from an expert blogger! Regarding your suggestion re walking a 5k with us, we are certainly willing to take it under consideration. 🙂 I must warn you, however, that we take our walks very seriously and aside from the obvious “gender” issue (ie. we are a Sisterhood) we have a motto, guidelines and several playlists, any or all of which may not meet with your approval. 😉
Oh wait…we have discussed it and you’re in! It might be years before it comes to fruition but rest assured, we will reserve your spot. In the meantime, keep training, and stay in touch. 🙂 Thanks again.
Len MacDonald
If I get invited to participate in one of your walks, I vow to walk several steps behind the sisterhood. I will speak when spoken to. I will fetch drinks on command and even rub your sore feet at the end of the walk. I will even wear my kilt if it helps me fit in with such august company. Your man-servant. Len
Jill McCaig
This is amazing! What a wonderful tribute to a lovely woman! She would be thrilled. Beautifully written! The photos are great but I especially love the one of Betty above the title. Looking forward to seeing the sisters do their 5K in Ontario!
Bigsister
Thanks for your kind words Jill. The picture at the top of the blog is one of our favorites too. You never know, our Ontario 5k could end up being in SSM!
Jamie McCaig
Awesome first post! Can’t wait to hear more!!
Jamie McCaig
Awesome first post! What a great way to honor GG Betty, this would of course be one of the things she would love to be a part of!
Bigsister
You’re absolutely right Jamie, GG Betty would love to be part of this! We kinda think maybe she is….
Ron Warner
Gosh. Betty would be very proud! Especially the part about dogs and babies! Well done ladies
Bigsister
Thanks for your kind comments. We really wanted to capture her personality and share our thoughts with others. She was special. Stay tuned, there are lots more stories to come!
Alissa McLester
This is a beautiful gift to all of us who know and love Grandma. She would be so proud of you three for the amazing job you’ve done. Looking forward to more!!
Bigsister
Thanks Alissa for your kind thoughts. She was a pretty special grandma wasn’t she. I think
she would be happy with what we’ve done. Stay tuned – lots more to come!
Scott Sullivan
A wonderful tribute to a wonderful woman. Grandma Betty (and Grandpa Harvey) both made such an impact on so many lives, and I’m glad to see her stories not being forgotten. Keep it up ladies!
Bigsister
Hi Scott,
We’re so glad you enjoyed our post. Thanks for your comment and please keep checking in. There are lots of stories to come 🙂
Doris Carruthers
That was a lovely tribute to Betty, she sounds like such a wonderful person and ready for anything. Ever interesting story Ladies keep up the good work.
Bigsister
Thanks so much for your kind words Doris. as you can tell from our post we think our mom was pretty special!
Doris Carruthers
Thanks looks ok. I think you three ladies are doing a wonderful job.
Paul Walter Slusher
Wonderful – Alannah sent this link to me and it brought a big smile to my face. I have not seen Betty for many, many years. I think the last time was when I was a young adult in fact. Nice to see her smile – I remember it well. I know my dad (now deceased) Harry would have smiled too…
A wonderful gesture. 🙂
Bigsister
So nice to hear from you Paul. Thank you for your kind comments. Mom was special and we hope our blog reflects her lovely personality. Stay tuned….
Alannah Jacques
Betty and I often talked about being ‘sisters’ which is what we were, more than sisters-in-law. She had an impact on my life that you likely are not aware of – it would be hard to put into words how much she and Harvey were there for me. She was a pillar of strength, a good natured, good humoured and sensitive human being with a knack for sensing things before they were even verbalised I look at her picture often and smile at the memories of my wonderful sister, memories that will never leave me.
Middlesister
So glad this post brought back thoughts of mom for you. We all miss her so much. I know she thought of you as a sister also which was very meaningful to her as an only child. Please keep checking back as there is lots more to come!
Cayley Velazquez
Love this! I’m looking forward to the stories and pics of you three lovely ladies of course, but also of Grandma. We certainly miss her. Looking forward to your next post!
Bigsister
Grandma was special 🙂 Stay tuned…there are lots of stories to come.
Patti Hatchard
I wish I had know her. She sounds like my kind of lady
Bigsister
I’m sure you would have enjoyed her company, Patti. She loved to have fun and laugh. There are lots of stories to come!
Randy Sullivan
I noticed that in any picture taken of Mum, even ones catching her unawares, there is a 99% chance that she is smiling. Happy. In the last 5 years of her life, her happiness to a great extent is down to her three daughters. You did a marvelous job taking care of her and making sure there was only happiness in her life…no worries. This blog is just an extension of the sense of duty and love you had towards her. She was a wonderful mother, she had wonderful daughters.
Middlesister
Thank you brother for your kind, heartfelt words. The whole family did their best to make sure that her last years were the best they could be. And you’re right she was always smiling even when life got challenging for her. We can all take a page out of her book especially with the challenging times we find ourselves in now. PS: Say hi to Larry for us!
Alexa Warner
Love the slideshow! It really captures her fun spirit. Thank you for starting this and I look forward to reading more!