Mrs. Mike and How Life Goes On

About a week ago I was reading Oprah magazine and I found some pretty interesting letters to the editor about something that made me think that after vacation I definitely need to blog on this. Then in another one of those 'like mother, like daughter' moments, Mel blogged about her favorite books. Well, here I go anyway... Mrs. Mike, by Ben and Nancy Freedman. Where do I start? On the surface, its a love story. A girl, a big strong Canadian Mounty. But in my life...so much more. I remember that my mom had a copy of the book. I was in 6th grade and one of those kids who would read anything and everything (I never wanted to go anywhere without a book..in case there was time to read a page or two. In fact, occasionally, I have to smile when I see a girl around that age at a restaurant with the whole family, but totally oblivious to anything going on around her, living in some other world between the pages of a book.). I can clearly remember being at a point that I couldn't put the book down (which has proven to be almost anywhere in that book) and taking it everywhere just in case there was a free moment.

It was my first 'grown up' book, a story about Kathy, a girl who became part of my life as she grew up from a 16 year old city girl to a strong woman of the rugged Canadian wilderness of the early 1900's (the original Pioneer Woman, for sure). Kathy's life is full of big and small things, and no matter whether the first time I met her or the 10th, I became a part of all of them. There were smiles and laughter (when she bakes a pie for Mike but doesn't soak the currents first), haunting sadness that comes from true pictures of life in the wilderness, and unforgetable scenes (the dinner table where they passed the water cup and when it came to Kathy, her reaction to the bean floating in the water).

I fell in love with Kathy like she was part of my family and I think she taught me a lot about how each life is touched by time and people and how one life can make a difference to other lives. Kathy was so important to me that I could hardly wait to introduce Mel to her. It touched my heart when she shared Mrs. Mike with the girls in her classroom and now we both look forward to when Kaela reaches the right age. How does a family legacy start? By a 12 year old bookworm turning a page...