Many would say my mother is lucky. She describes herself as resilient and optimistic. Born Cornelia Vandenassem in Holland in 1932 during the Depression, she was the third oldest of eight children. The Second World War invaded her life at a young age; she remembers well the German occupation, air raids and people starving in the cities. Just before her 13th birthday, the war ended. Two years later, her mother died of cancer.
My grandfather's decision to immigrate with the family to Canada was devastating. Then 19, my mother left behind her home, boyfriend and friends, moving to southwestern Ontario and a farmhouse without running water, electricity or indoor plumbing. A few months later the Vandenassems moved into a tiny house beside a farm owned by a family named Wallace; when she was 21, my mother got a job helping Mrs. Wallace with housework. She also spent endless hours picking cucumbers and plucking turkeys.
A $1.5 million business
A friendship formed with the Wallaces' son, Alvin. Eventually they married and bought the Wallace farm, weathering a bankruptcy to build it into an operation now worth $1.5 million. My parents raise crops, hogs and 30,000 turkeys annually. At 73, my mother feels she's been blessed beyond her expectations and is optimistic about the future.
Her indomitable spirit has inspired me all my life. You can get through anything and be successful, she taught me, if you do your best, apply yourself and take advantage of opportunity.
We all know people who, like my mother, seem to have it all, who appear to have spent a lifetime being smiled upon by Lady Luck. But other, more insightful, observation shows that these same "lucky" people have a lot in common: they joyfully embrace opportunity, take chances, work hard and look for ways to turn setbacks into advantages. In short, they make their own breaks. And you can, too.
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