Maureen
“You are IT sweetheart. ”
Maureen is incredibly resilient. She’s someone with a warm smile who views challenges as adventures and always sees the positives, and the music in everything. Meet Maureen. This is her story.
P: Please introduce yourself!
M: I am Maureen, here by sheer luck and prayers and well aware of it.
P: Describe or define yourself in own words.
M: Blessed with exotic looks, but grew up in an era when the opposite was more appealing. Athletics in school kept me happy, cost nothing and continue on to this day. This has given me an awareness for taking care of my body and well-being.
P: What is your favourite thing about yourself?
M: My favourite thing is my "MacGyverness" in every way. I simply have to find a better, cheaper or more efficient way to do things or fix things...I love that feeling, along with the pat on my back - usually my own inner pat.
P: Tell us a story. Have you had an experience that’s defined you or made you stronger?
M: I just started my first big job at an airline and even though I was supporting my mom and 2 brothers, my mom lost her job. On the eve of losing our house, we got an offer and dodged the eviction notice. Freedom I thought, and the next move would be to my own place.
At the age of 17 through until then I had the responsibility of a mortgage and a car loan for the family. I had to face it, there was going to be no place of my own - no freedom. But we would survive better together. I had to keep us together. That moment didn't make me angry or resentful but fearless - I now feared nothing.
P: What is one piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
M: Nobody is coming to help you. Don't wait for that help, don't look for that help. You are IT sweetheart.
P: What does being a woman mean to you?
M: Being a woman to me is not having to prove I am a woman. I am proof-free. My real freedom.
P: Who is one woman that inspires you? What would you say to her if she were here now?
My Auntie Pam inspired me. She raised her family on sugar plantations while her husband managed them. Her life was behind gates with house help and drivers. She treated them all with such respect. When my uncle died she had to move back to England and start over.
At 60 she learned how to drive - and a stick shift at that - how to write a cheque, how to do basic troubleshooting, how to question everything and how to be alone. "It's never too late" she would always tell me.
Even though she lived across the ocean, we shared those same hurdles and she rose above. I would always tell her that I still felt like a kid, and ask her if that was normal (haha!).
If she were here now I would like to tell her that she taught me to never ever give up - I never have and I never will. I would like to tell her she was right about raising boys...when they ask our opinion, zip it! They tell you more that way.