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Another Birthday. I think there have been enough by now that we really don’t need to acknowledge them. 🙂 It’s lovely though, how many people reach out on social media or email and of course, my fabulous sons and husband are always so thoughtful.

As I get older and say goodbye to some along the way, the proof of my mortality looms somewhere ahead. I find myself constantly trying to put my life in context, to lighten up, to appreciate people more without the pressure, the stress, the striving, the paranoia that drives us. Someone posted this quotation on Facebook and I thought it was perfect.

“I think midlife is when the universe gently places her hands upon your shoulders, pulls you close, and whispers in your ear:
Your armor is preventing you from growing into your gifts. I understand that you needed these protections when you were small. I understand that you believed your armor could help you secure all of the things you needed to feel worthy of love and belonging, but you’re still searching and you’re more lost than ever.

Time is growing short. There are unexplored adventures ahead of you. You can’t live the rest of your life worried about what other people think. You were born worthy of love and belonging. Courage and daring are coursing through you. You were made to live and love with your whole heart. It’s time to show up and be seen.”

~ Brené Brown

Agnes Remme (April 7, 1924 – June 15, 2016) also known as Mom, Grandma, Great-Grandma and Aunt Agnes, was born Agnes Agatha Niedzwiecki in 1924 to Polish immigrants on their farm in Huntsville, Ontario. They’d come to Canada from Krakow as Homesteaders to build a new life with their growing family – Mary, Frank, John, Agnes, Albert and Mac. Of the six siblings, Mary and Mac are still with us.

Agnes was always a beautiful woman with a great, inviting smile and easy laugh. In recent years, she’d retreated into an inner world, partially triggered by the unexpected death of her husband in a ski accident in 1995.

Around 1941, she was named the “Snow Queen” in her hometown, a local beauty pageant and shortly afterwards made her way to Toronto with big sister, Mary, to find office work in the city. It was there that she met Arild Remme on a visit to “Little Norway”, the Norwegian Airforce base on the Toronto Islands. Arild was standing guard and was immediately taken with Agnes. Flirting and then dating led to marriage on November 18, 1942 with their first child, Ola arriving in the summer of 1943. Irene was born in 1944 and then Sandra in 1955.

Agnes was very social, loved to dance and was always fastidious in her appearance and how she kept her home. She worked many jobs over the years to help support her family, including restaurants and a ladies’ fashion store.

Agnes and Arild built their homes, first in Alderwood (the Lakeshore area of Toronto) where they hosted many friends and extended family, and then their cottage which later became their home for many years, in Huntsville. Agnes had a kind, motherly spirit and took great care of her children. She was not the strict disciplinarian in the family although sometimes she had to chase her rebellious son with a flyswatter to keep him in line. It didn’t work, of course.

In addition to her 3 children, Agnes had 7 grandchildren (Eden, Randy, Rebecca, Ryan, Cory, Elissa) and 3 step-grandchildren (Heather, Judy, Pam). Sadly Heather and Cory predeceased her. She had 10 great grandchildren (Jordan, Perry, Tyler, Ryley, Veronica, Austen, Jasper, Mya, Cole, Noah) and many nieces and nephews.

1989 at Doug and Eden's grad party — 1989 Agnes and Arild with Jordan

Agnes and Arild enjoyed people and adventure, travelling with their trailer south (Ft Myers) and west (Banff, Victoria) and later spent time in Norway, visiting with family. They maintained close contact with their Norwegian relatives, with visits on both sides of the Atlantic.

We remember Agnes’ vivacious, cheerful, motherly spirit, her beautiful smile, and the legacy she has left behind in all of us.