My kind Guido
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Today I will share a memory.
When Guido ( my Grandpa) passed, there was a funeral service and then the mourners all went back to their church to have an informal sharing time and some food.
There was an opportunity to speak offered by the minister and I was the only one who volunteered of everyone there, albeit very nervously.
(I grew up thinking Baba and Guido were my Ukrainian grandparents names, they were actually Nara and Andrew, but to me they were always Baba and Guido (grandma and grandpa).
I stood nervously at the front of this church basement to offer my gift to my mourning Baba. I told the true story about how Guido was older than Baba by 13 years when they met in Kindersley, Saskatchewan.
Guido had come to Canada from the Ukraine with nothing probably about 1920 and all alone. He was not a tall man, he loved music, and he was a diligent worker on the railway. He sang in the Russian Orthodox church on Sunday, and loved to garden.
When they met Baba was working in a doctor’s home doing housekeeping, laundry and she lived with the doctor and his wife. Baba was the oldest of sisters and moved away from her parents farm because the family was large, and times were tough, so she left home to find work at a young age.
Baba and Guido dated a little and Guido proposed. Baba knew he was polite, dressed neatly, sang in church and treated her gently with respect. She accepted his proposal to marry although she didn’t know him too well, but she could see his kind, gentle character.
Guido didn’t drive, but he worked on the railway so they had passes. They travelled to Saskatoon to get married, and the doctor and his wife (Baba’s life long friend) were their wedding witnesses.
After the wedding, Baba and Guido stayed one night in a hotel and then Guido travelled with Baba back to Manitoba (by train) to meet Baba’s family for the first time.
They had a short visit, then Guido had to return to Kindersley to work. (He explained what he was doing to Baba’s father, but her father was sworn to secrecy.)
Guido told Baba to wait at the farm, he would be back, but not when. (Baba accepted his request and asked no questions, that’s how it was in those days)
Weeks passed, Baba’s sisters teased her, and said he wasn’t coming back. Of course Baba didn’t believe them, but she might have been worried.
I’m not sure how many weeks Guido was gone, but he did return to the farm in Manitoba, as soon as he could and then by train they headed back to Kindersley together.
What Baba didn’t know was that Guido had returned to Kindersley alone so he could move his tenants from his small home that had been rented out. He had never told her he owned a house.
He brought Baba back to Kindersley to surprise her with her own home to move into.
Guido had gone ahead to prepare her home, clean it and make it special for her. I am sure that was a big surprise for her as he brought his young bride to her very own home.
At this point, my voice a bit shaky, I shared to Baba – Guido has done it again. Guido has gone on ahead to prepare the best home ever for you to share.
He is waiting for you, and then you will be together again.
Now all this I told to Baba in her church basement, with all the other mourners. The church members nodded, their eyes filled also with tears, they also loved Baba and Guido.
Baba sat silently, eyes moist with tears, all of this story of course she knew full well. But probably the church didn’t and many others didn’t, maybe even some family members.
Sometimes it’s important to be able to speak, and that speech at Guido’s funeral was deeply appreciated by many, and it was my gift to Baba.
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You might have noticed that one of the Categories on this blog is “Toastmasters“. This is because I have been a Toastmaster since 2006.
This is why I became a Toastmaster, and it has helped me over and over again.
What better gift can I give to the people I love, than to be able to share the stories that draw us together of the ones we deeply care about. – David
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