MY FAVOURITES

Now my main focus is on completing my collection of U.s.a.-state-shaped pins and those from new travel destinations. Although my set of Canadian provincial pins were the most memorable to collect, I do have a few individual favourites because of the particular memories they bring.

USSR Expo ’74 – A symbol of how the kindness of an individual from across the world, and a different culture, could impact a life. “Do a deed of simple kindness; though its end you may not see, it may reach, like widening ripples, down a long eternity.” – Joseph Norris

Precious Feet Pin – These are the exact size and shape of an unborn baby’s feet at ten weeks after conception, and it has been used as the International ProLife symbol. Being adopted, I’m grateful that my birth mother chose life for me.

Scottish Man – Dad loved everything Scottish – even Scottish jokes. His special love was the bagpipes. He never played them, but it was his dream to be able to one day. I picked this pin out with my dad on a trip we took to visit his family’s roots in New Brunswick.

Canadian Flag – I waited until this past year to add this latest pin to my collection. At only .5"x 1.0" this is one of the smallest ones I have. Mom didn’t wear jewellery except for her wedding rings and this one tiny Canadian flag pin. When she changed her shirt or coat, she adjusted the pin to suit what she was wearing. Last year, as mom was facing her last days in the hospital at age 89, she asked me to get her flag and pin it onto her hospital sweater. She wore it proudly to the very end.

Each pin has a different story and meaning. Each involves people, culture, nature or our environment, much like the “breakthrough” environmental theme of Expo ’74, where it all started for me.