Wind beneath my wings

Today I heard an old familiar song, “Wind Beneath My Wings,” by Bette Midler. As I sang along to the beautiful tune, I reflected on the forces that shaped my life and the significant people who supported me to become the person I am today.

With Mother’s Day upon us, I can attest the most influential person has been my mother. My mother grew up in the Oliver area in the Nk’mip community. As a young child, she had a severe childhood illness that damaged the nerves in her ears, making her deaf. Even though my mother was deaf, you would never know.

She adapted by learning to lip read and can function very well in a world that relies on hearing. My mother is a very hard-working woman. She worked at Nk’mip Vineyard as a labourer her entire life and continued to work up to her 85th birthday.

My mother is now retired as an 86-year-old. There are eight children in my family, and I am a middle child. When I was 13 years old, I started working in the vineyard with my mom in the summer. Although my summer employment was tedious, monotonous, and physically tiring, I worked at the vineyard every summer until I graduated from high school.

To beat the intense Okanagan summer heat, we got up at 4 a.m. to be to work by 5 a.m. I earned $5 and hour and made around $350 every two weeks. When I received my very first paycheque, my mom took me to the bank to open a savings account, and I deposited almost every penny I earned into my account.

My father passed away suddenly when I was 15 years old, and I had three younger siblings and four older siblings when he passed. It was difficult for my family, but my mom was our rock. She kept us safe and provided well for the family. We never went without anything and had a very good life. My mom taught me the value of hard work; how to save money, and she instilled values such as honesty, dedication, loyalty, and commitment.

One of the biggest lessons my mom taught me was to persevere, no matter how tough life becomes. My mother held the bar high for us and expected us to set goals and to strive for the stars. She believed in education and expected all of her children to finish school. Quitting was not an option.

My mom is a residential school survivor and obtained a sixth-grade education.

She came from an era where First Nation children were taken from their families and sent to live in residential schools. At the residential school, my mom learned to read, to iron clothes, and to embroider beautiful works of art. She often says the most important thing she learned at residential school was to read.

My mom is an avid reader and a self-educated woman. She instilled in me the value of education, and it is because of her that I pursued a career in education. My mom encouraged me to go to university to obtain a Bachelor of Education degree and to go on to get a Master’s Degree in educational leadership and administration.

At my university graduation, it was very emotional for me to look at my mom proudly sitting in the audience with a reassuring smile that let me know she was proud of me. Thank goodness for my mom.

I was truly blessed to have such a fantastic role model and cheerleader in my life. Motherhood is an important and challenging job. I feel very fortunate that I have such a strong and dedicated mother. She was the wind beneath my wings.

In closing, I would like to remind you to take a moment to thank your mother as raising children takes courage, dedication, love, and commitment.

Kathy Pierre is a trustee with the Okanagan Skaha School District, representing West Bench, Naramata, Kaleden and the Penticton Indian Band.