Reposted from Facebook, for the record.
This woman, my mother, is 95 today. Recently I came across something I’d forgotten, a line in a journal when I was 18 and she 46: “Mom and I went out into the bushes by the ball park to look for lady slippers…” It took me back to the person she was long before her current immobility and cognitive decline, never bound to domestic duty but curious, “let’s go see”, still linked by this delight in nature to her childhood spent on a Manitoba farm with its similar excursions into the woods… So grateful for her!
Borrowing Bones 
Dora, I see a strong resemblance to your mother. How fortunate you are to still have her!
Yes, I am, and when I phoned her to wish her happy birthday she knew she was 95, which pleased and surprised me.
Your mother, Tina (Harder) Doerksen, was a role model for me. I heard about the Harder girls from my mother. The older girls were her friends and some rented rooms from her when she was first married. They came to Winkler to go to Bible School and High School. They admired her babies (me) and laughed and cried with her. She enjoyed their missionary zeal and zest for life.
Imagine my delight when we moved to Brandon with our family of 5, when I met Tina. Her youngest girl was the same age as our oldest. Tina was always cheerful, took things in stride, and guided by her consistency. I felt she was like a mother, but more than that, a friend.
So glad you had her as “mother” and friend, Shirley! She did have that way about her.
Is she the model for any of your fictional character, Dora?
No, Shirley, I have never had her in mind for any character. Simply too close to see her properly perhaps!
Your dear mother was my neighbor and a wonderful mentor to me, a young struggling mom. I am so thankful for her and wish her God’s Blessing in this 95th year.
Thank you “Granny Alice” — and you a dynamic and beautiful “older” young woman we little girls looked at with such admiration. Isn’t it all just so interesting…
Hi Dora, I had the privilege of having a piece of her birthday cake as I worked that day. Blessing to you. Myrna
Oh I love it, that you shared in her celebration! (I didn’t know you were working at the Home. Hope you’re keeping well!)