Grandmother interview part 1: Kevin Garland

This will be a three part series about my two different grandmother interviews I conducted with my two grandmothers. This first bit is about my maternal grandmother, Kevin.

My grandmother told me about how she was named "Kevin" because her father had originally wanted a boy for a child, not a girl. She told me about how she had to work to put herself through college, because her father did not want to "waste his money on a woman's education".

My grandmother told me how she was a "Canadette", the Canadian version of a "rockette", and was, as my grandfather described it "incredibly beautiful". She was one of the chorus dancers for many years, including time into her motherhood.

My grandmother told me how, even after she was married and had my aunt, she didn't want to be a suburban mother, a typical 1960's woman. She thought, and I believe correctly so, that she was smarter than that. Even after having my mother, and my grandfather's growing success in banking, she did not want to stop working. So, she returned to graduate school, and received a master's degree in Urban Planning. She went on to work at many different establishments and become quite powerful in the business world of Toronto. My grandfather described how he was "pleasantly surprised" by her new initiative, because he "always wanted her to be [my mom], you know, darning socks, making food... a typical house-wife," but now he says that he "couldn't imagine a world without such a wonderful, driven, intelligent woman to share [his] life".

My grandmother told me about one of her most difficult decisions. When my grandfather was transfered to Zurich for work, she had to decide whether or not to go with him. A seemingly typical decision for the father at ASL to make, she said that few of her female friends had any idea what a choice like this might be like. She chose to stay in Toronto to continue her professional career, and spend every other week with her family. "It was tough" she said, "but I had to do it".

She is truly an inspirational woman who fought against great odds, and has inspired me personally. Although her struggles will be very different than mine, she will inspire me forever. She was recently put in the top 50 most powerful women in Canada, and indeed ahead of her time.