Christmas means different things to different people. To Richard Todd Canton, it means his revisiting life as a boy in a house that his father built for his family on Russell Street in Amherst, Nova Scotia. Christmas also brings with it fond memories of his mother, who filled their home with life, laughter, and love. All Things Family and Christmas offers both a sentimental journey and a reminder to all busy people that it's important to take a moment to slow down and enjoy the holidays. All Things Family and Christmas is the second collection of stories based upon Canton's life growing up on Russell Street. It offers a poignant, heartfelt window into the life and memories of a grateful son and husband. From the wonderful memories of Christmases long past to the memorable characters that he encountered while working at Kmart, Canton paints a picture of interesting people and wondrous memories that are the foundation of his history.

All Things Family and Christmas

This Way Is My WayBy Richard Todd Canton

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Richard Todd Canton
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-8802-6

Chapter One

Listen to Your Mother

No one, and I mean no one knows you like your mother does. She not only carried you for nine months, she carried you around for the next nine months. She nursed your colds and fevers, suffered through incoming and outgoing teeth. She battled the flu and other viruses with an unmatched instinct and a protective sense of pride. She did her best to shield you from bullies on the playground and from bullies in general. A mother is like Santa in many ways. She knows when you are sleeping, and knows when you're awake. A mother can holler upstairs, "What's going on up there?" and she already knows.

Mothers insist on you brushing your teeth, washing your hands( both tops and bottoms), and they clean your ears. They tell you've had enough junk food for one day even when you think you haven't had nearly enough. And they cry.

Mothers insist that you use your manners, use proper etiquette at the breakfast table, how not to chew with your mouth open, to tie your shoes, to be respectful to others, and that's all before you leave the house. And they kiss you.

Mother says that an education is a very important thing. She says to listen to the teacher and to do as your told. She tells you to be careful when you head out the door for school and to wait for the crossing guard before you head into traffic. She tells you not to throw rocks or snowballs at other kids or cars, because they can blind someone. Mothers tell you to wait for your little brother because he can't walk as fast as you do. She tells you to 'mind your manners' which really means "don't break any laws".

Mothers like to feed kids. Sometimes they cook big meals that are good for you and sometimes they let you use the microwave to cook foods that aren't so good for you. Sometimes they don't do anything but sit in the chair and relax because they have a headache. Mothers like to talk on the phone a lot. That can give a kid a headache.

Mothers think that they are fat. They think that if they could lose ten pounds then all their troubles would be over.

Mother can only count to five. If they have to count any higher, that means business. You don't want business. Just ask your father. Mothers are the bosses. When you really want to go somewhere and do something, you ask him. He says "What did your mother say?" If she said No, then No! On that rare occasion that he might take your part, she has to count to five, and that means business. You don't want business.

A mother thinks that teenagers are payback for all the stunts they pulled on their parents. They call it their come-uppance. That's when they talk on the phone to their mothers and they say things like "Oh, I wasn't like that!". Or "I was never that bad!" Mothers think they should sit you down and talk about safe sex and drinking and drugs. It makes them nervous to give these talks but tell us that it's for our own good. And they worry.

Mothers don't sleep at night. They stay awake and think awful thoughts of what might be happening to their kids. They often remind their children of stuff that has happened in other families and how she doesn't want anything like that to happen in her family because we are all she lives for.

Mothers listen to old people's music and talk about bands and singers no one has ever heard of. They call them the classics.

Mothers like to watch television programs like OPRAH and DR Phil. They think they will find the solutions to their problems from them. But, instead it turns out that most mothers know more than DR. Phil and OPRAH combined, that's why we all go to our mothers when all is not well.

Mothers love you in a way that no one else ever will. They want you to take care of yourself and to be careful, even when you're twenty-five years old. Even if you've gone to college and got yourself a job. They hope someday you will meet someone nice and fall in love, get married and have a baby. They want to become grandmothers. When they do, they give that child everything they never gave you and when you tell them they are spoiling the kid, they tell you that it's their job to spoil the kids. That's when you sit in a chair and have a headache.

Then one day when you are looking into the face of your own children you think to yourself, so that's what my mother meant. And you worry!

Listen to your mother!

A Million More

Just because I am getting older doesn't mean I am slowing down any. I always look forward to the day and see what it will bring. I believe it is because I like my life. I appreciate living in a free country, drinking clean water and enjoying a healthy lifestyle. I like to keep busy and to work. I enjoy my job at school because of the interesting people I interact with on a daily basis. I also enjoy being a waiter. This can be very interesting as well. Just when one thinks they've heard it all, someone surprises you. It's a good lesson to learn.

As an Educational Assistant, we are not the teacher. Teachers are trained in academics, we are trained in dealing with behaviours, emotions, acknowledgement and support. As a result we interact with the children in a different way than the teacher does. Our rewards differ as well. Sometimes the smallest looking achievement is worth a million to us. The job we do is an important one. It is nice when our contribution is noticed.

When our Student Council President, Lincoln Watson gave his speech at the closing banquet, he chose to acknowledge me and my life lessons, as the person he learned the most from in his junior high experience. The applause was thunderous, the compliment, touching. It was afterward that I realized exactly what my life's purpose is and that I am fulfilling it on a daily basis. It is my duty to acknowledge and nurture all persons with whom I come in an arm's length of. That goes for the animal kingdom as well as the earth itself. My mother taught me to be kind to others and I believe that I am. I always wanted my mother to be proud of me, probably more than anything else.

Had I not been caught off-guard by Lincoln's kind gesture, I would like to have addressed the audience. I probably would have said something like this:

It is easy to be nice to nice people, it is a challenge to be nice to those who aren't. It is nice to appreciate the beauty of a flower but not to pick it. It is lovely to hear a baby sigh, the welcoming bark of my dog, the purr of a kitten simply because I entered the room, and the smile on my wife's face. I must never take any of these things for granted because they could all be gone in a minute.

All of this could not be possible with out a 'Thank you Mother' for not only giving me life but making it worth living, for teaching me to see the good in people and to appreciate the beauty around me. And thanks for allowing people like Lincoln Watson to enhance my life in the most positive ways......

Appreciation for all we have is the greatest gift we give ourselves. I appreciate the fact that I can put my own pants on in the morning, feed myself breakfast and take myself down the road to work.. Having said all of that I head into everyday glad that I am alive, that my house is a home because Sherry lives there, that I am somebody's Daddy to my dog, and that the life I live is a good one.

So with the sun shining through my kitchen window this morning as I shared a cup of tea with my wife, I ask God to give me a million more.............