Our mothers' stories

by Sarah Juliusson

Once we become a mother, we somehow understand mothers a bit more. We know, for the first time in our lives, just how much they love us as we gaze into the eyes of our newborn baby. Often we find ourselves asking questions in new ways, wanting to understand what life was like for them when we were babies.

We are now both in a mother-daughter relationship, and mothers with shared experience within very different contexts. We learn from them, celebrate them, question and challenge them, and love them.

A Mother’s Story

Several years ago Vancouver actress Marilyn Norry began to ask friends to document their mothers' stories. Just the facts - birth, family, love, loss. They have been gathering on stage each Mother's Day since then to perform My Mother's Story: The Extraordinary Lives of Ordinary Women to sold-out audiences, quite simply sharing a collage of their own mother's stories.

Woven together into a spoken narrative, their stories speak to all of our journeys, and help us recognize the common threads of experience we all share, no matter if we were born in 1892, 1954, or 1972. As founder Marilyn Norry wrote, "It became apparent that there is no such thing as a generic mother. And that we really don't know much of ‘ordinary’ women's lives at all."

Win tickets

Babyvibe and Mama Renew are happy to offer you an extraordinary opportunity for this Mother’s Day. We have two tickets to give away to this year's performance of My Mother's Story on Sunday, May 10. To enter, go to the Mama Renew blog and share a bit of your own story as a mother, or that of your mother or grandmother. It could be funny, joyous or sad, a challenge or a victory, or simply a tiny window into daily life as a mother – in your time or theirs. Contest deadline is Tuesday, May 5 at midnight.

Whether you win our contest or not, please go to this show and encourage all the mothers in your life to join you.

Show details

When: Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 10th, 2009, 4 p.m.
Where: Granville Island Stage, Vancouver
Ticket info: Tickets are $23 and are available at www.vancouvertix.com or call 604-629-VTIX

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The children’s apparel and accessories sample sale at the GX Building continues until Wednesday, April 29. Great brands on sale include BabyLegs, Peppa dolls, and sleep sacks at the Sandra Bradford Agency in room 109. For more details, visit online.

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With the news on the swine flu outbreak, many are on alert. Actions to help stay healthy include covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze and throwing the tissue in the trash afterwards; sneeze or cough in your arm if you don’t have a tissue; wash your hands often; avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth; and if you have a cough or fever, it is recommended you stay home for about a week and don’t go to work or school if you have any symptoms. For the latest information on the swine influenza, visit the Pubilc Health Agency of Canada.