Wonderful Women
Illust by Asa
Christine is the first wonderful woman I became friends with in Montreal. On one cold day, during my first winter here, my van was stuck on a side of a street surrounded by a snow bank. She came to my rescue, and, with her magic hand, rescued the van in less than 15 minutes; all by herself. I thought that she was more reliable than the usual men. Two years ago, she walked the Way of St. James, from France to Santiago, Spain, alone with a backpack for 2 months. I was shocked when she told me that she was 65 years old. She works, cooks wonderful meals every day, and somehow manages to go to movies and shows, and to read many interesting nonfiction books. She often goes away to country side on weekends. She cross-country skis, bicycles, climbs mountain, and all other kinds of activities skillfully. She is like a wise and trusted aunty in Montreal for me.
I went to see the Cirque du Soleil for the first time and was deeply impressed by the performance. Jennie is one of the choreographers for OVO, the new show by Cirque du Soleil. She is from Brazil, and we met in Montreal last winter. I understood why she had been always busy and tense. The show for which she was working on for the last 6 months was flawless. Her eldest daughter had a baby girl last year, and now she is a grandma. She is a very attractive professional dancer and still a popular woman with men. When I saw her after the premier of the show, she was finally relaxed and back to being a cheerful and funloving typical Brazilian lady.
My mother is also a wonderful woman. My standards for being a wonderful woman are very high because of her. She is 73 years old, and for the last ten years, she has been saying that she would retire “next year.” I know that she will keep working to give some allowance to her three middle-aged children and her grandchildren, who should be giving her allowance instead of receiving from their mother.
I don’t have as much energy and wisdom as Christine does. I may not be able to impress many people with my work like Jennie does. Even if I push myself very hard from now on, I can never surpass what my mother has built day by day. The day when I consider myself a wonderful woman will never come. All I can do is to keep striving to better myself.
I am attracted by people who work hard, and from whom I receive a good influence. Since moving to Montreal, I met a quite few attractive hard working women, and I will be happy if I meet some men whom I highly look up, too, so that one day I can write a column titled “Wonderful Men.”
