THE TEA ON ME
I am not sure if I am that interesting, but my friends whose stories I will tell you are.
I was born Leana Corrinne Wall on December 21, 1967, in Winnipeg (Winterpeg), Manitoba, Canada. Winnipeg has the coldest winters of the major cities in Canada, and that shapes who you are. I never thought of myself as tough until I moved away. I was brought home from the hospital on Christmas Day, and my parents have told me I was their best Christmas present. I have always known I was loved
I had a lovely, peaceful childhood in Canada, with summers spent playing at the cottage surrounded by cousins and family, sometimes under northern lights, and winters in a winter wonderland of mountains of white diamonds, skating, and making snowhouses.
The only thing traumatic about my teen years was my choice of makeup and hairstyles. Of course, I made stupid decisions with my underdeveloped brain, but nothing life-altering.
I graduated from the University at 21 with a highly marketable degree in Theology and History, and got married at this tender young age because, of course, I was mature enough; my parents gently disagreed, but I didn’t quite get the message.
While on a roll of taking on an incredible amount of responsibility, I was not prepared for it. I managed to get pregnant while trying not to. Of course, he turned out to be the best blessing in my life, and his sister came three years later. Despite my youth, they may have come sooner than planned, but I love being a mother and am delighted in every second of raising them. I must have done an okay job, because they are fantastic.
The kids’ dad and I then moved out of Winnipeg for an adventure, first to Calgary, Alberta, for two years, then to Nashville, Tennessee, and finally to Atlanta, Georgia. It was in Atlanta that the adventure turned into a Nightmare and the marriage collapsed.
There was a lot of pain and change for the kids, myself and their dad. I set a personal record for an eight-day consecutive migraine ending in the hospital. I had to lean on all the principles of my faith and ignore my basic instincts, which involved some illegal acts that may have resulted in my imprisonment. I applied grace and forgiveness to the situation as much as possible each day, and, little by little, with many periods of regression, things got better.
Then I met Dennis. I don’t believe in hero worship; it seems unfair to put someone on a pedestal, but I do have people I really admire, and I admire my husband more than anyone I know.
Our lives together are fragile, messy, and beautiful, and if you are interested in more of the details of how we navigate through having our patriarch coping with a progressive disease, I have provided a link to my first Blog series, Frolicking to Fifty.https://leanaconway.blog/
All our kids, spouses, and grandkids (at the time, we keep adding) at Amanda and Sheryar’s wedding. Well, one of their weddings, they had a week of weddings, it was quite the whoop-dee-doo, and so much fun.
The other wedding, the fancy dancy one at The Fox. My kiddos, my son-in-law Sheryar’s parents are from Pakistan, so in traditional Pakistani wear. It was so very beautiful, the food, the gorgeous colors, the joyous blending of the two cultures, what a day.
