It has been my honour to serve you as wife and mother over the past fifteen years. It has been a challenging, rewarding and sometimes frustrating job. Though I will still maintain my title as “Wife and Mother”, and I will continue on as a consultant, I am stepping down from certain duties which have become more than I can handle in my middle years.

I have fond memories of life’s events we have shared together like frolicking in the swimming pool, tea towel fights out on the street, pizza pyjama picnics on the living room floor, soccer games, visits to the zoo and Canada’s Wonderland, trips to Florida and Prince Edward Island, awards nights, Christmases and birthdays.

The endless hugs, kisses, laughter, smiles, tears of pride, tears of sadness and tears of joy will remain with me always. I will continue to be a part of every life event. I look forward to walking my daughters down the aisle when they marry and holding grandbabies in my arms. I also look forward to relaxing and hopefully travelling. But foremost in my retirement I look forward to the time I will have to write the novel of my dreams.

I will still be there to wipe away the tears of disappointment, to advise you through life’s decisions, to catch you when you fall, to share in your accomplishments and joys, to enjoy your silliness, to pray with you, to live, love, laugh and dance. I will do my best to drive you where you need to go, but I do have a life of my own and want to enjoy it while I still can. I want to accomplish my own dreams.

There will be no more cooking, washing dishes, making lunches, doling out money, dropping what I am doing to serve you, emptying waste baskets and compost, breaking up fights, washing bathrooms, making beds, cleaning up after you, and tripping over shoes, school backpacks and sports’ bags.

It is my honour to pass these duties over to my husband and two daughters so that they may learn that the role of wife and mother can sometimes be defined as “slave”.

Good luck to you all. You’re going to need it.