School was just finishing up and i had just taking my last test, i was thinking sweet summer!  When i got home my mom and dad called me and my sisters into the living room to talk.  We didn't know what it would be about, then they broke the news… they were going to get a divorce.  I was speechless, when would i wake up from this nightmare.  I walked away from this meeting and went straight to my room not wanting to talk to anyone.  After a few hours of thinking what would happen, who would move, would my dad go back to montreal, what's going to happen to the house, I came out of my room and decided I wanted to go to the lake.  Altho we didn't have a cottage at the time due to the fire, we still had a boat and dock. All I wanted to do was sit in the middle of the lake by myself and not worry about a thing.  Having this place when no one can bug me was probably the best thing for me at the time. I had a chance to take it all in and just think. I didn't have anyone to talk to but it didn't really matter to me, I never want to talk about my feelings.  I had friends who had divorced parents and they don't know there dad, would something like this happen to me, never being able to see my dad?  Again this brought out true friends and people reached out when the word spread.  This also brought up how i realized that i was lucky to have both of my parents because it’s not as normal as it use to be.  This also changed my perspective again on cherishing the memories we had made as a family, the trips to Florida, trips for my hockey and dance for my sisters, everyone being together because this wouldn’t happen again, or at least not in the same way.

Next cancer has played a big role in my family, both of my grandpas had died from cancer. On my mom's side my grandpa passed away before i was ever born, the only child he met from my mom was my oldest sister who is six years older than me. On my dad's side my grandpa passed away when i was in the 3rd grade, I don’t remember him to well just that he really liked sudoku. We would go to visit him and my grandma back in Montreal at least once a year.  My grandma's sister had died from cancer the same year as the cottage incident.  This year my grandma went to the doctors for some reason i don't know of, i think just a regular check up. I called my mom asking what we were going to have for dinner, when she answered there was something in her voice that didn’t seem right.  I asked her what was wrong she said we would talk later about it.  I went over to her house for dinner that night and when i walked in she was sitting with Ron(step dad that’s not actually a step dad) and crying. I walked in sat next to her and gave her a hug and asked what was wrong. She said your grandma has cancer.  Again i thought really this can not be true, why does bad stuff keep happening. She had to go down to New York a bunch during the summer before they could say what they would be doing. Would she have to have surgery, chemo or radiation, or would it already be too late.  She ended up having two different tumors, she had to have chemo before anything else could be done.  She responded well to the chemo and after five doses she was well enough to go back to the doctor in New York where he will give an update and determine what will be done next.  Recently after thanksgiving 2016, my grandma went to new york to have surgery on her cancer. She was there for about 8 days before she was released.  She is home now and doing well but the surgery did not cure here just prolonged her life.  I am more then grateful to have the opportunity to be with her longer even if it is just a few years. Those are the memories that i will remember.

Lastly and the event that has had the most impact on me,  February 23, 2014 waking up to that phone call and hearing my parent's running around upstairs, then few seconds later them tumbling out the door and gone.  I didn't think much of it at first but they didn't return for a few hours, and when they did my mom was bawling.  That's when she told me and my sister that our cottage was burnt to the ground, the only consistent home we ever had.  There was no way what she had said was true, it couldn't be real.  My sister and I first went to the cottage to see the devastating sight that day around 1 in the afternoon.  The sight was horrific what was left of our one hundred and ten year old cottage was just the frame it was set on and the farthest back wall that was charcoaled black from the heat and flames.  As we walked up firemen still putting out flames, the smell was the worst I had ever experienced.  All the memories we had there, all the irreplaceable knickknacks and family heirlooms that were inside.  The next few weeks after school me and my sister would go up to the lake with my mom and her friends and dig through the rubble and see what we could find that could be saved.  This experience brought me closer to the community around me and people who i had never talked to.  I have become more comfortable with my moms friends than i ever was before. I have also become really good friends with our neighbor at the lake who has also gone through a lot.  She has had cancer nemours amount of times and has gotten better for and had been in remission when the cottage was burnt down, but the summer after was re-diagnosed.  I have helped her in many way as she has help me to, i do all of the hard work she needs done around the house and in return she lets me use her father's boat that means a lot to her. She has also helped me because it give me someone to talk to about what is going on with my grandma, her having been through it all before.  Her being there has taught me that when bad things happen people who really care will show it, also that you can overcome adversity with persistence, and lastly to not take for granted what we have because as we know now that it could be taking away without any warning.

The first summer without the cottage was strange, but a friend from down the lake has two cottages and they don’t use the one often, they let my grandma stay there well she was up for the summer.  They have become better friends with my grandma and with our whole family, we were grateful for their kindness.  We started to rebuild the cottage right after summer had ended, right away there were many questions.  Who would be in charge between my mom and two of her brothers, one living in Colorado, the other in Plymouth Mass.  My uncle in Plymouth was in charge of the new cottages blueprints, he came up with almost the exact same layout with only a few changes for the better.  The cottage was finally finished this year at the start of summer.  Throughout the process of rebuilding my mom and my uncle were mostly on the same page but my uncle in Colorado fought about almost anything that he could.  We as a family learned a lot about what our uncle in colorado was trying to do, he wanted the cottage to benefit him the most even though he would come maybe once a year.  Even my grandma who is still the head of the cottage didn't agree with what he wanted.  This is still an ongoing debate between the family that every word said has to be crafted carefully just so nothing is twisted around.

Tragedy and hardship really do change your perspective on what is important in and who is really there for you.  It also brings out the person you really are.   Although i have learned this the hard way, it was a good lesson to learn at a younger age.  It might be hard to deal with, i know it was for my family and I but it also brought use closer as a family