One fine morning in October 2016, somewhere in the world, a person wakes up with the conviction that she will see polar bears evolving in their natural habitat before celebrating her 75th birthday, the next month, in November.
Premonition? Madness? Caprice? Awareness of the ecological threat? Anyway, she calls me … This person is my mother and anyone who knows her as well as I, knows that when she has decided on something, it is difficult to make her change her mind.
Difficult, I said, and even before I could psychologically prepare her for the disappointment of seeing her dream (confronted with the reality of a complete reservation list for more than a year) collapse, my mother had already crossed the Atlantic to join me in Montreal. My anguish was near paroxysm until I met an angel with multiple skills, an angel of understanding and empathy, a dream-making angel. This angel works at Great Canadian Travel and is called Karen …
In less than a week, Karen brought down my anguish from a waiting list to a confirmed list and even managed, with some hard work, to take us from Winnipeg to the seats of a Tundra Buggy with serenity and effectiveness of its own. From this unlikely trip to Churchill and the tundra, we both brought wonderful memories and the polar bears now come to populate our dreams every night. The most beautiful birthday gifts you can ever dream of …
Karen proved to me that there is always someone who cares about you and that you must never lose hope! Thank you Karen!