Ben and the Maple Tree

This is a very special blog for me. This is the week of my birthday and I thought that I would take this week to honor the memory of my dear Father, Ben. Often times since my father has passed away, over sixteen years ago, I have found ways to honor his memory on both his birthday and mine. This one seems very special because the Internet can reach a wide audience and I am hoping that others are as strongly inspired by the spirit of my father's life as I have been.

This is a story of a tree, and how it signifies what I feel and now take into our business Footprints International.

My Father owned his own contracting company in Windsor, Ontario where I grew up. He built mostly single-family homes and some apartment buildings. I remember him building a lovely home on California Street, (I know there is an irony thee). It actually turned out to be my favorite home that we ever lived in. At age six years old in that home I met my best friend, Lorelei and two other dear friends Martin and David. The four of us were inseparable for years.

Back to the tree though. Three was a sidewalk and then a green boulevard area close to the street and in the green are was this little maple tree that was in the way of the sewer lines going in. So out came the tree from the ground. Maybe some people would have just tossed the tree thinking that having it hug the metal rod to hold it up, it was just too small and fragile and wouldn't make it. Not my father though. You see my father had a spirit about him that made him uncommon in my eyes and the eyes of many others. He believed that little tree could be transplanted and would still grow and thrive. So back in the ground it went after being uprooted and disturbed.

I remember people literally laughing at him at the thought that the little tree would survive. It was so fragile, and still was strung to that metal rod for support. Eventually though the tree no longer needed the rod, it was fledgling but on its own. Winters are hard in Canada and the little maple tree withstood its share of winds and snow. I watched that tree grow over all of the years of my life and I smiled because now no one could tell my Father thought that the tree was not going to make it. The last time I visited my old neighborhood was several years ago, to visit one of my friends' mothers. And the tree is now very large and stately. That same little tree is the size of the tree that was across the street at Lorelei's house; even in those early years that I was there, Lorelei's maple was a very full, large mature tree.

Now what does this have to do with shoes? A lot. There were many people when I began our business that did not believe that it could be done. I was told a lot of negative things about starting my own business, and often got the "Who do you think you are?" attitude.

Well, I am my father's daughter. I am the one who believed that giving shoe parties could turn into something much more. I believed that it would become a company where women could own their own business', have fun at the same time, help to contribute to their households and build upon their own lives. The company has now grown past the place where the metal rod has been removed. We are growing just like that tree. Some of my initial dreams have come true since the beginning. Will we have winters and snow, oh yes, we have, and we will have more I am sure. Yet, I always hold that vision of the tree in my mind as we all keep forging ahead.

It is my greatest hope that this story is inspirational to many, whatever your dream may be. I wish that any of you reading this hold on to the spirit of my father who would not let anyone tell him at so many points in his life that something could not be done. It CAN be done; through hard work, perseverance, and faith.

So here; this week is to Ben, who tried, created, worked, and believed. It is my deepest prayer that both him and his spirit be an inspiration to many.