My dad used to call me MacDuff.
Because my mom was Scottish, he always liked to poke fun at all the Macs.
I was the last of six kids and he insisted on selecting my name, as mom had named my two sisters after her own and was aiming to do a third time with me.
But my dad, Kenneth Knight, a Second World War veteran who served with the Regina Riflemen, put his foot down and named me Cheryl, as opposed to Maggie, which was my mom’s other sister’s name.
But then he proceeded to refer to me as ‘MacDuff.’ I think he just did it to get a rise out of my mom, but it stuck with me until I graduated from high school, Gladstone secondary in Vancouver.
I moved from Saskatchewan to B.C. in Grade 2. My dad, who was wounded during the Normandy invasion, suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, like so many vets did. It was never acknowledged then, so they were left to their own devices. His became alcohol.
It was quite a challenging childhood, but I understand it now.
The nickname, I know, was my father’s way of reaching out, and it reminds me of those times when he really wanted to be a family man and the decent person my mom fell in love with.
The name is also reflective of the different cultures that I grew up with in east Vancouver, as everyone had some kind of cultural nickname, and I was always proud of my mom and dad being Scottish and English, respectively, so I claimed it with pride.
Believe it or not, even though I grew up in chaos, I always look back on my childhood with fond memories – it was the norm for everyone in our neighbourhood, so it was just one big arena of crazy.
Kind of like politics, another arena in which I have a little bit of experience.
After school, marriage, work, raising a family (did I mention we lived on a sail boat for 14 years? More on that another time), being involved with various community groups and initiatives, I ran for school trustee in Maple Ridge and served nine years. Then I ran for Maple Ridge council and served six years. I then managed the campaign for Liberal MLA Doug Bing (Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows) in 2013, and subsequently became his constituency assistant.
I decided not to run for council again in 2014, and served as constituency assistant until the recent provincial election.
Now I am trying my hand at a few new ventures. One is a consulting business for non-profit societies. The other is this – writing.
Fortunately for me, a spot for a new columnist opened up.
I will commit to providing opinions that are founded on facts. And I am not talking about the alternative facts that have become so popular of late in certain political circles, which, by the way, I personally don’t think should be assigned to Kellyanne Conway as having coined such a concept, as teenagers have been offering them up forever.
And having raised three kids myself, I have heard my fair share of alternative facts, which leads me to why I am excited about this column.
I was worried when asked to write a column that the expectation would be to write primarily about politics, which would make sense, given my experiences. Don’t get me wrong, I truly want to offer up opinions in the political arena, because you know how good we Canadians are at taking a shot, I mean discussing politics, so I am all in for that.
But our community and the world, in general, has so much else going on that I was hoping I could bring my perspective as a woman to a broader spectrum of issues and subject matter than just that of politics, and I believe my experiences can support this goal.
As I mentioned, my first political role was as a school trustee, during which I had the pleasure of, the last six years, serving as board chair. I believe starting out in politics at that level is the best training ground for any political junkie, which I fully admit to being.
However, it is also an eye-opener as a human being, as there is nothing more emotional than the relationship between parent and child, and it is fascinating to see how the education system strives to mesh all of the needs into a functioning one.
My point is, family dynamics are amazing and they drive the many systems that serve them within our society, and I believe there are a lot of great conversations within.
Hopefully, with the experiences I bring as a stay-at-home mom, a working mom, Parent Advisory Committee member, elected official, community volunteer, wife, sister, friend and my latest favourite – granny, you trust me to provide those conversations.
And so now my journey as a columnist, and with you – the reader – begins.
It is my hope that you will come to see my column as one that informs you; challenges your thinking and views in different ways; causes you to shed a few tears, either in the portrayal of the realities of life’s tougher moments, or through laughter, or the odd chuckle.
But more than anything, I hope I can increase your sense of belonging to something really good, because I truly believe we live in an amazing area of the Lower Mainland, and the world in general, and I can’t wait to discuss it with you.
Cheryl Ashlie is a former
Maple Ridge school trustee, city councilor, constituency assistant