My grandfather didn’t see the births of his six daughters. The first was because he was posted to a Canadian Air Force training base during World War II. The year was 1944, and he was allowed home on one harvest leave, hoping it would fall on the due date, but the harvest came and went and the baby never arrived. She was born soon after their desolating farewell at the train station. He did come home at Christmas to hold her for the first time and bless her at church, but he was called away again after just one day. My grandmother says his hands shook when he held her.
