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Children always come first

Denise Balbirnie says she wouldn’t have it any other way
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It’s a family affair for the Balbirnie’s

If love for family could radiate and fill a room, it would when it is occupied by Denise Balbirnie, mother, self-employed business owner and volunteer in 100 Mile House.

“All mothers are busy,” she says. “Whether you are a stay-at-home mom or a working mom, all of a sudden the day is gone.”

Denise and her husband, Wade, along with their four children who are now aged 10-16, moved into the 100 Mile House area just over eight years ago.

It is the longest they have been in one spot since their marriage.

“We moved constantly because of our jobs. We were both in the forest industry.

“It was always busy whenever we moved – new job, renovations and I was usually pregnant.”

Of course, friends and family thought she was pregnant when they moved here.

Denise and Wade, who still takes the occasional forestry job, own rental properties in the area, and have just purchased a trailer park in Lac la Hache.

A day in the life moment that Denise remembers was when Wade was out of town, she had to take one child to a hockey game and get back home to get supper on for the other children.

“I got a call from one of our renters and they had a plumbing problem. This meant I have to go into a crawl space ... I hate crawl spaces.”

Denise drove her child to hockey, rushed home, whipped up eggs for French toast for dinner, texted a hockey mom to see if she would bring her child home, yelled at the oldest in the house “supper is on the stove, don’t let it burn and feed your sisters” and rushed out to fix the plumbing.

“I was able to call my husband earlier and he assured me that it was a very nice crawl space with lights and insulation on the floor so my knees wouldn’t hurt.”

Denise says she thinks all mothers juggle their time, they multi-task, switch gears in mid-stride and roll with the punches. But she is also very appreciative of the fathers, too.

“Dads are just as busy. I see them rushing in to bring their child to hockey, they are still in their business wear and haven’t had supper yet.

“Moms seem to get more of the – “forgot my lunch” ... “forgot my flute” type of calls though.”

Rushing around taking all four children to their respective hockey games and practices is part of the job, Denise says, adding her children belonged to different leagues, which meant travelling north and south, sometimes one- or two-hour drives.

“I really liked the drive with my kids, I found the time invaluable. It was one-on-one time that we would never have had.

“Sometimes we just joke around, but sometimes talks happen. You are not looking at each other so it’s non-confrontational and you can’t get away because you are in a vehicle.”

When first starting out as a family, things were financially tight just like a lot of couples starting out. Denise and Wade didn’t own a T.V. or computer, so after dinner they would pack up the children and go for a walk. A tradition they still do, although not as often now that the children are older and have their own interests.

“People say, ‘oh aren’t you going to be happy when all the kids move out’, and I think, no.

“No, I won’t be happy. Yes, I may have a clean house and weed-less garden. I’ll have more time, and maybe my needs won’t be the last on the list, but the house will be so empty.”

Denise says she had a couple of hours the other day and was going to go out and work in her garden, but she ended up playing ball with the kids.

"The weeds can wait," she adds.