Donna Bovolaneas:
CLASS OF 1965
Hill Park High SchoolClass of 1965
Hamilton, ON
McMaster UniversityClass of 1969
Hamilton, ON
Armstrong Middle SchoolClass of 1960
Hamilton, ON
Inverness SchoolClass of 1956
Hamilton, ON
Donna's Story
Life Happens (updated February 2012)
Can't believe what a ride it's been and how differently life turns out compared to the master plan we all had as teenagers.
The Master Plan: finish high school at Hill Park, go to McMaster, study languages, meet the man of my dreams, become a high school teacher, stay in Hamilton and raise three perfect children.
What Happened Instead: Up to a point, as per the plan.
I finished Hill Park, enrolled in McMaster to take an honours degree in languages, but then "life happened" when my Dad passed away at the end of my first year and my mother took sick. No one else was there for her, so I had to rethink the master plan.
The result was a decision to take a pass degree and then make a complete career change to chartered accountancy. This was the only profession where I could earn and still continue to learn at the same time. It was high risk for me, and I still don't know what I would have done if it didn't work out, but I stuck out the program and qualified as a CA in 1972.
This opened unexpected doors for me including an opportunity to move to Toronto. The Toronto area was my home for the next thirty years. I married, raised three wonderful boys born in '76, '78 and '86 and kept working and growing professionally.
By the end of the 90's and single again, I accepted a position with the federal government that included regular overseas travel. In early 2003, on a flight from Toronto to London, I met the man who would become my second husband. We married less than a year later and moved to Switzerland for my two-year posting to the Bank for International Settlements in Basel.
The chance to live and work in a different country at this stage of life was a wonderful and totally unexpected gift. But then "life happened" yet again, and I was given the chance to set up and operate the secretariat for a new international regulatory group - this time for four amazing years in Madrid!
Exposure to two such different cultures and lifestyles as well as those we encountered on other travels opened my eyes to what this planet is all about and how Canadians fit into the bigger picture. The short answer - better than anyone realizes!. And being able to see other countries and cultures up close, as well as my own country from afar, helped me to realize what a privilege it is to be Canadian.
So no surprise, I finally came back home and retired. (Well, almost retired. Am completing one more local contract in early 2011 and then I'm done for good. At least until the next one comes along....)
"H...Expand for more
ome" is now Beaver Harbour, New Brunswick and when I look out the door now, I see the Bay of Fundy where Lake Ontario used to be.
Life is a lot slower here but hasn't stopped altogether. The tides rule the order of things and for a lifelong city gal like me there is still so much to learn and appreciate in this tiny and very magical place.
Bottom line, life is still happening and it's so much better than following a "master plan"!
Fast forward to summer 2011.
Absolutely amazed and delighted to have been elected a Fellow of the Ontario CA Institute this year! Back in '68 no one could have predicted this: in fact a lot of people, including me, wondered whether I would even make it through the program. But life has a wonderful way of throwing good curves as well as the occasional bad one and I was so lucky to have had several special opportunities over the years and do some unique things that the profession would eventually recognize. Shows yet again that life can work out so much better than anything we dream up on our own.
Also brought my old piano and accordion down from Ontario this summer so I could start playing again. Anyone who knows me will remember what a big deal music was for me back in the 60's. While I may not ever get on the stage again, practicing keeps the brain sharp, the hands limber (and the arthritis at bay) and heart young.
Mid-February 2012.
When work wrapped up almost a year ago, that opened the door to a whole new life as an "active" retiree. Things I would have loved to do before but never had time for now became possible, and with a lifetime of experience and time to invest in the community, I discovered how much fun and how rewarding this kind of service could be. Am sitting on three boards at the moment - one village, one county, and one provincial - and life is close to hectic again. Still, it's great fun to be involved in projects and causes, so long as there's enough time left over to get away to our vacation home in Chile or visit family and friends back in Ontario.
The big 6-5 is coming in a few weeks, but more than ever it's just a number that used to be important but now, like any other anniversary, simply marks the passage of time. Our generation has tossed out all the rules of what it means to be this age or that, and we'll probably keep doing that to the very end. With any luck, we'll all grow up to be healthy and active centenarians and continue to write each other updates on life after 100.
Until then, enjoy every day for the gift it is and watch out for those surprises!
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