Page 53 - Life Legacy Project

Reality of the Situation
Annette McDonald, age 76
Reality is something that many others often try to deny or ignore when living their lives, but for my grandmother, Annette McDonald, reality is how she has been able to lead a life of happiness and success. I am honoring her because of how she has used the reality of desperate situations to move forward and live a successful life. Born in Fargo, ND on July 23rd, 1940, Annette’s full name wasn’t a usual name for girls. Her mother was part German, and here was my Grandmother, with a name like Annette Jean-Marie Streitz, a mostly French name (with hints of Russian in Streitz.) While she may have been born in North Dakota, she lived her earliest toddler years in Seattle before moving back to a farm in North Dakota when she was 6. While she may have been living in the 20th century at the time, being on the farm was like living in the 19th. There was no running water, no traffic lights, and no paved roads. For the next three years, she had been living 100 years back.
She was able to move to Skagit Valley when she was 9 years old. While her house was small, what with her 5 siblings, she felt like an average kid. That is until she reached her adolescent years, which is when she realized just how poor her family was. Reality came into play for the first time in her life. She didn’t want others to see the holes in her shoes or socks. She learned that if she could get an education, she could get out of her family’s desperate poverty.
Her grandmother Edith told her “Get a nursing degree so you can help yourself or your family. If you can help yourself, you can help them.” A nursing degree was the fastest way to escape the poverty she had been living in. And so, she set out to become educated. Annette said that this was the best piece of advice she has ever recieved. Luckily, she enjoyed being a nurse and kept that job for many years of her life.
During that time, my grandmother had met my grandfather at the age of 14. They dated throughout high school, as well as college. While Annette originally had dreams of marrying a famous actor when she was young, she said that they could “put up with each other,” they eventually got married the year after he graduated from college. His parents gave them $500 to start their life, and off they went. They eventually had three children and lived a joyful life. That is until Annette’s friend had twin girls, the same age as her middle child. When the twins were very young, one of them was in the garage when they accidentally hung themselves. Annette had to deal with her friend’s tragic loss, as well as the reality of the situation. It was the first time Annette had come across someone so young that had passed away. But she pushed through the tragedy, and moved forward with her life, holding house parties with her ever-growing family. Once her children grew up and had kids of their own, their family had become too big to keep inviting for meals on holidays.
Nowadays, my grandmother and my grandfather often travel all across the world. They always bring something back for me or my siblings from wherever they go. Annette volunteers around the community, sometimes working as an usher in the theater, other times working for the tulip festival. She has come such a long way since her humble beginnings, which is one of the many things I admire about her. She knows what’s important in her life (friends and family) and how to get out of any situation. What does she wish for the world? Peace (like everyone says) but it’s not as simple as that. Annette is quite the history buff and knows that the world has been a nasty place since the beginning, but she can’t help but want the vicious dictatorships of the world to end. She wants people to be free to be themselves anywhere in the world. She said that when she used to pray every night, she’d only ask for two things: for the house not to catch fire, and for there to be peace. As for our generation, Annette has one piece of advice: get educated. With an education, you can go anywhere in life.
“If your parents can give you an education, great. Take it. If they can’t, you have to work harder to get one, but it’s all worth it in the end.” Annette said, adding that education is what you can fall back on when life gets difficult. The one thing that Annette wishes she had known when she was younger was how quickly time passes. But in the time that she’s been alive, she has built a legacy that may not be written about in any history books but is worth honoring regardless. She has taught me that you can always get out of a desperate situation, so long as you have the desire to do so. This is the legacy she has created, one where anybody can go from the poorest situations to sailing around the Caribbean. I hope that soon, my generation can continue the legacy and ideals my grandmother has made for us in the future.
By Maggie Elliott
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