[CaptainCrunch]

My Dad, was in sales for his whole life, mainly around construction materials and decorating equiptment, not thrilling but he made a good living. My mom was an accountant. They decided to take a risk a start their own business, selling home renovation stuff (Carpet, paint, decorations all of that). They went from one store, to two store to three stores, saw some really great success at it. Then the Alberta Economy was crushed by the NEP. We lost everything (like everything completely), and my dad went from job to job for a long time, doing whatever he had to do. Real Estate. He sold ice machines to restaurants for a while. Ceramic tile sales. Nothing thrilling, but it put food on the table, and they put my sisters through school. My mom went back to accounting. We finally got back on our feet, and my dad had found a good job managing Western Canada for a tile company (again not thrilling). My folks managed to rebuild what they lost, and got back to a point where they could think retirement someday and my parents ground thier butts off. Then my dad was hit by a drunk driver (He was a pedestrian), he had his hands wrecked. He couldn't work the same way, and retired from full time work. He did a post retirement part time job selling art at a upscale gallery which he really loved. He also did a side gig framing paintings.

He didn't have it easy, for all of me and my dad not getting along, he really had amazing determination and work ethic that I admire to this day. I remember talking to him about it not that long ago. There was no such thing as a dream job for him. What he did wasn't exciting, he didn't really love it, but it was a means to an end and that was it.

My mom kept doing accounting and payroll work in the Oil Patch until she retired.