What a life: Cheryl Young

"She was the best mum," says a voice over the phone. "I know everyone believes they have the best mum, but we really did."

I'm sitting in the studio at CBC P.E.I. chatting on the phone with Aysha Young and her brother Gabriel. Their mother, Cheryl, died just after Christmas this year. 

"She's always battled heart issues ever since she was a teenager," said Gabriel.

"Unfortunately they followed her through her whole life."

But we're not here to talk about her death. We want to talk about her life.

We're starting a new feature at CBC P.E.I. called What a Life. We're going to remember some of the Islanders we've lost over the past year, but weren't able to come together to celebrate in a traditional way because of the pandemic.

"She loved to cook," said Aysha.

"She loved animals. She always had a dog and a few cats. We have two dogs at home now, and a bunch of cats. She loved her kids. She basically lived for us."

"She rarely let you see her struggle," said Gabriel. 

"And I think, either she didn't, or she was incredibly good at hiding it when we were kids. She never made us think we were a burden."

Inspiring her children

Cheyrl was a stay-at-home mom for her four kids until the youngest hit Grade 1.

She started volunteering at school, which eventually turned into a job as a substitute teacher. She was a natural in the classroom, said Aysha. It was a big part of her own inspiration to become a teacher herself. 

"I knew it was what I wanted, so I put myself through a French degree," she said.

We didn't plan it out to do it together.— Gabriel Young

"I was one of those obsessively keen students who knew the exact moment when the applications came out. So I run upstairs to the kitchen, and I'm like 'Mum guess what? I just applied to the education program!' And she just looked at me, and she was like 'You know what? Maybe I will, too.'" 

As Aysha and Cheryl were making their plans, Gabriel was thinking about his own future. He had stuck around at the University of Prince Edward Island a few extra years to complete a double major in history and physics. He wanted to be a professor, but the thought of several more years of school off-Island just didn't feel right.

He decided to go into teaching, too.

"We didn't plan it out to do it together," he said with a laugh.

"It kind of ended up that way, and really nicely. But at first it was more like me trying to figure out what I wanted. When I realized what I wanted to do, I was like 'Hey, Aysh, you're doing that program too, aren't ya?' She was like 'Oh yeah, I just applied.' And I was like 'OK, we can do this together.'" 

'One of those women who just had it in her'

Classes began in May of 2020, barely two months into the pandemic.

All of their classes were online. Aysha was excited to see how her mum would fare in this new world. She thrived.

"She was just one of those women who just had it in her. She knew what she was doing," said Aysha.

"You know how when you meet some people, they just have that innate instinct of how to take care of others? She just had it."

The Youngs supported each other through the school year. They talked about assignments over supper. They discussed projects. 

A fading future

It was a special time for their family, but as Christmas approached, there were signs Cheryl's health wasn't good.

"Unfortunately she was not blessed with a very good heart," said Gabriel. 

"She just started saying, like, we weren't allowed to talk about the future," said Aysha. 

"She'd say 'Well, I'm not going to be there.' Or like 'This is my last Christmas.' We weren't allowed to talk about getting married or having kids because she wasn't going to be there. It's like she knew."

Cheryl died a few weeks after Christmas. It was just a regular day. The whole family was laughing and joking at home when it happened. It was just days past her 55th birthday.

"Knowing what your mum knew, and the way she talked about the future, or didn't talk about the future, why do you think she took the program with you?" I ask Aysha.

"I think she wanted to pursue her dream, but needed that extra push," she said.

"Her kids were her best friends. She knew if she had our support, she'd be able to do anything. Having us there with her, it wouldn't be about her, it would be about us as a family."

Aysha and Gabriel graduated with their bachelor of education from UPEI this May. When they crossed the stage to receive their parchment, the dean had a third degree waiting for them: a full degree, awarded posthumously, for Cheryl.

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