appointment and chemo session. But
she didn’t get better. Less than a year
after Natasha was diagnosed, the fam-
ily learned her cancer was terminal.
When Natasha was sick, Stirling
replaced the couch in the living room
with a hospital bed. She also helped
her to reconnect with her biological
family. On July 6, 2015, Stirling and
Natasha’s relatives were sitting at her
side. Stirling reached to wipe a tear
from her face, and as she brushed her
cheek, Natasha took her last breath.
She was only 18. Every year, Stirling
brings a fresh bouquet of purple flow-
ers to Natasha’s grave.
STIRLING PLAYS Lotto 6/49 and Lotto
Max every week. Her numbers are a
string of family birthdays. When she
wins—and she says when, not if—she’ll
found a non-profit for kids who have
aged out of care: a one-stop shop for
counselling, legal help, financial aid
and budgeting classes. Everyone will
be welcome, regardless of age, ability,
ethnicity, sexual orientation. Whether
she realizes it or not, Stirling sounds
like she’s describing her own house.
Until she hits the jackpot, she’ll con-
tinue doing that work herself, helping
kids move, find furniture, apply for
passports—whatever they happen to
need that day.
Her biological kids have found suc-
cess. Molly works in the social services
field, with disabled adults. Drew works
for a social enterprise in Ottawa that
sends shipping-container farms to the
North. The youngest, Jaslan, was born
with a heart defect that doctors said
would prevent her from playing sports
or having kids. She went on to train
with the national women’s field hockey
team in Vancouver.
Many of Stirling’s foster kids are flour-
ishing, as well. One just graduated from
culinary school. Another joined the
board of the children’s aid society that
helped her when she was younger; she
and Stirling take turns babysitting each
other’s kids. “There’s nothing better
than a kid coming in and saying, ‘What’s
cooking, Grammie?’” Stirling says.
One day, when Stirling was in court,
a young man approached her and
asked, “Are you Cindy Stirling?” He
introduced himself as a boy who’d only
stayed with her for 24 hours many
years earlier. “I just wanted to say hello
and thank you. Even though it was only
a day, I still remember you.”Change in Perspective
Last night someone asked me if crabs think we walk sideways,
and I haven't stopped thinking about it since.
@NINAGILBERT7© 2019, LUC RINALDI. FROM “THE WOMAN WITH 200 KIDS,” BY LUC RINALDI (TORONTO LIFE, SEPTEMBER 2019),
TORONTOLIFE.COMrd.ca 57