Name: Megan Anderson
Family: Fiance Michael McCann, and four children (Luca, Braden, Leah & Delilah)
Profession: Retail saleswoman at CR Trenz
Age: 29
Years in Grenfell: 3 1/2
What talent do you wish you had but you don't?
Hmm.. that's a really good one. Is housewifing a talent? Seriously, if that is a talent, I will choose that one. Or doing the laundry. I wish I had the talent to do laundry all the time. I always forget.... six people in the house and I always save it to sunday. And then the load that sits in the wash gets rewashed 6 times, because I forget about it. Or it goes off and I think... ten more minutes! And then it's six more hours, four days. I'm a good housewife, but keeping up with everything is hard! Everything explodes all over the place once you clean it up. It's repetative. Cook, clean. Clean, clean, clean, go to bed. It's keeps happening! But laundry is the biggest one. I wish the question was "What's one wish you could have?" Having a housemaid! I was really good with one child, but then I kept having babies.
What is something you did in the last 24 hours that made someone's day better?
We got a kitten! That made Luca happy. And Delilah. Especially Delilah. He's a trial kitten, to make sure that Delilah doesn't stress him out, or strangle him. And to make sure no one's allergic. But he's been sneezing a lot, so maybe he's allergic to us. He hasn't stopped. He's so cute. Luca and Delilah were so happy. She has lots of stuffed kittens, so when she saw him, I think she thought he was stuffed, because she grabbed him a little rough. But then I put him on her and he started moving, and she's "Oh!!! Kitty, kitty!!" She gets so excited when she sees him. It made me happy too. No more kids right now, so we'll get kittens.
Tell about a proud parenting moment you've had.
Just one? I have four kids, how do I choose just one? Well, we went on a two week trip to BC. We had quite a few stops and places we stayed. It was amazing and we all had so much fun. When we went to Nelson, we had went for supper to Itza Restorante. Delilah was only 4 months old. I expected a crazy, loud outing. At the end of our supper, a lady who was there with her family came up and complimented us on how well behaved our kids were. I was so happy.. it sure makes you feel good. Table manners are huge in our household, and it showed that day.
Do you collect anything?
Well, tattoos, and starting to collect cars. And parts to cars. That's not just a "me". That's a we. We all do. Braden and Luca collect their little toy cars and they like working on stuff with dad's. And tattoos, I'm going to say I have about 25 of them. And I still want to collect more. The cars and trucks are a Michael thing, but he's gotten me into it. He bought me a car for my birthday last year. We don't have a big farm or yard to put them in, but they keep coming. He just recently bought Charles's truck (Lowenberg) He was on the phone, and said "well, I'll have to talk to my wife first", so I knew he was buying another vehicle, but then he says "o.k. Sold". So he gets off the phone and I said "What did you just buy??" He says he just bought Charles' truck. But that was totally fine with me. I know he and Charles had a really really good relationship and it meant a lot to him to have his truck after he passed away.
Where were you in life 10 years ago?
I was 19. 2008... I wasn't pregnant with Luca yet. I was living in Medicine Hat. That was just before I got pregnant with him. I was working at a bar, making lots of tips. I did that for a little bit, and then started at Tim Horton's.
Have you ever met anyone famous?
Not super famous.. some bands. This is where people are going to go "huh??" I've met the guys from Avenge Sevenfold. At Warp Tour they were there, and they had the meet and greet and signing things. That line up was ridiculously long. Same with From First to Last, and Scaring Kids. Hawthorn Heights. Back in the emo days. Warp Tour days. Taking Back Sunday...awe... I think it was them that was at the Exchange one year, when I was 17 years old. That was good. Hands down The Used. We went to Winnipeg for a concert. I've been a fan of them - I got this tattoo (she points to one on her right arm) when I was 13 years old. I finally got to see them live, and I sat outside their bus for five hours, and it was so cold. There was a big group of us. Bert came out with soup, and asked if anyone wanted some. And I was so hungry and cold. So I got his soup. And then he came out again with Jeff. Three of them signed my arm and I never got them tattooed. I was really sad about that! It was the best concert and the best meet and greet I've ever had. But I was so so cold. I don't think I'll ever wait outside to meet a band again.
How did you feel when you experienced the death of a loved one for the first time?
Wow. I didn't even really finish reading that before I started tearing up. That's a really hard one. Oh boy... Horrible. My grandma was one of my best friends. She did everything with me and for me when I had Luca. I've had deaths before her, but hers I took the hardest, and I still do. When Luca was born, that was the proudest moment of her life. She always got to be around him, because we lived a couple blocks away from each other. So that will always be the hardest. I don't have any pictures of her with Luca, and that really hurts. That has been the hardest death that I've ever had to experience, so far. Hopefully nothing harder. She was stubborn, and she missed her husband, my grandpa, a lot. So she just went downhill after he died. She knew she was sick, and she didn't go to the doctor, and she just got worse and worse. In her hospital bed, the night before she died, she asked to see Luca. But there was a virus going around, and it was suggested that infants and toddlers not come to the hospital, so I couldn't bring him. So she didn't get to see him before she died. That really eats at me, that she didn't get to say goodbye. Luca has come up to me with a rock and said "this is grandma's rock" And I ask him if he remembers grandma and he says yes, he does remember her. He was about 2 1/2, 3 years old. We talk a lot about her and my grandpa. But that was hard, knowing she didn't get to say goodbye to him, and that she's not around now for my kids. With her being gone, I'm always on Michael to make sure we go see his Grandma in Indian Head. You don't know when it's going to be too late, and it hurts a lot. Whew.... that felt good to get out! But at the same time it didn't. It's never easy losing a loved one, and it's never easy watching someone else lose a loved one. Ya, that was the worst thing ever. At least I had Luca to cuddle and hold, and keep me going. I got a tattoo on the side of my ribs for my grandma. But don't ever get your ribs tattooed!
You're on a roadtrip. What's playing for music?
"Baby Shark...doo doo doo..." Seriously. Until Delilah goes to sleep, then it's whatever is on the radio, or we put on Youtube. Mainly country. A lot of country. Surprisingly. I was raised on Ozzy Osborne and Black Sabbath, but then also Dwight Yokum, and Willie Nelson. Moreso we listen to the outlaws. Not the poppy stuff. But ya, country is our go to choice. And Baby Shark, and the Paw Patrol theme song.
What is a misconception that others might have of you?
I love this one! I am not scary. I have tattoos. I do. I have lots of them. But I love people. I'm a people person. I enjoy talking to others, and working at CR Trenz, and dealing with people all the time, it brings me a lot of happiness. I have education. Two diplomas - business admin and legal assistant, and first year mechanics. So that's always good to have to fall back on. But ya, I'm not scary. I think that was more a thing I noticed in the other town I lived in. People were really stand offish. I had dreads at one point, and I got lots of looks, and people backing away a little bit I'm like, no! Just get to know me, love me, because I'll love you! Just because I maybe shave part of my head, or have a mohawk or tattoos, doesn't mean that I'm an outlaw. I'm not going to go and ruin your town. I really like this question. Who you think I am is not who I am. There's a lot more to me. I'm a mother. I have children. I love kids. I worked at a daycare. I love people. So don't be scared to come up to me. Grenfell is pretty friendly though. I like it here.
In what ways are you proud of your spouse?
I really like this one. It may take forever to answer. Oh Michael.... There's 150 different ways I could answer this one, because he's just amazing. When I first met him, I was in my darkest days. I was a single mom and had three kids, and he just brought the life out in me. When we moved in together, he not only took me, but he took my three kids in. We all moved in together and he has been probably the best dad he could be. He is amazing. He teaches them so many things. He does a lot of things with them. He's great. It's not easy to jump into a life with not only a girlfriend, but to add kids to that. That takes a lot of courage. And he's done everything in his power to support all of us. He works really hard for everything he has and everything we will have together. He's worked at jobs in Regina and has been away from the family, just to help us live. He took a year off when Delilah was born to be on parental leave and to watch her grow. He is so proud of every single moment, including my biological kids. The kids call him dad, and they call my ex's girlfriend mom. We have no problem with that, because step-dad or dad, you are a dad. He jumped into it with both feet and he's stayed there, even though we're a bit crazy! It's a lot to take in and he's done phenomenal. It's not easy, but he does it. We all do it together. I could go on and on about him. It's great. Being away from home was hard for him, when he was working in Regina. And then he was at Vale in Indian Head and even that was hard for him. But now he works in town, and he gets to be home every day. It's a two minute drive to work, and he doesn't miss anything. He always makes sure we come first before anything, and he's my biggest supporter. He helped me out of the darkest place I'd be in, in a long time. He saved me and he helps me grow every day. Every. Single. Day. I love him. It's not easy to be a dad, all of a sudden, to three kids. That's my proudest moment of him. If there's anyone who doesn't believe in love at first sight, they need to, because the moment I met him, it was instant to me. We spent a lot of time together and were friends for six months before we started dating. There was something about Michael that I just couldn't let go. We needed to be together. And I knew when we got together that we'd be happy. We are. I've never been so happy in my life, being with him. I'll compare meeting him to a man looking at a car that he really, really wants. The engine that Michael wanted really, really bad - he laid eyes on it and knew he needed to have it- that was me looking at Michael. I had to have it! And now I am head over heels in love every single day, and I know he is too. That story will make him laugh.