CASUAL STYLE - Ottawa At Home

36 | oah | july/august 2009
Our family life was
suffering…school
seemed to be
destroying our
family life.
— Gaye Chicoine
Living Dreams is Gaye Chicoine’s book
that chronicles’ her families journey.
Living Dreams chronicles the three-year
trip to South America that Gaye and her
husband Ed undertook with their six children.
It is also the story of how one family
broke away from everyday life and dared to
dream about a different lifestyle.
When they first started their family more
than twenty years ago, Ed and Gaye were
already eschewing the trappings of city life.
Ed opened a chiropractic clinic in Wakefied
and Gaye gave up her career as a professional
photographer to stay home with her
ever-growing family. Not long after the eldest
child started school, Gaye pulled Tanya out
and began homeschooling, despite having
five kids under the age of seven.
“Our family unit was suffering. Ed’s
busiest time was from 4 to 8 p.m. so he and
Tanya would never see each other. School
seemed to be destroying our family life,”
she recalls.
It’s wasn’t always easy that first year
and, doubting their decision, she put the
school-aged children back in school the
following year. But after two weeks, the
same concerns resurfaced and the decision
was made to continue at home until the
kids themselves wanted to go back into the
school system.
Settling in on
the homefront
•
•
•
•
The Chicoine kids settled back into
their lives in Canada with ease,
with most entering the school
system at some point in the high
school years;
Gaye is proud of how adventurous
their spirits are and how
easygoing and adaptable they
have become;
Two years ago, their eldest son
Ben convinced his family to buy
a Wakefield convenience store
that came up for sale. Each
family member owns shares and
all put their time and energy
into contributing to its success
(including selling copies of Gaye’s
book);
She may have had her worries, her
doubts and her fears about doing
the right thing. Were the children
getting an education that would
prepare them for life? Today she
says “They’re way ahead of me.”