LESLEY ROPER (continuation)

Lesley plans to continue growing “Mom and Kids Stuff” and try to keep it a home-based business for as long as she can. One of the things she loves about having a home-based business is that they don’t have a lot of overhead. “I can keep my prices affordable which is important to me. Because I have been in the business a long time, I know my competition and I know that my prices are a lot better”, she emphasized. This makes her gift baskets affordable to everybody. At Christmas time, it gets interesting in her business because they pretty much take over their entire house, which becomes a factory. It may come to a point where they may rent a space during Christmas time only. Other than that, she’s keeping the business home-based only.

With her growing business, a caring family, a supportive group of friends, and a beautiful home surrounded by artwork pieces of Lesley’s paintings, it is hard to picture that she used to be a shy, scared five-year-old kid, as she told me. She still has a vivid recollection of traumatic experiences that she remembers to this day. She even remembers at age five, when they traveled by boat from London, England to Montreal. Both her mom and her were sick the entire voyage. When they landed in Montreal, it took her quite a while to adjust. She was an only child, extremely shy and had a hard time being away from her mother when she was at work. Back then, she had a very thick British accent and other children made fun of her as they thought it strange that a dark skinned person should have such a strong British accent.

At age six, they moved to Toronto and she remembers walking down to the park and approaching a group of children that were playing on the swings. As she relates, “I shyly asked if I could play with them and they told me they didn’t want to because I was black. It took everything I had to approach them just to be rejected. I was devastated and ran home to tell my parents.” Her father, a stern person, told her to be proud of who she was and that those kids were just ignorant and to keep trying until she found nicer kids to play with. Eventually, she had found a group of friends who accepted her without any problems. Over the years, Lesley says that she experienced racism from time to time, as people were always trying to figure out what her nationality was. As she got older, it no longer bothered her and throughout the years, she became more outgoing. She is grateful that her grandparents came and stayed for 6 months when she was a child. They spent a lot of time with her and encouraged her to bring kids over. They were a big help through her adjustment period. She is also grateful to her mom who has a wonderful positive outlook about everything and who always tried to look on the bright side of things. To this day her mom is her biggest support and the one person who she can always count on to be there through thick and thin.

Having experienced what she did as a child, I asked Lesley what she would say to advise parents who are new to the country to help kids cope better during the transition process. She said, “I encourage mothers to socialize their kids right away, put them in playgroups and meet as many people as they can. They should let their children familiarize themselves with their own communities and get involved with the community. It is important for the parents to join groups so they can have a support network.” When she was with “Wee Watch”, she had the opportunity to conduct workshops for childcare providers who were new immigrants to Canada. She helped these women fit in and cope with their children as well.

With her background in early childhood education and working with mothers and parenting groups, Lesley shares this to our readers. “We’re in a new era right now as far as parenting and motherhood goes. The tried and true methods from the past don’t work anymore. You have to be willing to bend and change with the times. It’s very difficult because our children are exposed to so much at an early age and I think trying to be as involved as you can with your children without being in their face all the time is important. You have to try to find the balance. You just have to be willing to change with the times. Listen to what other people have to say but don’t base your parenting on what others say because you have your own personality and your children have theirs. What works for one child will not work for another child.”

Lesley considers herself lucky to have a caring family and friends who encouraged her to follow her dreams and keep going. Her two children, Desiree and Taylor have been her inspiration in making a success of her gift basket business. Her family has always been her priority and by working for herself she has been able to be available for her children whenever they needed her. She owes a lot to her partner George who always tells her that she can do anything and have anything she desires. The strength of their love for each other always keeps them going. She gives the most recognition and praise to her parents and grandparents for helping her cope with the challenges she faced as a young immigrant. The racism she experienced is a thing of the past. Now, she has her own thriving business, her family by her side and a network of friends supporting her all the way. What could be better than this?

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