ELEANOR DECKERT: WHERE DREAMS MEET REALITY

Many people spend their lives trying to figure out who they are and what they should be doing. A fortunate few, like author Eleanor Deckert, have a definite sense of purpose from a young age and a clear vision of how and where they want to live their lives.

In her 10 Days in December: Where Dreams Meet Reality, a teenage Eleanor describes her dream life to Kevin, the man who would become her husband and soulmate: “In a perfect world, where there were no obstacles, I would get married, go out west, build a log cabin, live off the land, have a bunch of kids, teach them about the Lord, volunteer in my community and then write a book about it.”

In 1978, newlyweds Eleanor and Kevin packed up their van, said goodbye to their friends and family in Ontario, and headed west to start their life together. They eventually settled in the Cariboo area in the interior of BC and built a log cabin in a river valley. Forty-two years and four kids later, the couple is still enjoying their rural lifestyle in the same community, doing all of the things – and more – that Eleanor described in her dream life.

Several authors have influenced Eleanor’s writing career. She read Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder when she was eight, and this book helped her realize the importance of remembering her own adventures from an early age, so she would be able to describe them later. E.B. White is another favourite writer, and she especially liked Charlotte’s Web. Eleanor admires both Annie Sullivan and Helen Keller for their courage and strength. And Scott and Helen Nearing also had a strong influence on Eleanor with their well-loved books about the back-to-the-land movement.

Eleanor was very happy to present the finished manuscript of 10 Days in December… to her mother on her 80th birthday. The book was published the following year (2015) by Friesen Press. This enjoyable memoir weaves stories of Eleanor’s early life with the story of Eleanor and Kevin’s first 10 days in their hand-built cabin. Their first Christmas as husband and wife was filled with adventures ranging from moving into their cabin, having their first visitors – friends, as well as pesky critters! – and dealing with bone-chilling temperatures.

Religion has always been a big part of Eleanor’s life. She was raised in a church community for 10 years in Ontario, and when she moved west with Kevin as a newlywed, “it was a deliberate move… and also an experiment,” she says. “I wanted to know one thing: If God is real, then is He only found within books? Is learning from the clergy of any specific church the only way to find God? Is God only found through specific prayers and ritual? I wondered: If God is real, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and all loving… then could He be found when I am alone in the wilderness?”

“When the northern darkness, bitter cold, poverty and crushing isolation of that first winter of 1978 became unendurable, I discovered something that was there all the time… many of the familiar characters from the Bible had experienced this long stretch of time when they were alone. They had heard a message. They believed. Then they had to wait and keep up their courage through difficulty… all alone. And then came the ‘happy ending.’”

A strong believer in the importance of family, Eleanor credits her husband for being a daily cornerstone of strength for her and is thankful for his ongoing support and encouragement. She also enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren.

Eleanor’s guiding philosophy of life is “Be Who You Are” and this philosophy has been particularly important to her when raising her children. “Although I believe we are each born with a purpose (and it may take a lifetime to discover our own path), when each of our children were born, I realized that I would be making footprints on someone else’s clear, smooth white field of snow. When each child was born, I wondered: Who are you? Are you already who you are? Am I to fill an empty vessel? Do I sculpt or form you? Do I even know what you need? As a parent, instead of being an authority or boss, I felt more like a Tour Guide.”

Many years ago, when the local school closed, Eleanor started home schooling her children, which led to an ongoing interest in the model. She offers seminars in home schooling for parents, volunteers and educators based on the Seven Predictable Patterns® framework that she developed. She enjoys coaching other home schoolers and has published home schooling articles in magazines.

An active volunteer for over 40 years, Eleanor has been involved in volunteering for everything from the Brownies, Cubs, and various libraries, to music, drama, and tutoring. She believes volunteering has helped to “sharpen her skills, strengthen her confidence, and expand her horizons.”

Eleanor’s intention is to write a memoir for each month throughout their first year in BC. In addition to 10 Days in December, the following books have been published: 10 Days in January: 1 Husband, 2 Brothers, 3 Sons, 4 Dads (family dynamics); 10 Days in February: Limitations & 10 Days in March: Possibilities (one volume; depression and volunteering)*; and *10 Days in April: A Detour Through Breast Cancer (first-person account)*.

Eleanor’s experience with breast cancer had a profound impact on her life. While she had strong support from her husband, mother, friends, counsellor, and telephone-cancer buddy, it was still a difficult journey.

“The hard part about the cancer journey, for me, was struggling to fit my ‘faith’ with ‘science.’ I know it sounds simple, but it was agonizing.
On almost the last day of the radiation treatments, I went to mass and I heard two things that were there all the time: ‘Creator of all things, visible and invisible’ and ‘fruit of the earth and work of human hands.’ Suddenly, I could be at peace. Radiation is invisible. The scientific inventions are the work of human hands. It was all okay.”

Retirement is not a word in Eleanor’s vocabulary. She admires people who remain active and interested in the world as they get older. For her part, she is looking forward to creating more memories with her family, more writing, more coaching, more gardening, and more volunteering. On the writing front, she will be continuing to write the rest of her memoirs, which will eventually go all the way to November.

To learn more, visit www.eleanordeckert.com

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