Christmases are hardest for Chris, 51, a Toronto mortgage broker who asked that his last name not be used in this story because of a difficult breakup with his ex-wife. Chris’s daughter Tashia, now 21, left Toronto in the fall of 2008 to take some time off school. “I miss her 24-7. But Christmas is really tough,” he said.
Tashia was three when Chris and his wife split up, but she moved in with her dad when she was 13 and the two became inseparable. “We went to museums, concerts, movies. We travelled across most of Canada. I’m still Dear Abby for her whole crowd of friends,” he said.Those friends have become a kind of support group for Chris. “They come to check on me, to see if I’m okay and that there’s food in the fridge,” he said.
Borys and Carole Friedman separated last year, and Borys believes the separation was triggered by the kids’ departure. But Friedman is filling his nest with his passions. He’s begun skiing again, and when Candice, who has returned from Toronto to live in her own apartment in Montreal, learned her dad was skiing, she wanted in. “Every Sunday morning this winter, we went skiing together. It gave us face time. I’ve had to grow up. I’ve had to learn how to treat both my kids as adults,” Friedman said.
Bouharevich and Soden have each other, their work and a houseful of pets—an aging dog and three cats—to keep them busy. “They’re our surrogate kids,” said Bouharevich.
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