Moments D709: Resilience

Today's moment is inspired by BFF, for today seemed to be a breakthrough day for her.  As her friend, it's been hard to watch her struggle with all that life has thrown at her over the past year plus.  From work challenges, to physical challenges (and disappointments) to silly and sometimes complicated personal challenges from friends, family and co-workers;  quite simply she has run the gauntlet.

It hasn't been easy.  It wasn't always run with a smile on her face or a warmth in her heart, but as compelling as the draw of the dark pit can be, she managed to side-step the pit and walk forward, through the gauntlet with dignity every step of the way.

And today, TODAY was the first day where I the depth of the sunshine in her words.  Today, BFF completed another big step forward on her path to recovery.  She was lit up.  Cautious, but filled with light again.  I can see that she is starting to believe that she is on the path to better days.

And that, is a most beautiful moment indeed.

Moments having pride for your friend's hard work.

Moments knowing that today your friend is in a brighter place.

Moments D671: Early bird catches the worm.....

.....or in this case the GOLD medal for men's hockey.

Mom, Dad & I were all up early this morning so we could watch the final match in men's hockey.   (After all, how could we call ourselves proud Canadians if we didn't?!!)

What an incredible game it was. They came out hard and fast, tweaked their game to better off-set the unexpected offence of the Swedes and kept fighting hard for the win right to the very end of the game.

It was a little surreal eating breakfast over a game of hockey, but I suppose that was a little less surreal than those drinking beer at 7 am today!

So very proud of our Team Canada this winter Olympics.  We ranked in third place in the medal standings in Sochi with a medal count of 25.  We had some spectacular moments this Olympics.  The first female bobsledders to earn two consecutive gold medal in the women's two-man event.   The bobsled crash, where no one was, miraculously, injured.   Sisters winning gold and silver medals in the same event.  Charles Hamelin, crashing out of his two top events.

Dreams being realized and others being dashed away.

We may not have topped our 2010 medal count, but Team Canada was impressive none-the-less.

Congratulations Team Canada.

Moments enjoying the Canadian sport of hockey.

Moments feeling pride for your country`s athletes.

Moments D668: Proud Canadian

This evening I found myself with a little more time on my hands than I had expected.  We had a snow storm.  Actually, we had an freezing rain storm that, North of the city turned into a snow storm.  Typically  on Thursdays I play volleyball in Markham.  Not so tonight as I was convinced by BFF & EQ to no take the chance of a questionable drive there and back. 

So I stayed home.  Instead of making use of this found time for my school readings, I decided to catch up on the Olympics.  (I figured it was my sport night, I might as well catch up on the day's activities at the Olympics if I couldn't be playing volleyball.  That seemed pretty logical to me!)

Earlier today the Canadian women's hockey team had won their game - to bring home GOLD!  I realized as I read up on their game play, that I was one darn proud Canadian.  There were a few Canadian-Olympic feel good stories that brought a smile and a warm heart and downright awe.   I'm so very proud of Team Canada and so very proud to be able to say that I'm Canadian.    

Today, my moment is appreciating my country.  The hard fought games and moments at the Olympics.  Even thought I'm no elite athlete, I have a sense of how hard our athletes train just to compete in the Olympics.  This year, not only did we compete (and do well), we also did so with kindness.  How very Canadian of us.

There are only a few days left in they Olympics, but I am looking forward to cheering Team Canada on to the very end.

Moments catching up on the Olympics.

Moments realizing just how fortunate and how appreciative I am to be Canadian.

Moments D531: Pride

Today was the last day of Chicks Rock - a big boogie in Lake Elsinore.    I had the pleasure of watching it all from the front row.

First thing this morning, four lovely ladies pulled off not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR records in one jump.  Amazing really.  Impossible to replicate!  Watch it here!!    Incredible.  Brilliant.

And yes, as a new friend to three of these four wonderful women (and they are all truly wonderful and unique women), I found myself quite proud of them.   I know how hard all four of them have worked to get to this point.  And I find myself filled with pride for their accomplishment.  For two of the ladies, I am quite familiar with their quest to this moment and just how much the records meant to them.  My feelings of pride deepened.

Each of the three ladies I call friend took time to say goodbye to me as they left the boogie - in fact two of them tracked me down just to say goodbye!  What an incredible feeling that was.  New friendships are always a bit scary and interesting as we grow into a new relationship.  But as I reflect upon today's moment of pride for their accomplishment today, I found myself feeling quite fortunate to be able to call these ladies friends.  I also find myself looking forward to sharing more stories and exciting adventures with them .

Moments celebrating a big win.

Moments celebrating the wonderful women who made it happen.

Moments D207: Fire Calls

Today was another day filled with fun and laughter. It’s like I nearly forgot just how good these peeps are. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I had forgotten how amazing these friends are, it’s just that it’s been too long since I last saw them. This weekend was such a breath of fresh air. It was exactly what I needed and I’m grateful we managed to find a weekend that worked within both of our very busy schedules. I am bound and determined to not let years pass before the next visit!

Today’s smile, however, comes to you via a the volunteer fireman of the family. About half an hour before I was to head out for home, a fire call came in. With a jump he dashed from the couch, nearly running out the door in just a t-shirt and a toque. Realizing it was likely too cold out for just this attire, he ran back up the stairs for a sweater….and I managed to get a big, BIG squeeze from him before he raced to the fire hall.

Just to see him jump into action. The seriousness of it. The dedication of it. To hear him over the radio communicating to his fellow volunteer firemen. I loved every moment of it. It brings a smile even as I write it out.

I’m proud of him for finding this passion. This wasn’t a dream of his, but one that found him. He took a leap of faith and now he’s a very important person in the community in which he lives and protects. Beautiful.

Moments sitting back and watching and admiring.

Moments of pride.

Moments D172: Pride

Today was the Toronto Waterfront Marathon and my bestest friend ran the 1/2 marathon. It was her first and she’s been training hard for it.

While I didn’t get a chance to see her off at the start of the run, I did join her Mum in celebrating her finish.

While we waited for her to come around the corner and to cross the finish line, there were many interesting participants of the race. One of the girls who crossed the finish line threw her arms up in the air and then immediately burst into tears. She was checked out by first aid, but she waived them off. I’m guessing (from afar) that it was just an emotional release having actually completed 21km. Another, a gentleman, rode a horse “gangnam style” from 100m to the finish line. How much fun was that to watch?

And then, it was my BFF’s turn. I saw her come around the corner first, then her Mum recognized her. I snapped a few pictures, and then, she crossed the finish line. I whistled my best concert whistle hoping that she’d hear us cheering for her.

I’m so very proud of my dear friend. What an accomplishment. What dedication and resilience she has!

Moments to appreciate a stranger’s accomplishment.

Moments of pride for your friend’s accomplishment.

Moments D74; Blocking

This weekend is all about volleyball. Well, okay, maybe that isn’t entirely true, after all it’s also about my teammates and enjoying the outdoors. But primarily the focus is enjoying some great beach volleyball.

Today was the start of our 6’s Intermediate tournament. It started off a bit dreary (a bit of drama and a storm passing through) and our day was delayed by nearly 3 hours. Still that didn’t sully our team spirit.

Once the clouds departed we were left with a beautiful sunny (albeit it windy) day to play our tournament. It was a fantastic day filled with 12 games filled with many moments and much laughter But today’s moment is one that may be seen as a bit selfish, for it was MY moment and it brought me much joy! And in fact I had two such moments today. I had two big blocks today!

Standing at a mere 5’4” (and a bit) I can barely reach the top of a volleyball net which is set up at 8’. That, dear friends, is just the top of the net. In order to do a block, one needs to get higher than that 8’ mark to be able to your hands in the way of a spike coming over the net. A beach volleyball is ~25” around. All together that means that someone my height would need to a vertical of at least 4 feet (57” in fact) to meet contact with the ball.

I share these details with you only to give enough information to you to understand why, for me, blocking is so challenging and how incredible it is that I managed to “stuff” another player. Now I’m not saying that the net was perfectly set to this height, nor the ball perfectly inflated but it does paint the picture well….

So the best moment - was against a particularly challenging team. They were winning and we were struggling to keep them from collecting points from us. They had many good hitters and we were not doing well with returning them.

As a setter, I’m in the front line a lot and I don’t do a lot of blocking because it is difficult to go up and get back down in time to be set for the pass off of a spike. But I was tired of them hitting hard and us not receiving, so I gave it a shot. I went up for the block and low and behold, I stuffed the 6’ something guy trying to kill the ball over to us. I think we were both shocked! What a glorious moment that was, to know that I had overcome a height restriction and managed to get enough of my hands on his hit to stop it dead. It was pretty amazing.

The second block, was later in the day and it was on the last rally point of the game. THAT is how you end a game. IN YOUR FACE YOU AREN’T GETTING THAT POINT!! Ha!

All in good fun of course.

Moments of shocked amazement.

Moments of pride.

Moments that rally a team.