The Olympics aren't over yet...

When I was in high school there was this group of guys who were hooked on skiing. They talked, breathed and lived for the slopes. Considering we live in a part of the country where the mountains aren't really that mountainous and it rains more than it snows, it was no surprise that after graduation, a few of them, including Paul Tingley headed out west, to live out their dreams of feeling the wind in their face as they skied the best mountains in the country.  

During a ski run in 1994, Paul Tingley was in a serious accident which caused him to change his plans. As he had to learn how to do many things over again, now from a wheelchair, his physiotherapist suggested that Paul try sailing.  Flash forward to Australia, Summer Olympics of 2000. Paul won his first Olympic bronze medal in the Paralympics in a two-man Sonar. In 2008 he won again, this time bringing home gold in a one-person keelboat.

Paul still feels the wind against his face as well as the splash of the waves and as the Paralympics begin in London in just under two weeks I wish him the best. Paul is just one of 145 Canadian Paralympians who will compete in over 20 sports. The media coverage will be almost nil and the crowds will be much smaller but that should not take away from the incredible skill and dedication these athletes will take with them. Hopefully, one day soon, as much coverage will take place for these deserving athletes...of course they don't do it for the hype, they do it for the love of the sport. Paul, I wish you all the best; you have shown the Halifax West High class of '88 that nothing should stand in the way of your dreams...Go Paul go!! 

Read more: Paralympics — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/summer-olympics-paralympics.html#ixzz23eWs7NQ4

Godmother Cathy

Andrew's Christening Day

The most wonderful thing a child can have in addition to their blood-relatives are those special people who gently get  inserted into your life and who, over time, become as important and wonderful as any in your immediate family. Andrew's God-mother is a friend from years back who has stayed by my side through the good and the bad. One of my best life decisions was to ask her to be Andrew's God-mother. While this title has remained, she has gained a dual role into into a very special aunt as well. As a make-up artist she has created some incredibly authentic looks for Halloween and she has included my son into her family until he has gotten a status of his own, a "cousin" to her precious nephews and neice. They seem to look forward to spending time with "big" Andrew as much as he does with them.  Andrew has visited her extended family so often that  Cathy's mother has his room ready for him when he visits each summer. This past week God-mother Cathy did one of her favourite traditions which involves a shopping trip with Andrew for his birthday. She added on a special treat with a trip to Upper Clements Park for Andrew and her nephews. They had a day of roller coasters and log rides and waterslides....so much fun for all. Hallelujah for God-mothers and for all they do.

His make-up looked so authentic
 that folks thought he was
 really wounded.

Fun at Upper Clements

Week One....

This is what I came out to find one summer day in 2005
when Andrew was playing with a friend...the
look on their faces says it all...

Week one of camp is finished in approximately 3 hours. It will be interesting to see just how muddy the clothes are that come home to be washed as the weather here in the Halifax area this past week was not exactly pristine and of course, my son did not take anything remotely water-proof to wear. I have learned  that to a kid, playing in the mud makes life more fun. The more dirt the bigger the smile. At Bayside Camp, they even have a mud pit the kids love to use. I am ever so thankful for the huge lake that is less than 100 metres away.  For one week, reality is suspended; being surrounded by both old and new friends, swimming, canoeing, playing games, staying up late by camp-fires all make for magical memories. Being picked up at the end of the week must feel like the world is ending. I am expecting a quiet drive home tonight. I am happy that this is not the end of camp for the summer - two more weeks of fun and mud are still to come!

My tangled hand...

During the end of the school year I asked my grade 7 art class to trace their hand and then express what comes out of their hands without using symbols. In general, the students struggled with this exercise as they wanted to draw hearts, flowers and other symbols rather than abstract lines and designs. I told the class that I would do the assignment to help me understand the challenges they had. Well....this opened up a whole new world of expression - as I filled my page with design I realized how visually limited I was when it came to showing what came out of my hands. I began researching design and came across an amazing art form called ZENTANGLE. It involves mindful drawing of design that looks very complicated, yet, when broken down can be done by anyone. It took me hours and hours to finish my hand drawing but it was worth it - I have now embarked on a new and exciting journey, one which will stretch my mind yet hopefully help to focus it. Here is my finished hand; I can see tons of room for improvement but part of the process of ZENTANGLE means appreciating what I have done rather than judging it.

Summer time.....

It is the Canada Day weekend; the sun has decided to come out, the temperature is warm and we are doing nothing.....hurray! That means school has finished, most of my work is done and our schedule is free and clear for two months. Well, not quite; beginning tomorrow Andrew starts a new adventure at Bayside Camp. He has been accepted to the CORE leadership training program. I am so excited for him as he gets to experience one week of leadership training, a week of being a junior leader and then a third week volunteering in the maintenance department. What a fantastic opportunity for a teen. Even when working hard enough at camp that you may fall asleep on the deck while waiting for supper, it is still camp - the best place ever for a kid in the summer! If you want to learn more about Bayside and give your kid one of the best summers ever then look them up at baysidecamp.org

Lest We Forget...

Many of my male relatives, both currently and from the past, have played a role in the armed forces. I am proud of my cousin who is currently serving as well as my many great-uncles who fought in the Korean War. My Grand-dad was a Merchant Seaman for the Canadian Forces and when my Grand-dad and Great-Uncle Tom on my Dad's side fought for England, they were captured by the enemy and became POWs during WW2. I am thankful that both were eventually able to return home. The world looked at war differently then; it was considered exciting to join and fight for your country and many young men even lied about their age to get the opportunity to go overseas. 

In grade 7, we have been reading the "Rememberance Times", a magazine about Canada's role in war and peace-keeping. The class was told to go through the many interesting articles and then pick out and write down ten interesting facts about the many wars and peace-keeping missions we have been involved in.

Next, each student had to create a character from WW2 who would write a letter from that time period. The character could either be someone from home, a mom, sister, factory worker etc., or someone overseas, a nurse, soldier, pilot, or other person serving. After creating a profile for their character - things like age, job, family background - students became their character and, using some of the facts found from the articles, are now in the process of writing a one page letter to someone - those overseas would write home and those at home would write overseas.  

It is so difficult for us to comprehend what it was like to be so far from home for perhaps years at a time, all to help millions of people we didn't know. And yet, over the years, hundreds of thousands have done just that. I hope that through this exercise, we will continue to learn from our past. Lest we forget...

Creative writing examples from grade 7....Autumn is arriving

Last week I wrote about my experience with the grade 7 literature class and our time outside "feeling" nature. I received some excellent reflective essays sharing what they experienced during their two minutes outside with their eyes closed, taking in the world around them. There are 19 students in the class so I could only pick a few examples but overall, I am very impressed with the creativity of these 11 and 12 year olds. I have done minimal editing...the work below is that of the students.

     "I heard the cars in the distance - a faint sound like waves, rolling over the ocean just waiting to get to the beach and be washed back out to the ocean."
     "The wind was chillingly cold as it floated through my skirt...my skin was getting prickly and the feeling of pins and needles were going down my spine."

     "I could feel the wind pressing on my back, wanting to lift me up in the air. Everything sounded so clear you could hear a stone falling on the other side of the street."

     "...then that nice, cool wind passed by again as if someone rewinded life and then clicked the PLAY button. The leaves and branches rustled and swayed more than before, and the feeling of autumn swept over me."

     "I felt the wind blowing my pants against my skin. I could feel it tickling against the back of my legs; it felt like that breeze you get as you are riding your bike."

     "I heard and felt the leaves falling of of the branches preparing for winter. I felt myself under a spell, like the wind wanted me to stay and listen. The wind gave me a breath of fresh air that calmed myself down...Everything felt so graceful and it was something that I never thought would be."