wow

My heart swells when I read about the youth of Attawapiskat and the recent suicide pact that was thwarted by the quick actions of police, local services and community. I am the mother of four teenagers ranging from 16 to 20 yrs old. These teen years are tricky ones. I have only to look at my 6 ft “7” boy who most definitely looks like a man, and I think, yes, he is almost a man.

“Imagination is a magical power.”  I said this in front of twenty five thousand young people as part of We Day this year.  We Day is a global movement encouraging activism, engagement and volunteerism in young people.  Every young person in the Saddle Dome in Calgary, the Rogers Centre in Toronto, had earned their way to the event by volunteering locally and globally.

Posted May 31, 2011 and although the event happened over a year ago, the sentiment is still relevant.

Yesterday, I participated in the Heart and Truth Fashion Show. Twenty strong and remarkable women wore spectacular red dresses to build awareness of women and heart disease. Heart disease and stroke kill more women than men in this country and still Canadians remain misinformed about the symptoms and risks for women.

Today’s Olympic related activities include making a big banner with the kids saying “We Believe—In You.” My son wants to hold it up at the Opening Ceremonies for the athletes to see from the infield.  Here is something that has just occurred to me. I have never been to the Opening Ceremonies.  Ever.  When I was competing the Olympic Ceremonies always happened the day before I started competing and I concluded they would be too distracting and exhausting.  Part of me now is wondering what the heck I was thinking.

To me the Olympics are really simple. They are about young people who have found the courage to dream and put it all out there. Kids who one day were inspired by something and said “I want to do that.”  And by some miracle they started doing, and they found others to support their dream, to guide them. These athletes are consumed by their ambitions to become the best in the world at what they do. A sport as little known as Skeleton, or Rowing , or Short Track Speed Skating, captures their imagination and begins to shape their life.