Posts Tagged ‘torch’
The Torch Relay
Posted on: December 12, 2009
111: this is the number of times and days that I nominated myself to carry the Olympic torch, and all that persistence paid off. Today has been a long time coming, since I first saw the Coke ad on TV last February asking if I wanted to carry the Olympic flame. Carry the flame?! It didn’t take long for me to realize with an emphatic YES, that this was definitely something I wanted to do! So I went online, looked into the details and started nominating myself. After a few months I got randomly selected to go to the next round and write a brief essay -around 200 words – about how I live an active lifestyle (see Active Living essay below).
The beginning of my Olympic Torch Relay dream pretty much coincided with Borys and me happily discovering I was pregnant with Niko, but seeing as he was due in October and the torch would be coming through Ottawa in December, I figured I would be good to go for the Torch Relay! And good to go I was! What an amazing, amazing experience: one that will be etched clearly in my memory (and in the hundreds of pictures that friends and family took!) for the rest of my life!
Niko was an amazing baby too! Even though I was fretting about the “baby logistics”, I really didn’t need to worry seeing as he happily slept through most of the morning and we were back home by noon.
Active Living: A Lifelong Commitment
I have always lived an active lifestyle. I have trained for half-marathons, triathlons and also a marathon. I participated in these events with long-distance friends; we updated each other on our training and would finally meet up on race day to run together. One friend told me that she ran a half-marathon because of something I said to her. I told her if she could run a 10km race, then she could do a half-marathon. She took it to heart, started training, and eventually we both ran the Ottawa half-marathon in 2006.
Teaching has given me the opportunity to share my passion for an active lifestyle. I have participated in student vs. teacher sports, and have coached cross-country and football. In 2005 I was inspired by my Director of Education to start karate. A friend and I started together and progressed through all the belts, which culminated in our black belt exam in June 2008. I have since continued with karate, and now have my mind set on earning my second degree black belt. My husband and I are expecting our first baby this October! Throughout my pregnancy I have remained an active participant in karate and aim to maintain this as a lifelong form of exercise.
Baby Logistics
Posted on: December 11, 2009
Over the past few months I have discovered that planning anything with a baby in tow, takes a lot longer than planning in the pre-baby days. Mind you, it is totally worth to have this little guy in tow, and Borys and I consider ourselves very lucky, but the planning and logistics around feeding and dressing for the cold weather does take a bit of brainpower.
Tomorrow is the day I will be running with the Olympic Flame, and I am super excited! My sister and her whole family as well as my mom have all come in from out of town to be a part of the day, and having them here to cheer me on makes it even more special! But what will become of little Niko? I know he will be in the good hands of his daddy and at some point tomorrow the whole “taking care of him” bit will be totally out of my hands, but as I sit here and type my mind is turning with all the things I need to get ready for him for tomorrow, for all the “just in case” scenarios that could pop up: a bottle, hot water, a diaper bag, warm clothes, and the list could go on and on. Well actually now that I think about it, maybe that is it? Maybe the list isn’t as long as my mind has made it out to be? I guess whatever happens will happen, and like I’ve said before, not too much harm can really come to him when he is in the capable hands of Daddy and I am out of sight for only an hour or so, right?
Parenting 2.0 