I’ve got a secret. It’s something I don’t say out loud too often because when I do people react badly. Some gasp, some try to convince me that I’m crazy, and others look at me like I’ve suddenly grown a second head. You can stop reading now if you want, I understand. [Read more…]
Word Wednesday – Para what?
As I wrote in an August Word Wednesday Post, I love the Olympic and Paralympic games. I love the way entire countries rise up behind their athletes and how small acts of kindness between athletes make you realize that even in the heat of competition, people are inclined to help one another. One of the things that drives me absolutely crazy about the Paralympic games though is the way they’re treated in the media and by the general public. During the Olympics, I couldn’t log on to Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook without seeing #Olympics or #Canada or one of the Olympic filters on a profile picture. During the Paralympics, however, I have had to actively look to find people mentioning the games. I understand that there is some degree of “sports fatigue” – in that a lot of people who aren’t necessarily into sports watch the Olympics but aren’t actually all that interested beyond their favourite sports. The 2 week wait between the Olympics end and the Paralympics begin also plays a role in diminished media attention and public appetite. What I vehemently disagree with is that the Paralympic games are in any way or shape less important than the Olympic games. Paralympians are elite athletes – period. If you think that just because someone is physically disabled, they aren’t training just as hard or just as athletically gifted as an able bodied athlete, I challenge you to go to the Canadian Paralympic Team’s Paratough website and try one of the Paralympian workouts. I tried the swimming core workout 4 days ago, and my abs haven’t forgiven me yet!
Word Wednesday – Escape
Even though I work (at least partially) alongside the education system, I don’t really go “back to school”. Still, it’s a new beginning – and as the song says “every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end”. So Labour Day has just passed, and summer is coming to a close and every store has Hallowe’en decorations up, except Costco who has decided to go one better (worse?) by having Christmas trees for sale since July. Pens and pencils and pretty books to write in are going on sale which makes me very happy and also means I should actually brave one of the stores sooner rather than later so that I don’t miss out on pretty things to write with or in being on sale. Still, I’m always a little sad at the end of summer, and wish it would hang on for a little longer before the leaves change. The crisp, cool, morning air on the other hand, could start any time now. It currently feels like a sauna when I step out of my doorway, hot and very humid – another in a string of hot and humid days that seem to have characterized this summer here.
Word Wednesday – Fortune’s Favour
I’ve been AWOL of late – and for that I apologize. Depression and grief took hold for a while, and then things got really busy for a while, and then I felt so guilty about not writing that I couldn’t write. It’s a vicious circle. I decided today, though, that I should write something and put it out there. So here goes.
Word Wednesday – Courage – My Word
This isn’t the post I intended to write this week, or the post I imagined I would write on this word. Things change, however, and though I may be completely freaked out by change, it still happens. So I adapted, and am writing a slightly different Word Wednesday post.