Carpe Diem

My kid is a happy kid.

There are many lessons to be learned in life.  One of them is to SEIZE THE DAY.  Here’s my kid.  As serious as I can be, my kid always seems to see the brighter side of things.  In this picture, I think that she was pretending to be a dead bug on the beach.  Not sure.  Doesn’t really matter.  I have numerous photos of my kid and many memories of her to remind me that life is short.  Carpe diem.  My kid teaches me this lesson… often.  This morning, I go downstairs and plead with my kid, “Please don’t tell me there’s a big mess to clean up.” She sweetly replies, “OK” and leaves the house to meet up with her buddy to run their lemonade stand to raise funds for the West Sechelt Elementary School Playground.  I turned the corner and saw a HUGE mess in the kitchen.  Ah.  It’s tough to get mad at her.  So, I just cleaned up the mess, had a cup of coffee, and watched the “Vancouver Housewives” on TV.  You know what?  Life is good.

Presentation Bootcamp

Voice & Presentation Bootcamp 2012 – SFU TLC

Serendipity.  I am convinced that we are meant to meet certain people at certain times to learn something new.  On August 13 & 14th, I went to SFU to the “Voice and Presentation Bootcamp.”  This is the first time this workshop was offered by the Teaching & Learning Centre (TLC) at SFU-Burnaby.  The bootcamp was absolutely amazing and the facilitators Sarah Turner and Kathryn Ricketts were phenomenal.  I love TLC’s purpose to improve teaching and learning at the university and wonder why this does not happen at K-12.  I am an experienced public school teacher and learned so much about voice, body, and space as a public speaker.  The bootcamp challenged me to step into a state of discomfort to learn and transform.  I also loved dialoguing with the attendees of the bootcamp in this shared expereience.  I was meant to meet these people and learned so much from them.  Thank you TLC, Sarah, and Kathryn for your expertise, feedback, kindness, and generosity.  The bootcamp was one of the best professional development sessions I have engaged in as a teacher.  I encourage others to attend this workshop if offered once again by TLC at SFU.  Furthermore, I recommend that this workshop is worthy of 3 days or even 5.  Why not?  It’s the connection with others, safe learning environment, and immediate results that make the Voice & Presentation Bootcamp a worthwhile TLC workshop.  Much gratitude.

Continued Conversations

Day 3 of Spirit of Wellness at Porpoise Bay Beach

August 15, 2012: Celebrating Day 3 of the Spirit of Wellness Canoe Circle; service providers of the Sunshine Coast meeting together on canoes to talk about mental health and addictions.  To be a part of these events, such as this one, has been one of my greatest pleasures as school trustee of the SD46 Board of Education.  Day 3 of this innovative initiative has been the best attended day.  Trustee Lori Dixon met the fleet at the beach of Porpoise Bay and Principal Dan Galazga pulled in one of the canoes.  All 3 canoes were full and many others greeted us at Porpoise Bay for salmon dinner.  Much conversation.  As you can see, it was a very hot day.  So hot, many of us stood in the water to converse during dinner and participate in the large circle.  A follow-up session will be held next Wednesday at 5pm, August 22nd, with a potluck dinner at the Sechelt Indian Band Hall for all participants to reunite and collate our thoughts and ideas so that we can move forward.  Looking forward to this final event. 

A Four Letter Word

This blog entry is something I had composed for the “Voice and Presentation Bootcamp” I am participating in today and tomorrow.  This 2-day intensive workshop focused on voice-body-space is facilitated by Kathryn Ricketts and Sarah Turner from the Teacher & Learning Center at Simon Fraser University.  For homework, we had to prepare a 2.5 minute presentation.  I had one topic and changed my mind.  I decided to write and present about one of my favorite memories of Pulling Together 2012 “Return to Sliammon.”  The entry starts off as a continuation of today’s presentation.  We had to prepare a 1-minute presentation about a prize possession to tell another person a little bit more about us.  This clip has been on my bag for months and Pulling Together has been an important part of my life for the past few years.  Enjoy.

My prize possession – Voice-Body-Space BootCamp 2012

Courtney (aka. the Bow Princess)

During the Journey, I paddled in the Dimitri, the Cadillac of canoes.  The “Bow Princess” was a youth from my hometown.  Apparently, I said the B-word several times that day.  The Bow Princess and fellow youth in the canoe were not pleased. 

Dissertation Intervention

Studying at the beach… good times!

This story is getting old.  I am still working on my dissertation and finding comfort running in the hamster wheel.  You know how some people are math-phobic and have a personal mantra of “I was never good at math.”  I am that person, but replace the word math with reading and writing.  “I was never good at reading and writing.”  I took an ESL course 20 years ago to pass English 100 and English is my first language.  Now, I am trying to write a thesis.  For a person who does not prefer to read or write, pursuing a doctoral degree would be the last thing to do.  Thank goodness for the dissertation intervention.  A good friend of mine recently completed her dissertation.  We had coffee the other day and it was intervention time.  She gave me the straight talk, encouragement, and tough love.  She said, (1) it will never be perfect; (2) you are an expert in your field; and (3) it takes about 4-hours per day.  Makes sense.  Onwards and upwards…

Making Connections

The Spirit of Wellness Canoe Circle – Day 2 – August 8, 2012

Another wonderful day on the water paddling with familiar faces and new additions on the second day of the Spirit of Wellness Canoe Circle organized by Eleonora Molnar from Vancouver Health.  It is truly an honour to be invited to this partnership event as school trustee of the SD46 Board of Education.  This is a picture of the SD46 Spirit Canoe s-yéwen s-néxwílh skipped by SD46 Principal Kerry Mahlman.  The Spirits of Our Grandmothers Canoe s-yéwens ihems sila skipped by Fred Stark and the shíshálh First Nation Canoe skipped by Andy Johnson and Shyanne Watters were also present on this glorious day.

This was our second day for service providers who work with those in our community with mental health issues and addictions to paddle together in Porpoise Bay.  We meet once again in three canoes to discuss our present situation, possibilities, and programming to best serve those who require services.  Topics ranged from looking at drug usage as an illness to the healing powers of the canoe.  The conversations amongst service providers were dynamic, organic, and engaging.  The Board of Education Chair Silas White was also able to attend Day 2 of this event among many others from organizations such as Arrowhead, the Salvation Army, the Sunshine Coast Employment Centre, and the Sechelt Indian Band.  Building relations amongst service providers and the shíshálh nation with the canoe is nourishing, inspiring, and liberating.  Participants are able step away from the board room and reflect on their own practice as individuals but also take the opportunity to dialogue and share ideas with others.

Porpoise Bay Beach – Traditional Fire Roasted Salmon

Finally, I would like to thank the aboriginal youth and Tammy Saigon from SD46 for taking the time, effort, and care to prepare a wonderful salmon dinner for the paddlers.  First, the dinner gives the paddlers a mid-journey destination, something to look forward to.  All three canoes will raft up before and after dinner to talk with one another about mental health and addictions.  Second, the food nourishes the body, mind, and soul.  Somehow food promotes mingling and dialogue amongst participants.  Finally, the salmon was prepared traditionally over an open fire by the aboriginal youth.  The love and leadership expressed by the aboriginal youth was outstanding.  And, I would like to thank the Sechelt Indian Band for generously donating the salmon to the Spirit of Wellness Canoe Circle for all three days.  The food has been excellent.  Your generosity is acknowledged.

One more day of paddling with the Spirit of Wellness initiative on August 8th, 5pm at Porpoise Bay along with a follow-up meeting.  Thank you to all those who are volunteering their time to take part in this initiative to make connections with various service providers on the Sunshine Coast.  It makes me hopeful that we are all in it together, working together, to achieve a common goal of wellness.  All my relations.

A Common Story

Hotel Lake, Pender Harbour, BC

Just came back from an awesome camping experience at Hotel Lake.  I guess you would call this a “stay-cation.”  Hotel Lake is one of many lakes in the Pender Harbour area.  I live in Sechelt, only a 50 minute drive away.  Living in Sechelt is pretty spectacular… the nature, the views… it is a bit of an oasis.  However, going to Hotel Lake to camp with my family was absolutely phenomenal.  I feel kind of lucky to have the opportunity to camp at Hotel Lake.  First of all, you need a year in advance booking.  Second, there is a seniority list.  Third, how do I get on this list and how long is the wait?  Nonetheless, our friends were unable to fulfill their 7-day reservation and we did not hesitate to take over the last 4-days of this very poshy camping experience.  What do I mean by that?  There are electrical outlets at every campsite, fresh water taps bordering each campsite, and we had lakeside property.  This is a picture of our lakeside view.  It was pretty amazing to say the least.

Before departure, my friend said, “You’ll never regret it. We’ve been coming up here for years. Your daughter will love it.”  Well, I can confirm that all three statements are true.  No regrets.  We’ll be coming up for years to come.  My kid loved it.  There were so many people at Hotel Lake.  It was like a little community.  We met our neighbours and my daughter met their kids and every other kid at the campsite ranging from 5-25 in age.  She had a great time… ping pong, swimming, volleyball… this is not to mention the campfires, hot dogs, and smores.  It was all good.  I tried to get some reading done and possibly some writing.  No such luck, but I did reunite with some familiar faces and got to know our neighbours a bit better.  Honestly, I was a bit spooked but I was meant to have these conversations.

With each person I spoke to during my brief 4 days camping in Pender Harbour, I realized that we all share a common story.  My story is not unique.  I share commonalities with other people’s experiences.  First, I bumped into Lana.  She is from Pulling Together.  We chatted a bit about camping at Hotel Lake, ourselves, and education.  We talked about my academic studies and she said, “You just have to do it and get it done.  You need that paper to make a difference in education with your career in politics.”  That resonated with me.  Next, I met Joey, a former Math 8, Math 12, and Calculus 12 student.  We briefly chatted about what’s happening in our lives and I learned that he too is attending SFU studying physics.  I inquired why he had chosen that major and he said, “Ya.  It’s kind of hard, but I like it.  If you study and work at it, it’s not as bad as it seems.”  Twang… That seemed to resonate with me too.

At the campsite, I chatted with my neighbour Linda and Dave who are both professionals and self-employed.  They love working from home, being their own boss, and taking an active part in their kids lives.  I get that.  Then I met Daniel, off for the summer to work at Hotel Lake with his wife and family.  He and his wife are teachers.  His wife works in public schools and he worked in international education.  We chatted and shared our journeys.  Loved it.  There are no absolutes and we all make decisions for the right reasons at the right time.  Finally, I met LaVerna.  This was at the very end of our camping experience at Hotel Lake.  We packed up our camp, signed up for next year, and headed off to Garden Bay for some fish & chips at LaVerne’s Grill.  I read her bio and she said her life changed 11 years ago on September 11th.  She believes it was meant to happen.  I believe her too.  BTW: the fish & chips were awesome!

I met some pretty wonderful people at Hotel Lake.  We are all interconnected.  We share the same stories.  We have common experiences.  At one point in time, I truly thought my lived experience, my pedagogical journey, was unique.  On the one hand, it is.  All of our lived experiences are unique.  On the other hand, they are not.  We have more in common with each other than we think and if we are different then we can only learn from it. 

Friends and Family

The Happy Couple

Who doesn’t love a wedding?  I love weddings.  They are the best way to bring family and friends together to celebrate the love between two individuals.  This wedding was the marriage of my husband’s cousin to his best friend.  The wedding was absolutely beautiful.  We were in the middle of nowhere… well, Abbotsford… and it was a barn wedding.  It was sooooo awesome.  First of all, I loved the pseudo family reunion (of course), but I adored sitting on bails of hay to witness the ceremony and eating BBQ in a beautifully decorated barn.  The wedding ceremony was brief, humourous, and absolutely joyous.  The little touches I liked too… Addy the dog, the candy buffet, the $2 bar, and my kid giving dancing tips to others.  My family had a tonne of fun at the wedding.  Thank you Tara & Scott for a memorable experience.  We loved being a part of it.  We’re looking forward to the next family wedding… hint, hint.

It’s About Relationships

The Spirit of Wellness Canoe Circle – August 2012

As an SD46 school trustee, I had the greatest pleasure of canoeing tonight with various service providers from the Sunshine Coast who support community members with mental illness and addictions.  Those who participated in The Spirit of Wellness Canoe Circle come from different agencies and the intention of building relationships amongst service workers and the Sechelt Nation.  This canoeing event is part of a proposal known as the Community Action Initiative (CAI).  The canoe is a wonderful metaphor for leadership and working together towards a common goal.  There were three canoes immersed in Porpoise Bay this evening: the SD46 Spirit Canoe, The Grandmother’s Canoe, and the Sechelt Nation Canoe.  It was an amazing experience to share stories, make connections, and feel inspired.  The Spirit of Wellness Initiative is scheduled for August 1st, 8th, and 15th @5pm.  Looking forward.  All my relations.

Building Trust

The Dimitri – Pulling Together 2012 – Return to Sliammon

This is the Dimitri Canoe.  On the Pulling Together 2012 Canoe Journey – “Return to Sliammon” – I had the fortune of pulling three times in the Dimitri.  It was pretty luxurious.  I would call this canoe the Cadillac of Canoes.  I am pretty proud of myself for paddling in a different canoe.  For the 2010-2012 Journeys, I have been part of the SD46 Spirit Canoe Crew.  Two years ago (or even last year), I would not have considered pulling for another canoe, with another skipper and another crew.  This year, I enjoyed pulling in a different canoe, meeting new people, and experiencing new leadership.  Why is this year so different?

Not to dwell on my past life, but two years ago I was a different person.  To put it bluntly, I trusted no one.  If you get burned a few times by a few people, you start to give up.  You start to believe that the only person you can trust is yourself.  This is an isolating experience.  Betrayal, lying, or abuse will lead anyone to a flight of fight situation.  If you choose to fight, you will burnout.  If you choose flight, you have to give up on the battle.  Being in a situation when doing what you love does not surpass the negative crap, it’s tough to move forward.

I feel fortunate to be a part of the SD46 Spirit Canoe crew in 2010.  This was the beginning of my healing process.  The blessing is in the breaking.  I had to be broken in order to rebuild.  In 2010, I learned how to trust others, to see the good in others, to rely on my canoe family to pull together.  This was a powerful life lesson to be awakened to.  In 2011, I was in a state of change.  I was trying to find my way with the help of my canoe family, once again.  I am truly grateful to know that my canoe family supported me and I supported them.  My trust was being restored.  The 2012 Journey was a litmus of my transformation and healing.  Because I knew that my canoe family was there for me, I was able to leave the canoe.  It’s like a child leaving home for the first time.  It felt good.  I felt confident.  I felt loved.  It was meant to be.

Pulling Together is about building relations.  It’s about building trust.  I am thankful to the SD46 Spirit Canoe and crew, to the Sunshine Coast Pulling Together Family, and to all those who are a part of the Pulling Together Canoe Journey.