Well, here we are ending our time in the Canadian Arctic. We leave Nunavut with joy and nothing but wonderful memories and grateful for all the learning we did here. We knew when we began this adventure that someday it would end, we just did not know when. Now we have reached the end point and we have no regrets. We really took advantage of our time here. We were grateful every morning to be alive and to be in the arctic. We were very aware that not many people get to experience this magical part of the world and we did not take it for granted. We really soaked it in and our last month here was no exception.
We got legally married out on the tundra at the old Thule site on August 18th and it was breath-taking. We had a wonderful day and took some really deep breaths on our last visit to our beloved Thule site! This was the first time we had seen it completely without snow. It was worth the patience to see it in it's glory. To see the old tent rings and imagine the strength and adaptability of the Inuit who inhabited this site thousands of years ago.
We have observed and listened to the Inuit people and we are taking away many lessons that will help us live our lives at a different pace and possibly on a different page. They are beautiful people and have riches that we can only begin to comprehend. They have an intelligence that most of us do not even know exists. They have shaped our lives even further and we are grateful for their welcoming nature and for their patience with us.
What a beautiful life experience. Challenging for sure but out of challenge comes growth and I hope to have learned that enough to be able to say that to myself the next time I am faced with a challenge. Every day is a gift and every day we learn. I hope to be able to not make a distinction between "good" and "bad" days. All days where I am alive and healthy are good days. Bad days are just challenging and challenges are life lessons that we need to learn in order to grow and it's always for our own good and it's always exactly what we need. We may not recognize the purpose of the lesson at the time but for me, it suffices to know that it is exactly what I need and if I can learn to face challenges with that attitude, then I have made a lot of progress.
2 nights ago I sat outside on my metal deck on top of a cardboard box wrapped in a comforter and watched the most incredible light show I have ever seen. I sat out there for 2.5 hours watching them, mesmerized by the dancing, flowing lights that would suddenly change colors from bright green to pinks and purples. I saw thousands of stars, 1 shooting star and 2 meteors. It was a spectacular evening! I put on some of my Yoga music, chanted for a bit but mostly just watched in awe of the beauty that exists in this world. It reminded me of something I learned. That the beauty that we see outside of outside of ourselves, be in it someone else or in nature, is the same beauty that exists in us. Beauty, grandeur, magic, energy, whatever we call it is everywhere and it is good to be reminded that the energy and beauty of that night is inside of all of us and that the trick is to allow ourselves to see it and to let it out by letting go. Letting go of fears, anxiety, stress, wanting, perfection, whatever... Just letting go of it all and just being.
Today is my last morning in Rankin Inlet. I am about to dismantle the laptop my brother built for us. It sits on top of a cardboard box, we sit in front of it on a pillow on the floor. No fancy computer desks for the last year. It's been really eye-opening to live with just the minimum of things. I wonder how we will feel going back to the overabundance of our home in Ottawa. We will find out very shortly. On Friday evening we will be sitting outside on our deck eating some take-out Indian food with our friends. Bring it on!
Thank you for sharing this beautiful adventure with us. There are more pictures posted in our photo album for you to check out!
Be silent
Be still
Breathe...
Peace,
Josée and Lisa
P.S. Stay tuned for the next adventure of our move to the country and our new baby coming in January!
xoxo
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Friday, May 02, 2008
International Day of the Midwife-May 5th
Kerstin Martin
President, Canadian Association of Midwives
Midwives and families around the world are celebrating the 2008 International Day of the Midwife with the theme of “Healthy Families: The Key to the Future.” In Canada there is also cause to celebrate, as more and more women are cared for by the health care professional of their choice: midwives.
In British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and the NWT, midwifery is an integrated part of the health care system; in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Nunavut the process of regulating the profession is well underway. Considering that only fifteen years ago, midwives were not legally recognized anywhere in Canada, these developments represent tremendous and positive change.
Midwifery care respects the normal, healthy process of pregnancy and birth and the profound meaning that childbirth has in a woman’s life. Midwives work with women in a personalized, non-authoritarian way, encouraging informed choices and responding to emotional, social, cultural and physical needs. From the midwifery perspective, skilled, respectful and supportive care is key to enabling women to give birth safely, with power and dignity.
There are currently about 680 midwives working in Canada and 100 students admitted annually to university midwifery programs — numbers that have increased by 50% in just the last three years. In a country as vast as ours, however, these numbers are still very small. The demand for women-centred healthcare far outweighs the national supply of midwives. By way of comparison, there are over 2,000 midwives in New Zealand serving a population of 4 million, and about 35,000 midwives in the UK.
In all provinces and territories where midwifery is regulated, except for Alberta, midwives’ services are covered by public funding – midwifery care is free. In many communities across the country however, there are no midwives at all; and in some areas midwives are so highly in demand that 40% of women seeking their care cannot be accommodated. Canadian women need more midwives, paid by provincial healthcare dollars, and soon.
With the exodus of family physicians from the field of obstetrics, shortages of maternity care providers are a growing and serious problem. Midwives have come a long way in the past decade, but the frustrating reality remains that for many women, a choice of care provider is simply not available. Currently, midwives assist at less than 5% of births nationwide. The need for midwives, especially in rural, remote and Aboriginal communities, is acute.
Maternity care is different from other health services. Unlike hip replacements, babies can’t wait — there can be no waiting for maternity care. As well, women’s experiences during pregnancy and birth can deeply affect how they feel about themselves as mothers, about their babies and their family relationships. Providing good care improves the lives of women and their children both immediately and in the long term.
Primary maternity care is a core element of the health care system. Midwives, in their internationally recognized role as ‘guardians of normal’, promote health and well-being, inspire new parents’ confidence and self-esteem, facilitate positive birth experiences, support breastfeeding and good nutrition, assist with family planning and spacing, and encourage women’s knowledge of their own bodies.
A 2006 study of Canadian birth practices found that only 25% of births in this country proceeded without intervention. In other words, in 75% of all births, some form of medical or surgical intervention was used. This contravenes standards set by the World Health Organization and Health Canada. In contrast, midwifery care has safe and excellent outcomes with intervention rates that are far below the national average.
According to the first ever national survey of maternity experiences of women in Canada, 71% of women whose primary caregiver was a midwife rated their labour and birth experiences as "very positive". The 2007 survey is a core project of the Canadian Perinatal Surveillance System; a full report is expected in October this year. In Ontario, provincial surveys of midwifery clients have shown satisfaction rates of 98%.
Healthy families are the key to our future in Canada and around the world. Healthy families start with healthy pregnancies, joyful birth experiences and good infant care.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
ISOLATION!
We so desperately wanted to go on a trip on our 10 days of holidays (recuperation leave) to Edmonton in May but guess what, there are no flights out on points at all that are available, not until the middle of June. So, if we want to go, we have to pay the $3 000.00 to get out of here and that's only our flights to Winnipeg. Oh my goodness, isolation much! That's the price for a 3 hour flight. It's completely crazy if you ask me. Anyways, we have some holiday time in July so we'll see what we can do then on aeroplan miles. Hopefully we can make something work. Too bad, we really could have used the holiday now, I'm tired. It's just apparently not in the cards for us at the moment. Now we have to accept it and move forward. Just thought I'd let you know a very little and practical part of what it means to be isolated.
Peace,
Josée
xo
Peace,
Josée
xo
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Life lesson # 6486978
Well as most of you now know, we are heading back to the Ottawa region in September. To some this comes as a surprise, to others as a relief and to us, a little bit of both. I have come to realize a little somethin' somethin' about myself recently that has been really eye-opening for me and for Lisa as well. I have come to the realization that because I am ever optimistic and that I always look on the bright side of things, the positive side, I tend to not see or acknowledge reality. This positiveness of mine has been a wonderful blessing and now I can see how it also has the power to be harmful at times.
What I mean is that I tend to paint myself and others these rosy colored pictures of my life and my situations. Not because I want everyone to believe this or that about me but because that is how I make myself see things (although not consciously). I will always keep that quality because it is very powerful but I need to find balance in my thoughts and in my life and that means taking time to really consciously look at my reality, my current situation, for what it really is. Not how I think it will be or could be or just paint it pretty colors so that I can feel better about it. I don't do those things consciously (not on purpose) and therein lies the problem. By not dealing with reality and just putting a pretty band-aid on it I don't deal with the emotions that come with reality, especially when my reality is not so pretty. That's when I do it the most, I tell myself that it will get better and that on the bright side I am learning this or that... It's all true and good but there needs to be a space where I look at reality, allow myself to feel the emotions, the stress, etc... and then I can choose what to do about it. I believe this is a more balanced and real approach to my life and my current situation.
I have been doing this "pretty-fying" for as long as I can remember (now that I am aware of it and look back). I am a positive person by nature. I've always been like that since I was very little. I tend to be happy and look on the bright side of things and I will be like this until I leave this body. That's one step taken care of and I have it mastered. Now I need the other part of actually allowing myself to live my reality and feel it for what it is right here and right now. That will create awareness and the space for a more meaningful learning experience from my situation.
So, that's what I've learned about myself most recently. Over years and years of not dealing head-on with the parts of my reality that weren't pleasant, I have repressed a lot of stress, frustration, anger, and sadness. It's funny, I could not have said that about myself just 3 weeks ago and yet it is very true. And after years of repressing or not acknowledging the negative stuff by just very quickly jumping into a positive attitude, I seem to have dulled not only my negative emotions but also to a certain extent the positive ones as well. It makes sense, you can't do it to some emotions and not to others. They are all emotions and they are all affected by my thoughts and actions.
So, this realization about myself led me to my decision of having to leave Arviat. I have to take care of myself and put myself first because nobody else will. Being so ill for the last 3 weeks has forced me to learn a lot about stress and lifestyle. You can eat as well as possible but if you are stressed and surrounded by negative energy every day, you will get ill. Our bodies have a beautiful way of teaching us how to live a balanced life. By learning to read and interpret our body's language, we can make changes in our lives that will truly benefit us. I have believed in the power of your thoughts and herbs and foods to heal yourself for a long time and it's only getting stronger for me and I am allowing my body to do it's thing while I learn about myself and what needs to happen now to stay healthy.
Learning to recognize when I am feeling stress, which is deep down a form of fear and usually living too much in the future in your head, is really critical. I have trained my body to respond easily to stress over the years and now I am in deprogramming mode. I tend to frown, raise my shoulders, I breathe superficially without being conscious about it, I sometimes even hold my breath, I tense my face and I lose myself in thoughts of things that have not even happened yet and/or in thoughts of what has already happened and re-doing or replaying the situations in my head with different possibilities. It's liberating to see this because being aware of it is the major step. Now I can actually catch myself doing these things and remind myself to breathe deeply from my abdomen, to relax my face and shoulders and to stop thinking by focusing on my breathing.
These are some lessons that I learned at Yoga boot camp and that I am re-learning through "The Power of Now" and "A New Earth". It's a wonderful feeling!
So, that's it for now on the not-so-rosy Josée and my aim to find peace and balance within myself. Stay tuned, there will likely be much much more to follow as I keep learning and growing!
Peace and much love,
Janaki
xoxo
What I mean is that I tend to paint myself and others these rosy colored pictures of my life and my situations. Not because I want everyone to believe this or that about me but because that is how I make myself see things (although not consciously). I will always keep that quality because it is very powerful but I need to find balance in my thoughts and in my life and that means taking time to really consciously look at my reality, my current situation, for what it really is. Not how I think it will be or could be or just paint it pretty colors so that I can feel better about it. I don't do those things consciously (not on purpose) and therein lies the problem. By not dealing with reality and just putting a pretty band-aid on it I don't deal with the emotions that come with reality, especially when my reality is not so pretty. That's when I do it the most, I tell myself that it will get better and that on the bright side I am learning this or that... It's all true and good but there needs to be a space where I look at reality, allow myself to feel the emotions, the stress, etc... and then I can choose what to do about it. I believe this is a more balanced and real approach to my life and my current situation.
I have been doing this "pretty-fying" for as long as I can remember (now that I am aware of it and look back). I am a positive person by nature. I've always been like that since I was very little. I tend to be happy and look on the bright side of things and I will be like this until I leave this body. That's one step taken care of and I have it mastered. Now I need the other part of actually allowing myself to live my reality and feel it for what it is right here and right now. That will create awareness and the space for a more meaningful learning experience from my situation.
So, that's what I've learned about myself most recently. Over years and years of not dealing head-on with the parts of my reality that weren't pleasant, I have repressed a lot of stress, frustration, anger, and sadness. It's funny, I could not have said that about myself just 3 weeks ago and yet it is very true. And after years of repressing or not acknowledging the negative stuff by just very quickly jumping into a positive attitude, I seem to have dulled not only my negative emotions but also to a certain extent the positive ones as well. It makes sense, you can't do it to some emotions and not to others. They are all emotions and they are all affected by my thoughts and actions.
So, this realization about myself led me to my decision of having to leave Arviat. I have to take care of myself and put myself first because nobody else will. Being so ill for the last 3 weeks has forced me to learn a lot about stress and lifestyle. You can eat as well as possible but if you are stressed and surrounded by negative energy every day, you will get ill. Our bodies have a beautiful way of teaching us how to live a balanced life. By learning to read and interpret our body's language, we can make changes in our lives that will truly benefit us. I have believed in the power of your thoughts and herbs and foods to heal yourself for a long time and it's only getting stronger for me and I am allowing my body to do it's thing while I learn about myself and what needs to happen now to stay healthy.
Learning to recognize when I am feeling stress, which is deep down a form of fear and usually living too much in the future in your head, is really critical. I have trained my body to respond easily to stress over the years and now I am in deprogramming mode. I tend to frown, raise my shoulders, I breathe superficially without being conscious about it, I sometimes even hold my breath, I tense my face and I lose myself in thoughts of things that have not even happened yet and/or in thoughts of what has already happened and re-doing or replaying the situations in my head with different possibilities. It's liberating to see this because being aware of it is the major step. Now I can actually catch myself doing these things and remind myself to breathe deeply from my abdomen, to relax my face and shoulders and to stop thinking by focusing on my breathing.
These are some lessons that I learned at Yoga boot camp and that I am re-learning through "The Power of Now" and "A New Earth". It's a wonderful feeling!
So, that's it for now on the not-so-rosy Josée and my aim to find peace and balance within myself. Stay tuned, there will likely be much much more to follow as I keep learning and growing!
Peace and much love,
Janaki
xoxo
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Hello spring!!!
Well, Spring has arrived in all it's glory and warmth! How wonderful it is! We are now in our "regular" Ottawa winter clothing and making the best of this -5 to -20 weather! It's mostly hanging out in the -14 area. The sun is climbing higher in the sky and that's where the extra warmth is coming from. The snow is getting softer every day and soon we will see the muddy roads once again! Ok, maybe not so soon but it's closer than it's been all winter.
So, here's a little update on the Josée and Lisa story. Lisa got a new job working at Nunavut Arctic College. She is planning a conference for them that will take place at the end of August in Iqaluit! How fun. She will get to go a week before the conference to set everything up and then the conference lasts a week. That will be really nice for her. She is very happy with this job, the hours are totally flexible and she can work when she wants to, from home or from the college. I think she's enjoying the job and the little routine she is getting herself into by going to work every day! I am very happy for her and she is totally perfect for this job.
As for me, things are moving along at work. We had our first official planned birth here. There are now quite a few women who are choosing to have their babies here and that's really encouraging and exciting. The midwife who was here left a month early because of a number of personal reasons so now, with 14 hours of notice, I am alone. They are going to try and send me someone from Rankin Inlet on Monday but they are short-staffed there as well and so that midwife won't be able to stay until my friend Kirsty (midwife) gets here in May. I am super happy that she is coming and looking forward to working together!
Our first birth was a wonderful one. A young woman having her first baby. She worked really hard and had a beautiful birth, I was very proud of her and very happy for her. The next day, as it always happens here, everyone in the community seemed to know about the birth. It's good publicity and that's really nice. It's encouraged a lot of other women to stay and have their babies here. We are still a little ways away from moving into the Wellness Center. We are needing phone lines in there before we can move in and that may take another month because it's a team from Iqaluit who are coming to set up our system for phones and computers. It's really exciting. Soon I will be planning the blessing/grand opening ceremony! We will have elders and drum dancers, food and drinks and hopefully a good number of community members! This is a lot of fun for me as well!
I am going to be setting up a program called "Centering Pregnancy" which is all about group prenatal care and it's going to be a beautiful fit here in the north. I am very excited about this program and I am just waiting for the Wellness Center to be open to start it because I need the space.
Lisa and I have both been feeling quite ill for the last 2 weeks but are now on the mend. It's too bad that it takes illness to make one appreciate their health. Oh well...
Lisa's been happily watching hockey playoffs for the last couple of days. Mostly the Montréal/Boston, Ottawa/Pittsburg games. I made her nachos tonight. I wish we had near beer for her but we don't. Nachos will have to be the closest thing we have to the pub atmosphere.
Life is good, we are happy! We miss you and love you all and think of you often!
Breathe in, breathe out.
Peace,
Josée
xoxo
So, here's a little update on the Josée and Lisa story. Lisa got a new job working at Nunavut Arctic College. She is planning a conference for them that will take place at the end of August in Iqaluit! How fun. She will get to go a week before the conference to set everything up and then the conference lasts a week. That will be really nice for her. She is very happy with this job, the hours are totally flexible and she can work when she wants to, from home or from the college. I think she's enjoying the job and the little routine she is getting herself into by going to work every day! I am very happy for her and she is totally perfect for this job.
As for me, things are moving along at work. We had our first official planned birth here. There are now quite a few women who are choosing to have their babies here and that's really encouraging and exciting. The midwife who was here left a month early because of a number of personal reasons so now, with 14 hours of notice, I am alone. They are going to try and send me someone from Rankin Inlet on Monday but they are short-staffed there as well and so that midwife won't be able to stay until my friend Kirsty (midwife) gets here in May. I am super happy that she is coming and looking forward to working together!
Our first birth was a wonderful one. A young woman having her first baby. She worked really hard and had a beautiful birth, I was very proud of her and very happy for her. The next day, as it always happens here, everyone in the community seemed to know about the birth. It's good publicity and that's really nice. It's encouraged a lot of other women to stay and have their babies here. We are still a little ways away from moving into the Wellness Center. We are needing phone lines in there before we can move in and that may take another month because it's a team from Iqaluit who are coming to set up our system for phones and computers. It's really exciting. Soon I will be planning the blessing/grand opening ceremony! We will have elders and drum dancers, food and drinks and hopefully a good number of community members! This is a lot of fun for me as well!
I am going to be setting up a program called "Centering Pregnancy" which is all about group prenatal care and it's going to be a beautiful fit here in the north. I am very excited about this program and I am just waiting for the Wellness Center to be open to start it because I need the space.
Lisa and I have both been feeling quite ill for the last 2 weeks but are now on the mend. It's too bad that it takes illness to make one appreciate their health. Oh well...
Lisa's been happily watching hockey playoffs for the last couple of days. Mostly the Montréal/Boston, Ottawa/Pittsburg games. I made her nachos tonight. I wish we had near beer for her but we don't. Nachos will have to be the closest thing we have to the pub atmosphere.
Life is good, we are happy! We miss you and love you all and think of you often!
Breathe in, breathe out.
Peace,
Josée
xoxo
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Arviat's newest girl's hockey team!
I'm a bit behind with my blogging and some of you might remember my idea about gathering hockey equipment I had before Christmas?!? Here's a story that I've been a part of that I want to share with all of you. Here it is:
Girls were coming up to me before Christmas, asking me to play hockey with us, but had no equipment. I sent out three emails to see what I could do about it. One of them to my great friend Kim, another one to my goalie pal Jess and one to my old hockey team in Ottawa. What a success to three emails turned out to be.
While we were in Ottawa for the xmas holidays, we had managed to gather 4 bags of used hockey equipment! That was a total accomplishment and I was so happy about it! I had no idea at the time how we were going to get this equipment up here in Arviat. I made a few calls to the airlines, but no one had really an answer for me. I heard maybe the way was to send it via train to Churchill and then fly it up with Calm Air, so I called them, but 4 bags of hockey equipment was too big of a shipment for the train. Unexpectedly, Jess's family offered to help with the shipping! They made a fews calls and managed to get not only the 4 bags we had collected, but 6 more of them shipped to Arviat! By the time the 4 bags were waiting for their take off, 6 more bags had been gathered. So in total, 10 bags of hockey gear and a whole whack of sticks, including goalie ones!!! This is way more than I had planned for. This was going to cost an arm and a leg, but whatever. I didn't really plan for anything but getting a few pieces of equipment sent to Arviat. All of this came through without any force whatsoever on my part. None at all. I couldn't believe all of this was falling into place so easily. It's amazing to watch this story unfold.
The fun and excitement of all of this is not over. About the shipping, the gear and sticks made their way from Ottawa to Iqaluit by Canadian North and from Iqaluit to Arviat by the RCMP. Cost? $0. Zero. How cool is that?!? I'm still in awe of people's generosity. I'm not surprised at all, but just in awe. Give an opportunity for people to give and they will. We all have that in us - to help others and be giving. We sometimes forget how rich we are and how much stuff we accumulate and how one little decision, like the one that the person at Canadian North made and the RCMP, the ones donating their used hockey equipment and the ones helping me out with gathering it all, can make such a huge difference in other people's lives. That's again another proof of how conncected we all are to one another.
Ok, so to recap, we have one idea, 10 bags of equipment, shipping at no cost. Now, what's next?
One day, I'm thinking to myself where's the equipment. It had been weeks since I've last heard of it. Is it still in Ottawa's airport, is it in Ranikin? Iqaluit? I had no idea where it was going to at the time or any of the details really. I called the RCMP office and they had just received the gear 20 minutes before I called! The officer had no idea who this gear was for, where it was going, or what for. I told the officer about my story and she was quite excited to hear it. They even thought of taking pictures of the gear coming off of the plane!
I went to pick it up with Damian, the recreational coordinator and he couldn't believe the amount of gear and the goalie sticks! The back of the truck box was filled with bags! He kept asking me how I managed to do all of that. he's been trying to get equipment sent up here for the last 2 years but to no avail. He waived off the registration fee for the girls, to further encourage the girls to come out and play! At the time, I had no idea how I was going to hand over the equipment or how many girls would want to play, but I did know that there were a few out there...
I put out 2 posters in town - one at the Northern and one at the Co-op stores. It said "Beginners hockey for girls/women this Sunday! Need equipment call Lisa". I had a list of 10-15 people who called me shortly afterwards. I still wasn't sure how to distribute the equipment. Was I to give it or lend it? To who? I just kept reminding myself how I got to where I was with all of this and that was not to force anything. Everything was unfolding all by itself and so that Sunday, they called, they came and there was equipment for everyone that came. I didn't back anyone down. Some didn't get to have helmets or skates, but they managed to get them on their own.
I had taken out all of the gear out of the bags and made little piles of shin pads, of neck guards and so on in the hallway of my apt building. Took pictures of that and of the girls coming in and trying stuff out. What a fun time that was. They were so giggly and excited. Not only them. Me too! Josee was part of all of this too!
It turns out that what we gathered gear to help 10 new girls from ages 13 to 16 to go out there and have some fun on the ice!!!!!!! TEN - 9 players and 1 goalie!!!! They were so pumped and still are to this day. I'll never forget the first night at the arena when everyone was trying to figure out how to put their gear on and asking me to tie their skates on, help them with their shoulder pads or to put on their jerseys. It was a night of giggles and fun on their part, a warm, fuzzy, and grateful night on my part. I was soaking every moment in and still am.
Today, we finished the practice in the dressing room talking about where we want to go, what we want to do with the team! They came up with so many great ideas - motivation, excitement, happiness is not what these girls are lacking right now. If they could start fundraising tomorrow, they would do it. Bake sales, bingos, craft sales, teen dances. One even told me that she would pay me to start the fundraising process - she's so excited. Some were ready to make cookies tonight! Some came up with the idea to rent a Bombardier and all go to Rankin Inlet or to Churchill to play against a girls team there! Some were ready to get the team together tonight to talk about our goals. Can you imagine all of this?!? It's real. It's happening. I'm pumped.
I've just realized that this is another reason why I'm in Arviat. I sometimes wonder to my self why the heck I'm here so far from what I know and those I love. Wowsers. It's all happening right now and it feels pretty darn great. I came home running to Josée telling her about this 45 minute talk with the girls. The energy in that room was so intense and positive. These girls want to play hockey, want to travel out of town and it really shows. I haven't seen this motivation since I've been here. I might have a bit, but not like this.
Ok. To recap - we have one idea, 10 bags of gear, shipping from Ottawa to Arviat at no cost. 9 new players. 1 goalie. Giggles. Sweat. Hockey. Dreams.
My next goal with all of this is to take the girls to as many tournaments in the area next year as I possibly can and to possibly take them to Ottawa and play in one of the tournaments there. All of this is possible. All of it. Even the Bombardier trip to the surrounding communities for a weekend. Some don't know how to brake yet. Some don't know what off-sides mean. A bit of basic hockey training is a must here, but they are willing to learn all of this. How fun! What a beautiful story all of this has been. Big lessons - let life tell its own story and just be there with open arms and ears and enjoy the moments.
There's the story that I have been a part of...
Dream big,
Lisa xooxoxooxoxoox
Girls were coming up to me before Christmas, asking me to play hockey with us, but had no equipment. I sent out three emails to see what I could do about it. One of them to my great friend Kim, another one to my goalie pal Jess and one to my old hockey team in Ottawa. What a success to three emails turned out to be.
While we were in Ottawa for the xmas holidays, we had managed to gather 4 bags of used hockey equipment! That was a total accomplishment and I was so happy about it! I had no idea at the time how we were going to get this equipment up here in Arviat. I made a few calls to the airlines, but no one had really an answer for me. I heard maybe the way was to send it via train to Churchill and then fly it up with Calm Air, so I called them, but 4 bags of hockey equipment was too big of a shipment for the train. Unexpectedly, Jess's family offered to help with the shipping! They made a fews calls and managed to get not only the 4 bags we had collected, but 6 more of them shipped to Arviat! By the time the 4 bags were waiting for their take off, 6 more bags had been gathered. So in total, 10 bags of hockey gear and a whole whack of sticks, including goalie ones!!! This is way more than I had planned for. This was going to cost an arm and a leg, but whatever. I didn't really plan for anything but getting a few pieces of equipment sent to Arviat. All of this came through without any force whatsoever on my part. None at all. I couldn't believe all of this was falling into place so easily. It's amazing to watch this story unfold.
The fun and excitement of all of this is not over. About the shipping, the gear and sticks made their way from Ottawa to Iqaluit by Canadian North and from Iqaluit to Arviat by the RCMP. Cost? $0. Zero. How cool is that?!? I'm still in awe of people's generosity. I'm not surprised at all, but just in awe. Give an opportunity for people to give and they will. We all have that in us - to help others and be giving. We sometimes forget how rich we are and how much stuff we accumulate and how one little decision, like the one that the person at Canadian North made and the RCMP, the ones donating their used hockey equipment and the ones helping me out with gathering it all, can make such a huge difference in other people's lives. That's again another proof of how conncected we all are to one another.
Ok, so to recap, we have one idea, 10 bags of equipment, shipping at no cost. Now, what's next?
One day, I'm thinking to myself where's the equipment. It had been weeks since I've last heard of it. Is it still in Ottawa's airport, is it in Ranikin? Iqaluit? I had no idea where it was going to at the time or any of the details really. I called the RCMP office and they had just received the gear 20 minutes before I called! The officer had no idea who this gear was for, where it was going, or what for. I told the officer about my story and she was quite excited to hear it. They even thought of taking pictures of the gear coming off of the plane!
I went to pick it up with Damian, the recreational coordinator and he couldn't believe the amount of gear and the goalie sticks! The back of the truck box was filled with bags! He kept asking me how I managed to do all of that. he's been trying to get equipment sent up here for the last 2 years but to no avail. He waived off the registration fee for the girls, to further encourage the girls to come out and play! At the time, I had no idea how I was going to hand over the equipment or how many girls would want to play, but I did know that there were a few out there...
I put out 2 posters in town - one at the Northern and one at the Co-op stores. It said "Beginners hockey for girls/women this Sunday! Need equipment call Lisa". I had a list of 10-15 people who called me shortly afterwards. I still wasn't sure how to distribute the equipment. Was I to give it or lend it? To who? I just kept reminding myself how I got to where I was with all of this and that was not to force anything. Everything was unfolding all by itself and so that Sunday, they called, they came and there was equipment for everyone that came. I didn't back anyone down. Some didn't get to have helmets or skates, but they managed to get them on their own.
I had taken out all of the gear out of the bags and made little piles of shin pads, of neck guards and so on in the hallway of my apt building. Took pictures of that and of the girls coming in and trying stuff out. What a fun time that was. They were so giggly and excited. Not only them. Me too! Josee was part of all of this too!
It turns out that what we gathered gear to help 10 new girls from ages 13 to 16 to go out there and have some fun on the ice!!!!!!! TEN - 9 players and 1 goalie!!!! They were so pumped and still are to this day. I'll never forget the first night at the arena when everyone was trying to figure out how to put their gear on and asking me to tie their skates on, help them with their shoulder pads or to put on their jerseys. It was a night of giggles and fun on their part, a warm, fuzzy, and grateful night on my part. I was soaking every moment in and still am.
Today, we finished the practice in the dressing room talking about where we want to go, what we want to do with the team! They came up with so many great ideas - motivation, excitement, happiness is not what these girls are lacking right now. If they could start fundraising tomorrow, they would do it. Bake sales, bingos, craft sales, teen dances. One even told me that she would pay me to start the fundraising process - she's so excited. Some were ready to make cookies tonight! Some came up with the idea to rent a Bombardier and all go to Rankin Inlet or to Churchill to play against a girls team there! Some were ready to get the team together tonight to talk about our goals. Can you imagine all of this?!? It's real. It's happening. I'm pumped.
I've just realized that this is another reason why I'm in Arviat. I sometimes wonder to my self why the heck I'm here so far from what I know and those I love. Wowsers. It's all happening right now and it feels pretty darn great. I came home running to Josée telling her about this 45 minute talk with the girls. The energy in that room was so intense and positive. These girls want to play hockey, want to travel out of town and it really shows. I haven't seen this motivation since I've been here. I might have a bit, but not like this.
Ok. To recap - we have one idea, 10 bags of gear, shipping from Ottawa to Arviat at no cost. 9 new players. 1 goalie. Giggles. Sweat. Hockey. Dreams.
My next goal with all of this is to take the girls to as many tournaments in the area next year as I possibly can and to possibly take them to Ottawa and play in one of the tournaments there. All of this is possible. All of it. Even the Bombardier trip to the surrounding communities for a weekend. Some don't know how to brake yet. Some don't know what off-sides mean. A bit of basic hockey training is a must here, but they are willing to learn all of this. How fun! What a beautiful story all of this has been. Big lessons - let life tell its own story and just be there with open arms and ears and enjoy the moments.
There's the story that I have been a part of...
Dream big,
Lisa xooxoxooxoxoox
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Another cold but sunny day!
Good morning,
I thought that I'd take a few minutes to write since I have not done so in quite some time. Today is a gorgeous day but it's also a frigid -51, complete with ice crystals. Yesterday was wonderful, it was finally mild enough for some fluffy snow to come down and carpet the town and the tundra. We heard reports yesterday that moose had been spotted up here. I could barely believe it. All the way up here?!?! Moose? In the arctic? Apparently it happens. There have also occasionally been deer up here as well which is even more difficult to imagine, they seem so ill equipped for life on the tundra. It's hard to understand what they eat and where they sleep. They are totally exposed to the elements out there. I guess they do just fine if they are out here. I think the deer are probably here only in the spring and summer months though but I don't know that for sure.
I am really enjoying life here at the moment. It has been really great for me since Lisa and I decided to stay for another year. It was a tough decision but a fun one to make. I've been trying my best to not create stress in my life. Instead of seeing decisions as stressful, I see them as a fork in my road and no matter which path I take, I know that good things will come. So here we are for another 544 days... Lisa counted them yesterday for whatever reason! We had a good laugh!
Yoga is going fabulously. Both for myself personally and with the classes. I am learning more and more about life with Yoga and it's been incredibly helpful. Thank you Yoga boot camp (Sivananda Yoga Ashram). Right now I am reading a lovely book called Eat, Pray, Love. I am really enjoying it. I am also reading a book called "Les Accoucheuses" which is a book about a midwife/midwives in the 1840's, 50's... It's been really inspiring to me! Speaking of midwifery...
The Wellness Centre should be ready in the next 2 weeks or so. This is great news. I need to get out of our present office. It's a windowless office with a serious overheating problem. Anyways, the new place is so bright and spacious and it's got colors on ever wall. We picked a minty green and a lavender. BEAUTIFUL! We are going to be having a blessing ceremony done by a 3 or 4 of the elders here as well as an open house so that the people from the community can come and see what's been made for them.
It's made a world of difference having another midwife (Fabienne) here. She is fabulous and we are getting along great. She is here until the beginning of May and then our friend Kirsty is coming up to work with me until sometime in August. So now we need to find someone who would come and work from July until January when Fabienne comes back. I say July so that Lisa and I can go on holiday and there will still be midwives here. These things usually work out.
We have been offered a "Honda" (aka ATV, or four wheeler) to use free of charge for the spring and summer. That means a whole lot of freedom for us. It will mean so much to us to be able to get out on the land and really experience the tundra. Now all we need to find is a shed to put the Honda in. I know we will find something.
By the way, we have posted new pictures!!!
Missing you all,
Josée
xoxo
I thought that I'd take a few minutes to write since I have not done so in quite some time. Today is a gorgeous day but it's also a frigid -51, complete with ice crystals. Yesterday was wonderful, it was finally mild enough for some fluffy snow to come down and carpet the town and the tundra. We heard reports yesterday that moose had been spotted up here. I could barely believe it. All the way up here?!?! Moose? In the arctic? Apparently it happens. There have also occasionally been deer up here as well which is even more difficult to imagine, they seem so ill equipped for life on the tundra. It's hard to understand what they eat and where they sleep. They are totally exposed to the elements out there. I guess they do just fine if they are out here. I think the deer are probably here only in the spring and summer months though but I don't know that for sure.
I am really enjoying life here at the moment. It has been really great for me since Lisa and I decided to stay for another year. It was a tough decision but a fun one to make. I've been trying my best to not create stress in my life. Instead of seeing decisions as stressful, I see them as a fork in my road and no matter which path I take, I know that good things will come. So here we are for another 544 days... Lisa counted them yesterday for whatever reason! We had a good laugh!
Yoga is going fabulously. Both for myself personally and with the classes. I am learning more and more about life with Yoga and it's been incredibly helpful. Thank you Yoga boot camp (Sivananda Yoga Ashram). Right now I am reading a lovely book called Eat, Pray, Love. I am really enjoying it. I am also reading a book called "Les Accoucheuses" which is a book about a midwife/midwives in the 1840's, 50's... It's been really inspiring to me! Speaking of midwifery...
The Wellness Centre should be ready in the next 2 weeks or so. This is great news. I need to get out of our present office. It's a windowless office with a serious overheating problem. Anyways, the new place is so bright and spacious and it's got colors on ever wall. We picked a minty green and a lavender. BEAUTIFUL! We are going to be having a blessing ceremony done by a 3 or 4 of the elders here as well as an open house so that the people from the community can come and see what's been made for them.
It's made a world of difference having another midwife (Fabienne) here. She is fabulous and we are getting along great. She is here until the beginning of May and then our friend Kirsty is coming up to work with me until sometime in August. So now we need to find someone who would come and work from July until January when Fabienne comes back. I say July so that Lisa and I can go on holiday and there will still be midwives here. These things usually work out.
We have been offered a "Honda" (aka ATV, or four wheeler) to use free of charge for the spring and summer. That means a whole lot of freedom for us. It will mean so much to us to be able to get out on the land and really experience the tundra. Now all we need to find is a shed to put the Honda in. I know we will find something.
By the way, we have posted new pictures!!!
Missing you all,
Josée
xoxo
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