Blizzards and Accomplishments

4 Comments December 15, 2015 drworobec

It was the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show last week. Not sure if you watched it, but I did, as I do every year, and this was my view:

Yes, those are DQ blizzards. And yes, I realize the irony of watching women with 2% bodyfat parade around in lingerie while downing 800 calories in a single go. And that’s why I did it. Because I am about enjoying the simple things in life, like couches and ice cream with my husband. Because I will never be a Victoria’s Secret model. Because my body-image has shifted ever-so-slightly over the years. Because I love blizzards.

I’ve written about my personal struggles with eating disorders, so this isn’t a surprise to many of you. But the surprising part to me is how my thinking has shifted away from my own struggles, and onto changing those future struggles for my daughter. As a mother, I’ve become much more aware of the images that bombard our young girls. I can now see the damage that photoshop and magazine covers and yes, Victoria’s Secret fashion shows, can do. Most of us will never be 6 feet tall. Most of us will never weigh 110lbs. And yet, skinny is still lauded and valued and praised. As is height. And blond hair. And blue eyes. And the thing is, I actually have a few of those qualities. But I don’t have the skinny. And so my body-dysmorphic thinking only focuses on that.

But instead, I have the strong.

This is a relatively new world for me. A world where strong is praised and skinny is secondary. A world where how much you can lift, how fast you can run, how high you can jump, are more important measurements than your 36-24-36. A world where you can work hard, reach your goals, and keep striving for more. Where accomplishments are calculated against your own personal bests rather than against external factors that you cannot control.

My three-year-old daughter proudly dressed herself yesterday morning. When she was done, she went running to find her big brother. “Look, look,” she squealed, “Look how beautiful I am! I got dressed all by myself!” Can you see why her statement is so magical?

Because she measured her beauty based on her accomplishment.

Brilliant. She thought she was beautiful not because of how she looked, but because of what she could do.

And I’m going to do everything I can to keep it that way.

Project Winter

2 Comments December 8, 2015 drworobec

My kids are now 6 and 3, rounding the bend to 7 and 4. Beyond the baby stage, there’s no more naps, no more diapers, no more babies in our house. And while I may or may not have cried when we took down the crib last year, I am excited for what this new chapter of parenthood brings. Enter skiing.

I grew up in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains and skied many times a year. But I wouldn’t say that it ever became a passion of mine; I do love the outdoors and the exercise and the scenery, but the actual skiing part is a medium on my list of loves. And lately, my distaste for Winter has grown. You would think that an Alberta-girl would be used to sub-zero temperatures, but my theory is that I got my quota of Winter as a child….. these days I freeze solid in November and don’t thaw out until April. “Embrace the winter,” my mother says, “there’s nothing you can do to change it.” Sigh, I’m trying.

You probably already know my views on keeping kids active, and skiing seems like the perfect way to accomplish that goal through our long Canadian winters. Plus it’s a great lifetime sport, a way to have fun together, and a justifiable excuse for hot chocolate in a ski chalet. So we’ve made the investment. My husband and I just purchased full ski gear (Merry Christmas to us!) that we hope will last for many years (as did my previous 1989 Salomons), and we plan to rent equipment for the kids for this, our inaugural ski season.

I’m calling it “Project Winter” and we’ll see who wins the battle between myself and Mother Nature. We’re embarking on the ski-family journey of two hours to get ready, three runs on the bunny hill, forty-five minutes to complete a bathroom break, and sleeping kids on the drive home. And if you see my husband, ask him about the time I left him stranded on a ledge at Sunshine Village in Banff….. on the day he proposed…..

It was a good weekend.

Leave a comment November 24, 2015 drworobec

I love school. I love sharp pencils and blank notebooks just waiting to be written on. I used to love the promise of September, of a new school year with new projects and new challenges. I have eight years of post-secondary education under my belt, and I would happily go back for more if I thought my busy life could juggle it. But that’s not in the cards for me in the foreseeable future, so for now, continuing education seminars are the “school” that meets that need.

I attended one such seminar this past weekend. It was the Royal College of Chiropractic Sports Sciences annual conference. Quite the title, no? I’ve been to this conference before, and I love it every year. This year’s theme was “Train Smarter,” and we listened to wonderful presenters like Mark Rippetoe, Christian Thibaudeau, and Dr. Andreo Spina talk about training, performance, and movement. Two days of bliss, where I could sit with my sharpened pencil and my new notebook and soak up new ways of thinking and new forms of inspiration

But you know what was the best part? You guessed it, it was the people. It was being called “Ash” and saying “remember when?”, seeing classmates I haven’t seen in years and spending time with like-minded colleagues. It was a sense of belonging in a very male-dominated field and a shared interest in all things sport and athlete and treatment and research. I love my job and my patients and my hands-on practice, and it is events like these that keep me motivated to continually improve, to learn more, to question more, to master more, to progress more.

It was a good weekend.