Home Sweet Home

2 Comments December 30, 2015 drworobec

You didn’t hear from me yesterday. That’s the first time in nearly four years that I didn’t publish a blog post on Tuesday morning. Did you miss me?

My family and I were at the mercy of the Winter storm that just swept through Ontario and Quebec, and it took us 40 hours to get from my parent’s home in Sundre, Alberta, to ours here in Burlington. It’s usually eight hours door to door.

This is what I wrote on my personal Facebook Page yesterday, and my adrenaline is still pumping:

Friends. Thank you for your concern. We are SAFE. I need to tell you about this circus because you will not believe it.

Our trip home began yesterday morning, leaving Sundre at 6:45am. In the last 30 hours we have experienced flight delays, push-backs to the gate, flight cancellations, and several trips through 60-90min baggage and security lineups. The most terrifying experience of my life was trying to land at Pearson last night- we were over the runway, past the tops of buildings when we experienced wind shear and the pilot had to abort the landing- as we rose back out of Toronto we could hear the ice pellets hitting the plane and could not see a thing through the thick cloud. Chris and I were separated, as the plane didn’t have room for us to sit together, and our sleeping children missed their parent’s terror completely.

We arrived at our hotel in Montreal at 3:30am last night and our flight today was again cancelled. There are no rental cars available. We are now at the Via station waiting for our (delayed) train and hope to be home by midnight tonight, as scheduled. We have 100lbs of luggage, two car seats, 4 carry-ons, and we have taken 8 cabs/planes/shuttles/trains. Oh, and Chris lost his wallet to spice things up a bit.

But we are SAFE. What an end to a peaceful 2015!!!

I had a full day of patients booked yesterday, my first day back after five days of Christmas vacation, and our wonderful reception team (yay Morgan, Emilia, and Jen!) stepped up to the plate for me and were busy rescheduling patients, fielding calls, and altering their shifts to accommodate my situation. They are the backbone of our clinic and I was reminded of that yet again.

You can now find me at Burlington Sports & Spine Clinic:

Today, 11:00am-7:30pm
Tomorrow (Dec 31st): 8:30am-1:30pm
Sat, January 2nd: 9:45am-1:00pm

Regular post-holiday hours resume January 4th.

And yes, I wrote this post late last night. The euphoria of being home kept me awake.

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.

One of “those people”

7 Comments December 1, 2015 drworobec

Do you have one of “those people” in your lives? One of those people who believes in you and supports you through all of your choices? One of those people who has known you from the very beginning, and has helped to influence and shape your life for the better? One of those people who you have a connection with, who is your cheerleader, with whom you feel stronger at their side? I had one of “those people” come and visit me last week. It was my Auntie Carol. And today is her birthday.

Auntie Carol lives in Alberta, and has not been to visit me for seven years, when she surprised me for my baby shower in 2008. But I see her at least once a year, when we head West, and we are in frequent communication over email. She holds such a special place in my heart, and I thought I’d take this public opportunity to share that with all of you.

We took her down to the lake, out for dinner, and to play laser tag. We went for walks, went for brunch, and went to the library. We hung pictures on my walls, made my new house feel like home, we laughed and ate cookies. We had a few chiropractic treatments, a busy four days, and not nearly enough time. It was wonderful and nostalgic and loving, and it filled up my heart.

If you’re so inclined, leave her a “Happy Birthday” comment below this blog post and make her special day even more so.

I love you Auntie Carol, thanks for coming, and happy birthday.