One click. One vote. One torch.

Leave a comment December 19, 2014 drworobec

I usually publish my blog posts on Tuesdays. But, you see, this is not a usual week.

I was just notified that I’m one of twelve finalists nominated to carry the Pan Am torch as it makes its run through Burlington this Summer, en route to Toronto for the 2015 Pan Am Games. I can’t think of a cooler opportunity. My friend and neighbour, Marnie, sent in a nomination unbeknownst to me, and here I am, excited about the impossible becoming possible.

Pan Am news is everywhere in the GTA. Commercials abound, billboards are popping up, and the buzz is growing. This is kind of a big deal. Toronto 2015 is only the third time in 85 years that these International Games have been held on Canadian soil. Right in our own backyard.

And it’s exactly the type of thing I love. I’ve been to the World Track & Field Championships, three World Junior Hockey Championships, and a College Bowl game. I’ve cheered at more NHL, CFL, MLB, NBA, NLL, and MLS games than I can count. I plan family outings around sporting events, I time my holidays around races, and I nearly knocked over Mike Weir on the fairway of a PGA event (true story). I am a sports-based chiropractor, I married a Phys Ed teacher, and my kids know that fitness is a part of life. I believe that grassroots minor sports are windows of opportunity, growth, and dreams. I live and breathe this stuff, it’s what makes me tick, it’s what makes me me. Passion? Nope. It’s more than that.

Sport is community. Sport is health. Sport is important life lessons all rolled up and condensed onto a playing field.

I’m a fan. I’m an athlete. I’m a mom raising fans and athletes.

So I am turning to you, my community. I am hoping for your support, asking for your help, tugging at your heart strings, requesting your vote. One click. One vote. One torch.

Please VOTE here: http://cms.burlington.ca/Page14733.aspx#.VJN5nrgYU

With my humble thanks,

Ashley

Come and Visit Us

4 Comments December 16, 2014 drworobec

I’m going to get a bit sentimental, a bit nostalgic, and a bit festive. Let’s talk Christmas cards.

I have strong memories of my mother sitting down every December to write out personalized Christmas cards to a huge circle of friends and family. She would sit at the kitchen counter with her address book, her pen, and her stamps, and very thoughtfully and deliberately write a note in each one. Sometimes a Christmas letter would be printed, summarizing our year for those we didn’t see often, and a family picture was always thrown in the mix. As a young child, I remember my dad fiddling behind the tripod to get the right shot, and as a surly teenager, my patience would wear thin with try after try.

But, as with most things, you don’t realize that memories are being made until they are already a part of you. So as December rolls around, my own Christmas card clock starts to tick. My list has grown over the years, and I now send more than one hundred cards, either through the mail or hand-delivered. I’ve got my spreadsheet, my address book, and my envelope-sealing husband; we’ve become a finely-tuned assembly line of Christmas cheer. I send them as a way to keep in touch; a real, personal, from-the-heart touch in this world of email/Social Media immediacy. Christmas cards are my annual way of sending a hug across the miles and a you’re-important-to-me message through the mail.

With a childhood in Alberta, school friends all across Canada, and backpacking friends overseas, my postage order is colourful and diverse. This is my way to reflect on my life, cultivate my community, build my village. My cup runneth over.

This year, the message on our card reads “Come and visit us.” And I mean it.

To my friends overseas, I hope to see you soon.

To my friends across North America, the guest room’s open.

To my friends in Burlington, pop-bys are welcome and the coffee is on.

To my family and friends in Alberta, I miss you.

Come and visit us.

Happy holidays from my family to yours!

Christmas Presence: A Poem

4 Comments December 9, 2014 drworobec

I don’t have a blog for you, this week’s a cheesy poem.
I’m writing this one by the dim light of my phone.
It’s late in my house now, and I’ve been busy you see,
Hiding Elf on the Shelf and making Christmas cookies.

I’m finding it tricky to balance it all,
With the stress of December and the trips to the mall.
My son, almost six, wants Thor and a sword,
And I’m not big on weapons, please help me, oh Lord.

My daughter, she’s two, and she wants just one thing:
A pink kitty necklace and its bright sparkly bling.
Don’t forget about parents, and yes there’s my hubby,
Nieces and nephews and stockings to make chubby.

And there’s holiday cards I get made with our pics,
I send more than one hundred, lots of envelope licks.
And then there’s the tree and of course Christmas lights,
My decor is less homey, more cheery and bright.

I have written blogs lately, on weight belts and my run,
On concussion and movement and of course on my hun.
On school kids and snatches and on being 35,
It’s true, after that one, my email’s on overdrive.

But if I’m being honest, I’ve been quite distracted,
I’m in the business of magic and my time’s been impacted.
You see this year I’m Santa, and the magic is planned.
My kids believe fully and they truly understand.

I’m in the midst of those years that are few and are priceless,
Where if we don’t leave out cookies there could be a crisis.
They see Christmas miracles in the simplest of stuff
And of holiday carols they can’t get enough.

So I’m drinking them in and I’m soaking them up,
Their gifts are very few but our outings fill their cup.
Because it’s presence, you see, that is a gift all year through
Not presents in December that will have to make due.

So take a walk down the street and link arm in arm,
Tell your honeys you love them and they’ll keep you warm.
I wish for you family and happiness and friends,
This holiday season and right to the end.