Of future, snow, skates and Olympic opening ceremonies
Last Thursday, my son was watching an episode of "The Backyardigans" where they were talking about an avalanche, showing it in the form of a big snow ball rolling downhill... Since that is all kinds of wrong, I thought I would correct this misconception from the start and show him what a real avalanche is. So there we go, hopping on YouTube. I showed him one big avalanche... He was completely enthralled. When the first video was over...
"More! I wanna see skate!"
Indeed, there was a snowboarder featured in the avalanche. My son doesn't know how to call it, but he knows enough to know that it glides like skates... He also quickly understood how to handle YouTube. Indeed, soon after, he was mastering the art of clicking on the next video, how to turn the sound up and down, and he kept hopping from video to video. Here is where "Parental guidance" takes its whole meaning: I cut out the crazy stunts videos and the injuries videos. He's 5.5 years old, does he absolutely need to see people with blood pouring down their face? I don't think it's an absolute must to his immediate education. It might be educative when he's older, though... *wincing*
He watched several snowboard videos, videos of avalanches, some of them over and over again. He was simply fascinated by the snowboarders and the figures they were making...
Why am I not surprised ;-)
Knowing his sense of balance, as well as his general and ongoing need for movement, I just know he will be attracted by sports where agility and balance are master keys. Therefore, chances are it will also be risky. Can anyone tell me that snowboarding, for example, is a totally risk-free sport? Uh huh, didn't think so.
Now the question lays before me... Should he show aptitude and talent for a risky sport, will I support and encourage him or will I fear for him too much to let him try? The question is not right under my nose just yet. However, it's definitely heading my way.
It's heading my way on a snowboard, maybe?
* * *
My years of figure skating are long gone. I finally gave up my skates this spring.
The leather was wearing traces of intensive use. The blades were worn down, they have been sharpened so many times that there was almost no sharpening zone left on these blades. They were not the most awesome blades ever, but each blade was worth 150$ back in 1979, and that's without the skate shoes. They were awesome skates.
If the blades were worn down, that's also because of the type of sharpening I was using. I had been using a #3.5 sharpening, like everyone else in the figure skating club. I remember the warm-up stroking, practicing the routines and the jumps... The blades couldn't handle the sharp turns and the pressure I was putting on the blades. I got fed up and decided to crank things up a notch. I remember the other skaters freaked out when I demanded a #4 sharpening... "Are you crazy?? You're gonna break an ankle!!! You're not gonna have that #4." And I replied "Watch me." I got the sharpening, despite the coach trying to prevent me (she even called the sharpener... but I called him too!). It was the sharpest sharpening ever done in the Club. One of my team mates decided to it after... She resent her skates right back for a #3.5 sharpening, she kept falling because it required too much leg muscles.
...Which I had, at that point. After being forced to stop running and climbing stairs (I had some kind of knee infection, and ended up with kneecaps of 1 inch of diameter...), I could finally start figure skating again. I remember the first night I came back. A certain team mate came up to me and said "Aaaw... That's just too bad. You're never gonna be able to catch up with us now, are you..." and turned around, giggling and almost high-5'ing with some of her friends about her snarky comment.
Thanks to her, though. When I needed a quick and dirty source of motivation to rebuild my leg strength or to keep pushing when I was exhausted, I looked back at that moment.
The final and most important competition rolled by, held at the end of the season. That same team mate kept bragging, before the competition, about how she could barely stop herself from making double jumps when the judges only required simples. I went to her and told her to be careful not injure herself, because falling on a double was trickier. She thought I was being sarcastic. I wasn't. She truly couldn't stop the rotation and I knew it, but she was trying to cover it by pretending it was deliberate. Combination for an injury.
Indeed, she fell for that very reason. Luckily, she didn't hurt herself too much, though her ankle was a bit sore after. I felt some sense of cosmic justice there but it didn't make me happy. I knew how it felt to be at the receiving end of sarcasm, and if I didn't, she would have taught me. When my turn came, I pulled everything together. I felt no pressure, just this little extra awareness and focus. I was ready. I had trained hard for this and I was ready.
I climbed the highest step of the podium with a gold medal.
I'd say that's not too bad of a coming back :D
* * *
Thanks to the Internet, my son and I watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games tonight. There were moments that brought tears to my eyes, other moments where I raised an eyebrow, but the overall and lasting impression is amazement.
Throughout the ceremony, from the very beginning, the diversity was at the heart of it all. The four hosts first Nations welcoming everyone else was a very nice touch. I felt grateful for my own ancestors.
The violin has definitely its place here. It opens with a legend of what we call the "Chasse Galerie", with the Devil playing the violin on the tune of Loreena MacKennit. Then, violin players came in to shake up the place, and that they did! Ashley MacIsaac rocks! :D
There's a part that sticks with me. It's not the most shiny one, no... The guy is alone, standing on a square of prairie in the middle of the blue. The prairie starts rolling under his feet and he starts walking, and then pacing up, and then starts running and running faster until he takes of and starts flying. The song that plays is haunting. And every time he lands, another patch of field appear. And he takes off again and again... Fly, fly, fly...
My son's favorite part was when they rose the mountain in the center of the stadium and had skiiers and snowboarders go up and down on it, with images of past victories flowing on the mountain, as skaters started to pour in and skate in circles around the mountain. "Skates!!" he shouted, watching with his eyes wide open, like the world had faded around him...
When the mountain dropped to the ground, a single man was standing on the central podium. And he started... "Define Canada." The rest is just so beautiful... For USA viewers, here is the link. Luke (my significant other who lives in the US) watched it and sighed: "That's how United States used to be..." I don't know, I didn't know much of the States back then. It must have been more than a decade ago, though.
Then she came, in her white suit. Oh. My. God. I was blown away by K.D. Lang's interpretation of Leonard Cohen's "Haleluia". Holy poop on a stick it was powerful! Pure, sheer awesomeness, delivered like a punch to the heart.
I was disappointed to see it was not Ginette Reno singing the last song before the flame appeared. She's the one who sang it first. Her voice is totally core shaking. Sorry for Garou, maybe it was the nerves, maybe he had a cold, I don't know what it is, but he butchered an otherwise completely awesome song.
The homage paid to the athlete who died on Friday morning was done with dignity, and without trying to make a big media show out of it. Kudos. The minute of silence actually lasted almost one minute, for a change... It usually lasts about 15 seconds (I know, I count.). Again, kudos.
So, I was very moved by the opening ceremonies. It was meaningful, rich, with multiple flavors and paces...
I felt home, and I felt this home had an open door on the world. An open door that says: "Welcome."
"More! I wanna see skate!"
Indeed, there was a snowboarder featured in the avalanche. My son doesn't know how to call it, but he knows enough to know that it glides like skates... He also quickly understood how to handle YouTube. Indeed, soon after, he was mastering the art of clicking on the next video, how to turn the sound up and down, and he kept hopping from video to video. Here is where "Parental guidance" takes its whole meaning: I cut out the crazy stunts videos and the injuries videos. He's 5.5 years old, does he absolutely need to see people with blood pouring down their face? I don't think it's an absolute must to his immediate education. It might be educative when he's older, though... *wincing*
He watched several snowboard videos, videos of avalanches, some of them over and over again. He was simply fascinated by the snowboarders and the figures they were making...
Why am I not surprised ;-)
Knowing his sense of balance, as well as his general and ongoing need for movement, I just know he will be attracted by sports where agility and balance are master keys. Therefore, chances are it will also be risky. Can anyone tell me that snowboarding, for example, is a totally risk-free sport? Uh huh, didn't think so.
Now the question lays before me... Should he show aptitude and talent for a risky sport, will I support and encourage him or will I fear for him too much to let him try? The question is not right under my nose just yet. However, it's definitely heading my way.
It's heading my way on a snowboard, maybe?
* * *
My years of figure skating are long gone. I finally gave up my skates this spring.
The leather was wearing traces of intensive use. The blades were worn down, they have been sharpened so many times that there was almost no sharpening zone left on these blades. They were not the most awesome blades ever, but each blade was worth 150$ back in 1979, and that's without the skate shoes. They were awesome skates.
If the blades were worn down, that's also because of the type of sharpening I was using. I had been using a #3.5 sharpening, like everyone else in the figure skating club. I remember the warm-up stroking, practicing the routines and the jumps... The blades couldn't handle the sharp turns and the pressure I was putting on the blades. I got fed up and decided to crank things up a notch. I remember the other skaters freaked out when I demanded a #4 sharpening... "Are you crazy?? You're gonna break an ankle!!! You're not gonna have that #4." And I replied "Watch me." I got the sharpening, despite the coach trying to prevent me (she even called the sharpener... but I called him too!). It was the sharpest sharpening ever done in the Club. One of my team mates decided to it after... She resent her skates right back for a #3.5 sharpening, she kept falling because it required too much leg muscles.
...Which I had, at that point. After being forced to stop running and climbing stairs (I had some kind of knee infection, and ended up with kneecaps of 1 inch of diameter...), I could finally start figure skating again. I remember the first night I came back. A certain team mate came up to me and said "Aaaw... That's just too bad. You're never gonna be able to catch up with us now, are you..." and turned around, giggling and almost high-5'ing with some of her friends about her snarky comment.
Thanks to her, though. When I needed a quick and dirty source of motivation to rebuild my leg strength or to keep pushing when I was exhausted, I looked back at that moment.
The final and most important competition rolled by, held at the end of the season. That same team mate kept bragging, before the competition, about how she could barely stop herself from making double jumps when the judges only required simples. I went to her and told her to be careful not injure herself, because falling on a double was trickier. She thought I was being sarcastic. I wasn't. She truly couldn't stop the rotation and I knew it, but she was trying to cover it by pretending it was deliberate. Combination for an injury.
Indeed, she fell for that very reason. Luckily, she didn't hurt herself too much, though her ankle was a bit sore after. I felt some sense of cosmic justice there but it didn't make me happy. I knew how it felt to be at the receiving end of sarcasm, and if I didn't, she would have taught me. When my turn came, I pulled everything together. I felt no pressure, just this little extra awareness and focus. I was ready. I had trained hard for this and I was ready.
I climbed the highest step of the podium with a gold medal.
I'd say that's not too bad of a coming back :D
* * *
Thanks to the Internet, my son and I watched the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games tonight. There were moments that brought tears to my eyes, other moments where I raised an eyebrow, but the overall and lasting impression is amazement.
Throughout the ceremony, from the very beginning, the diversity was at the heart of it all. The four hosts first Nations welcoming everyone else was a very nice touch. I felt grateful for my own ancestors.
The violin has definitely its place here. It opens with a legend of what we call the "Chasse Galerie", with the Devil playing the violin on the tune of Loreena MacKennit. Then, violin players came in to shake up the place, and that they did! Ashley MacIsaac rocks! :D
There's a part that sticks with me. It's not the most shiny one, no... The guy is alone, standing on a square of prairie in the middle of the blue. The prairie starts rolling under his feet and he starts walking, and then pacing up, and then starts running and running faster until he takes of and starts flying. The song that plays is haunting. And every time he lands, another patch of field appear. And he takes off again and again... Fly, fly, fly...
My son's favorite part was when they rose the mountain in the center of the stadium and had skiiers and snowboarders go up and down on it, with images of past victories flowing on the mountain, as skaters started to pour in and skate in circles around the mountain. "Skates!!" he shouted, watching with his eyes wide open, like the world had faded around him...
When the mountain dropped to the ground, a single man was standing on the central podium. And he started... "Define Canada." The rest is just so beautiful... For USA viewers, here is the link. Luke (my significant other who lives in the US) watched it and sighed: "That's how United States used to be..." I don't know, I didn't know much of the States back then. It must have been more than a decade ago, though.
Then she came, in her white suit. Oh. My. God. I was blown away by K.D. Lang's interpretation of Leonard Cohen's "Haleluia". Holy poop on a stick it was powerful! Pure, sheer awesomeness, delivered like a punch to the heart.
I was disappointed to see it was not Ginette Reno singing the last song before the flame appeared. She's the one who sang it first. Her voice is totally core shaking. Sorry for Garou, maybe it was the nerves, maybe he had a cold, I don't know what it is, but he butchered an otherwise completely awesome song.
The homage paid to the athlete who died on Friday morning was done with dignity, and without trying to make a big media show out of it. Kudos. The minute of silence actually lasted almost one minute, for a change... It usually lasts about 15 seconds (I know, I count.). Again, kudos.
So, I was very moved by the opening ceremonies. It was meaningful, rich, with multiple flavors and paces...
I felt home, and I felt this home had an open door on the world. An open door that says: "Welcome."