S is for Skating

When I was two, all I wanted for Christmas was a pair of skates. When I got downstairs on Christmas morning, I saw the little package waiting for me. I opened up the box and... there they were: my first pair of beautiful, white, shiny figure skates! When my mom took me out to the out door rink, the minute I set foot on the ice, I was in a magical place. I could feel the ice beneath my new blades, the wind blowing on my face, and the people around me weren't there. It was just me and the ice. I loved it so much and I begged my mom every day to take me. I was so happy when they told me I was going to take lessons! Little did I know I was going to make a lifelong commitment...

When I started lessons, I was so excited! My parents put me on the ice and... it felt different. The ice beneath my blades felt scratchy, the wind felt cold and unfriendly, the people around me were menacing. I cried and cried for a long time. The coaches and Program Assistants (PA's) didn't know what was wrong with me. They had known me a long time and knew I loved skating. My mom came and tried to soothe me. It was like this for weeks. Little did they know it was only because of my worst enemy, the Zamboni, that was supposedly going to eat all of us up! My heroes were the PA's. I saw them in the halls, all big and tough with their cool bags and double jumps. They helped me when I fell and when I cried. They had a feeling I was going to be a success. Now, ten years later, I am skating on the same ice as them. They remember when I was little and can't believe how much I've improved. I still love it as much as I did when I was two, and my parents can't believe that I'm not sick of it.

One of the things that make me love skating are my friends. Whether we are happy, sad, mad, or our parents are yelling at us, we are always there for each other, lending a shoulder to lean on. We are like sisters from another mister. Everyday, when I wake up at 5:30 in the morning, I just think of seeing them and chatting with them in the change room (no talking on the ice!). We do so many things together. As I'm writing this, I am waiting for my friend to call me back so I can go over. We go to movies, have last-minute sleep-overs, help each other with homework, and encourage each other at competitions. As you can probably tell, we are all very much alike.

The first thing I did when I met one of my mom's friends, Krista, was jump into her arms. I remember saying "Krista!" and then she was hugging me. Krista Coventry was my first skating coach who was hard on the ice, but like my big sister anywhere else. Everyone we saw thought she was my big sister and we'd just nod our heads and then crack up about it in the car. I tell her everything; who I like, who I can't stand, what I love about skating, what I don't like about skating (not that there's much of that!) and if I want ice cream or not. Sadly, Krista is going back to University so she can find another job, so now I have changed coaches. One tradition that I love is having Krista over at Christmastime and making a gingerbread house with her. We have so much fun even if the house slides down as we're putting the last gummy on. We just push it back up and lick the icing off our fingers as a celebration for another great gingerbread house! 

Skating is all about accomplishments. My biggest accomplishment is going to sectionals three times in a row! I loved the thrill and how much I had to work to get up there! It was an amazing opportunity to go there. I will never forget the minute I looked at the sheet of paper that had the word "PASS" on it when I tried my qualifying test the first year. I called my coach up and told her, because she was at a meeting so I had my other coach with me. Everyone was so proud of me, but not as much as Krista, who worked hard with me before she had to stop coaching.

My favourite thing about skating are the competitions. The thrill, the hard work, the medals, are all great opportunities. Okay, maybe that was a lie. My actual favourite thing about skating is the ice show we put on every year. I love performing, the cheering crowd, the disco ball making pretty lights all over the ice, and especially the spotlights. I am a true performer, so I guess that's why I love ice show so much. Just this year, I celebrated my fifth solo in the ice show. Only the people who have either gone to sectionals, or to finals in an invitational competition get a solo. In my case, when I was eight, I was advanced fro my age, so I was asked if I would like to do a solo. Of course I agreed the minute I found out. I was so ecstatic about having a solo at eight and I am still overjoyed about it at thirteen.

I love everything about skating and I am very proud of my accomplishments. I hope to continue skating for years to come or at least become a coach one day.

Life Lesson: Hold on to your dreams and have faith in yourself.

I commented on: Hayley's blog.

M is for Maman

A mom is like a guardian angel, who is right there beside you, in the good times, and bad

They are there when you are happy, as well as when you are sad

They watch you from afar

To help their shining star

Grow up to be the best adult they can be

So they can be free.

My mom is special to me

A treasure only I can see

To tell my secrets and stories

And to share all my glories.

Sometimes I may be sad

Or I did something bad

So my mom is my diary

And my secret fairy

Who helps me with my sorrows

And tells me all the pro's

About how being bullied makes me stronger

And one day I will wonder

Why I cried over them.

It's fun to hang out with a girl just like you

To talk about things

That I wouldn't tell you

We make some tea and snacks

And we just chat

About what's new.

When I was little, I used to be scared

Of the dark, of the sun and of giants

But my mom sang to me, so I was prepared

To go in my room and sleep

She would cuddle with me until I could sleep

And she still does as a habit

And for my fears yet today.

My mom and I do a lot together

She is also my personal shopper

In rain or snow

You should know

We are at the mall!

We shop and shop

And then we drop

At home watching a movie

Getting nice and comfy.

My mom is happy

My mom is grumpy

My mom is here

My mom is there

Her mood is good

And if she could

She would keep it that way

And we could just play

But it doesn't stay

So we can't always play

But thats just the way everyone is

It's the way life is.

When she's mad

It makes me sad

But later on

We are playing in the front lawn

Everything is fine

Talking under the pine.

She is special and kind

She is smart and I find

That my mom is the best in the world

And I am the luckiest girl

I am happy and glad

And nothing seems bad

But when our family is together

In any weather

We are not complete

Unless my mother is in her seat.

Life lesson: Instead of thinking of the bad things about your mother, focus on the good things, that's what I did, and look at all of them!

I commented on Lyndsey's blog.

L is for Luc

You must be wondering who the dude with the awesome French name Luc Renaud is. Four words: P. A. P. A. My Papa!

P: Perfect

A: Amazing

P: Personal Chauffeur

A: Awesome!

My favourite thing about him is that even though he's hit the big four-oh, he acts and looks like he's only about thirty. When I say that, I mean he plays with us without being embarrassed, and super fit. We love to fool around with him and he is a big joker. He was the one who taught me how to play ultimate Frisbee, soccer and volley-ball. Even though he has begged me many times to play hockey, he supports me in my figure skating. 5:30 am: "Emilie! Wake up! Skating!" 6:00 am: "Run another lap! Come on! You can do it!" 6:15 am: "Emilie, time to stretch!". Well, it goes on and on and on! Whenever I have either a competition or a test, he is in the stands cheering me on, and whenever I am warming up, he warms up with me! As you might be able to tell, he is my biggest fan.

I'm very proud of my daddy because he is almost a true runner! He runs at least every other day! In fact, he runs almost every day! I'm sure you all think that he is just running around the block or something, but do you know what? He actually runs up to 16 km! He is training to run in the Chicago Marathon in the fall. We are all really proud of him, because a year ago, we would have never believed that he would do this. He was definitely not in shape at all, and he had a snack pack, which turned into a six-pack really fast!

Like most dads, my dad has a job. Not anything crazy like a mad-scientist, but a normal one that he really enjoys. "An apple for the teacher..." yes, my dad is a teacher. He began his career nearly 18 years ago in Woodstock Ontario. Since he lives in Guelph, Woodstock was too long of a commute. After teaching there for all of 6 years, my dad found a job in Guelph, so he could be closer to my mom and me, because I was just born. Sadly, the first school he taught at in Guelph wasn't very welcoming. Let's just say, after one year, he left and promised my mom that I would never go there. Because he had been teaching middle-school kids for at least 7 years, he wanted to move on. He teaches in a high school, and still loves it. Everyone says my dad is a great teacher, and I truly believe it. A number of young teachers look up to him as if he was the Sydney Crosby of teaching.

"Hello! I'm your chauffeur..." my dad is also my personal chauffeur. He drives me everywhere I need to be. Whether it's to skating, dance, piano, singing, tennis, camp, a sleepover, parties, skiing, school... oh, you get it; everywhere! And to top that off, he has to drive my sister everywhere too. We spend a lot of time in the car, as you can see, so we can really talk and get to bond.

I love my papa, and hope we stay together for ever and ever!

Life Lesson: Slowly I'm learning from my dad that kindness and compassion can get you through everything in life.

I commented on Jamie's blog.

K is for Keyboard

I know you probably think I'm talking about a computer keyboard, but you will be surprised that I'm actually talking about one of my passions: the piano.

When I was only three years old, my mom really wanted me to start playing piano. I think the main reason she wanted me to start was because her and my dad are not musical whatsoever, so she made sure that someone in the family was musical. She brought me in to see this lady, called Leslie Wyber who founded the Guelph School of Music (GSM). When my mom first approached her, Leslie was apprehensive taking on a three year old. After our first trial, Leslie was taken by me and my love for music.

After seven years of taking piano lessons with Leslie, I was pretty darn good for my age. One day, Leslie told my mom that she was going back to university to get her teacher's qualifications so she could become a teacher. At first, when I heard the news, I told my mom that I wanted to quit because no one was as good as Leslie. Boy was I wrong. Leslie recommended a nice Russian/English teacher with the name of Leila Simpson, so we decided to try her out. Her different personality, gentleness and different techniques make her an amazing teacher as well.

"Please welcome pianist, Emilie Renaud!" My favourite part about piano, is PERFORMING! GSM is pleased to welcome all musicians and parents who are in the GSM family to come and enjoy a few recitals during the year. We have a magical Christmas recital and a fun spring recital. I love having the spotlight on me and play in front of an audience. It's fun working super hard for that one day for one little minute and feeling my fingers move, as practiced, with many people enjoying the music I am making! It's truly a wonderful feeling. The spotlight shines on me again at the Kiwanis Festival in April. This one is actually competitive with adjudicators who judge the class, give us a mark and provide comments on our performance. On one hand, it's sort of nerve-racking but on the other hand, it's thrilling to compete. I love the competing part because I am a natural competitor.

My least favourite thing about piano is the practicing. I have to practice 30 minutes every other day! I also have trouble practicing properly. I get lazy and I don't practice the way I was taught to practice. When my mom and I argued over how to practice, I could have been practicing properly. I regret not listening to my mom at times because I could have learned how to practice the easy way, but instead I decided to learn the hard way. I also discovered that shortcuts in piano end up taking you down the wrong path.

I love playing the piano. Even though my dream isn't to become a pianist, I hope that I will continue playing for the fun of it.

Life Lesson: I'm slowly learning that persistence pays off in the end.

I commented on Hayley's blog.

H is for Holidays

Holidays! Our crazy family tends to go overboard on holidays. We love to have big gatherings with our extended family on my mom's side.

Without a doubt, our biggest holiday is Christmas. Parties, parties parties! Our poor little house nearly collapses when we have our street Christmas party! We need to prepare tons of appetizers and buy many drinks because our neighbours come and all they do is chat, eat and drink. For me, the most thrilling party is our pot luck get together with our neighbours from our old street. It entails a theme pot luck (some previous themes have been Italian, Japanese, fondu and one year all appetizers) We sing, dance and play all night! Well, not all night but still pretty late.

On Christmas Eve, nothing is more magical than having the whole family on my mom's side together, singing Christmas carols. My little cousins leave out milk and cookies for "Santa" and it's so adorable when they wake up and say: "They're gone! I think Santa liked them a lot! Look! He brought us presents!" Then we all wait and wait for our parents to get their coffee so we can finally open our presents. Our family of 17 nestles at a different place every year. We rotate between our house, my aunt Danièle's house in Montreal, my aunt Jenn's place, and my grandparents' condo in Toronto. We look forward when it's their turn to host, which is every four years, because they take us away for a week somewhere down south.

For Easter, we either all gather at our house, or at our grandparents' place in Toronto. When I say "we", I mean all 17 of us. We do the traditional "Easter egg hunt" and of course, I do it for the delicious chocolate! For my sister and I, Easter usually falls close to our birthdays which is in April. We do something else, totally unrelated to Easter on Easter Monday. We host our "Annual Skate and Donate!" Instead of having a traditional birthday party and asking for presents, we ask for donations for the "Masai for Africa" which is an AIDS clinic in Africa. We have raised over four thousand dollars in four years! We invite everyone we know to come skate for an hour and a half, and join us for cake and hot chocolate after.

Thanksgiving is not as much of a big deal for us. Of course other families would think it's a lot of work, but comparing to Christmas, Thanksgiving is barely a lift of our pinky finger. We cook a nice turkey feast and that's it that's all for the work. To me, Thanksgiving is walking in the leaves, sipping hot chocolate, sitting around the table with my family eating turkey, a nice relaxed little break from our daily lives. We go around the table telling each other what we are most thankful for in our lives.

I love holidays! When I am older, I hope to continue the holiday tradition with our extended family because not only does it turn out great, but it's lots of fun!

Life Lesson: Life is short, do the most you can while you can; go overboard on holidays!

J is for Jenn

Jennifer Anne Sahadeo Harrison is one of my favourite people in the world. No, she is not an imaginary friend, she is my aunt and godmother! She is SUPER JENN! Since I was little, I've called Jenn "Jenny-boy" because her hair was short but now it's long and luscious!

When I was born, I was the only grandchild. My mom only has two sisters. Imagine the dilemma picking between her only two sisters. So, long story short, my mom being my mom found an unconventional solution. I ended up with two amazing godmothers and no godfather. Lucky them! Jenn and Danièle (I call her DaDa) both won the prize of being my godmothers.

Never having the pleasure of having a godmother live in the same city as us, imagine my happiness when Jenn told us they were moving into our hometown! They even invited me to look at houses with them! I loved the little house they picked, it looked just like a cottage! Of course, just like any fairy-tale, there has to be an ending. The street they lived on was a peculiar street with-let's just say the setting wasn't very child-friendly. So, they found another nice house but nothing can compare to my little cottage-house. One advantage about their new place is that it's right around the block from our house! We visit Jenn a lot and they drop-in often. In fact, they decide to invite themselves in for dinner quite frequently. We don't mind-we love playing with her two little boys, Sam and Max. Once, for her first's baptism, she told my mom "Oh, by the way, we're using your house for the after-party." Yes, it was last-minute but it worked out great.

What's that? I see my aunt pulling up in a yellow Volks-Wagen Beetle! But, oh wait! It's Pikachu from Pokemon! You see, my aunt worked for Nintendo when I was about four years old. How special! We loved going in the "Punch-buggy" with her and I felt like a queen, visiting her employees. Sure, Pokemon and video games aren't my favourite, but it was still fun and was the envy of all my friends who did lover Pokemon.

One of the things I love most about my aunt Jenn is her personality. She makes me laugh because of her great sense of humor. We bond like two peas in a pod which makes it easy to chat with her.

Life Lesson: Sometimes two is better than one.

I is For Isabella

One memorable day on March ninth 2009, an angel was born... Isabella Rose. Isabella is my adorable, sweet, loving, cute, smart, pretty little sister. Well, for now she is. Just kidding!

I have two sisters: Olivia and Isabella. Isabella is so smart for her age. Some words she can say(some are in french): gotcha, that's it, casquette, n'a pu, click, papa, mama, Emilie (sounds more like Memimi), baby, uh oh, ahaha, tap-tap. She is so smart! It melts my heart when she sings Justin Bieber songs. She knows her future brother-in-law! Her version of his song Baby is "Bebe bebe bebe ooooooooooh, bebe bebe bebe ooooooh!" Cute is an under statement.

My mom and her sisters are still very close and all the cousins are very close because of that relationship. I'm actually typing this in Montreal at my cousins' house right now! I hope to have a great relationship with Isabella and Olivia in twenty or more years from now so that our children can be close as well; that if we are on the road going somewhere, we can drop in anytime, any country, any city.

So far, Isabella and I are very close. No, not in age, because she is twelve years younger than me! She looks at me like I was her little mother, with those eyes sparkling with love and happiness. When we are older, I hope to drive her to parties, practices, sleep-overs and other activities she may do. I also hope she will trust me to do her hair and makeup and take her shopping sometimes.

We don't want to fight too much because my dad and his brother fought when they were little, and now they don't have a great relationship. Sure, we might disagree a tiny bit, but too much! After all, all sisters pull their older sisters' hair! :P

Life Lesson: Love your siblings, even if they do pull your hair.