Your world completely shifts The days are long The weeks, months, and years are gone in a flash I can’t I can’t you scream and you do anyway It’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done Time is precious, moments are precious Life is simple Show up Big emotions, big hugs, little I love you, little I miss you Be gentle, be calm, teach them love, teach them boundaries, be everything but just be you Will that be enough? Be calm through the storm as your body wants to thunder and lightening along with the wind and rain Be gentle as the volcano erupts around you when your mind feels like…

I recently decided to go hiking with my 17month old baby girl and my dog solo for the first time since having her. As a family, we have done multiple hikes yet I have not gone alone with my little one and dog. Hiking has always been a massive part of my life, a passion I developed as a child. I love being outdoors. For awhile after my baby I attempted to do everything that I was doing before having her; honestly it was really hard. I got pretty burnout with it. I took a major step back started focusing on getting through each day overall it made my life…

By the time I was pregnant with Emma, I had been running marathons for over five years. My zen time, the time I can focus simply on the physical body and simply let my thoughts flow in and out is when I am running. The best part of the marathon distance, and I have said this before is the fact you need to put in the effort. You need to be consistent. The knowledge if you do not put in the miles you will not be able to finish keeps you heading out the door. Once I was pregnant I assumed that I would be able to keep running throughout…

I had been planning to do the Juan de Fuca hike with my friend since last summer. We originally planned to go with both our husbands and potentially another couple as well. Now everyone expect my husband works shift work making organizing a trip was next to impossible with everyone conflicting, overlapping schedules. However, with a stroke of luck, I ended up getting pregnant last summer and having our sweet baby girl Emma in January. We now only had to find a time that worked for both my friend and her husband, as I would be on mat leave and my husband could take vacation. I knew that imy parents…

Holy Smokes! You think you know what labour will be, a general idea of how it is all going to go down. Well, it’s a dam good thing you don’t actually know what you are getting into beforehand, I don’t think anyone would have children, or at least not be terrified to go into labour. Okay let’s back up slightly, that is a little dramatic. For me it was not this beautiful zen process that some women have, it sucked. The end result is amazing and the body truly is an incredible organism. It literally does exactly what it needs to do, which in my experience was not exactly pretty…

You hear all the stories of pregnancy, anything from it is the most magical experience of life to raging hormones, weird cravings and complete loss of control of your feelings and logical emotions. Well, so far I have found that it has been somewhere in the middle and most things you read leave with just as many questions as to when you started looking for answers. There is a lot left up for personal interpretation and hoping for the best, there is no clear road. The first trimester I spent most of the time being anxious, trying to talk myself into the fact everything was progressing in a healthy and…

I have recently embarked on a new adventure. I have started working with The Lady Alliance. The Lady Alliance (TLA) is a group founded by Kieren Britton with the goal of using the outdoors and mental wellness to bring confidence and community to women. It focus on collaboration instead of competition. My role with The Lady Alliance is to be the Calgary Chapter Coordinator. As the chapter coordinator I plan and run free events once a month. These events can be things like the hiking, running, climbing, yoga, wellness talks or as simple as getting together for coffee or drink. In addition to these monthly meet up, the global section…

One of my closest friends is back working at summer camp in Ontario this summer. I recently sent her a care package by snail mail and it reminded me of the reasons camp is so important. Camp has always been a huge part of my life. It has truly been one of the biggest, if not the biggest influence on my life. The events I experienced and the people I meet have shaped me into the person I am today. I was eleven years old when I started going to YMCA Camp Chief Hector. It was introduction into a uniquely and exquisite new world. It was not instantly sunshine and…

When you are old enough to know better, but young enough to do it anyway. When we think of summer, that one, maybe two or three summers come to front our thoughts. They stay in our minds as the best summers ever. When I think of summer, three particular summers come to mind. The first two were back to back summers right after high school. They had the similar vibes and represent the same ideas and feelings. The third summer occurred last year, one year after I got married. Each of these were turning points in life weather I knew it at the time or not. The first two summers;…