So many losses to cope with

Shaylyn is only 26. She experienced miscarriages and lost multiple friends, relatives, and pets starting in 2012.  The losses continued and just kept on building with 8 souls lost in 2019 alone. She was working through it her way but in the back of her mind she knew some help may allow her to move towards a better quality of life.  She put her thoughts out there asking the universe for some assistance when she saw a bus ad “Got Grief?” and the phone number to register for the RDPCN Grief program.  She immediately called to register for the program and is very glad that she did.

One of the valuable lessons that she learned was not to feel any anger or resentment to the person who passed. She could be mad at the situation they left her in but not mad at the person. She found comfort in the class exercise of writing a letter to the person lost and then writing a response from them. It felt like she was receiving comfort and support, and this helped her shift to the positive. She also realized she is a caregiver, but she needs to take some time and care for herself and give herself some time to work through all of this. She gained knowledge on how to do this.

Overall the Journeying through Grief program helped her to get on a more positive path. She realized how resilient she is and how she can move forward with her life. She gained self-confidence and can now walk away from non-constructive conversations. She learned it is okay to ask for help and okay to be vulnerable. The program gave her space to express what she was feeling and give in to her emotions. Often people don’t know how to be around you during your time of loss but having experience communicating with others in similar situations in the program gave me the practice and confidence that I needed to move forward. Shaylyn says, “I would highly recommend Journeying through Grief to anyone with loss in their life.

Self-care series: Lift your mood

A Small, Important Opening

Chances are pretty good that all major-league sports and some of the lower-profile ones will manage to complete partial 2020 seasons despite growing signs that COVID-19 will not give up without a long and continuing fight for dominance over sports and all else in today’s world.

Experts and observers of all athletic and public disciplines agree, however, that nothing is certain: baseball players are opting to stay home; basketball players express discontent and confusion every day; the NHL waffles over naming so-called hub cities for a wacky playoff proposal that continues to raise more questions than answers.

In the midst of all this uncertainty comes one simple burst of optimism: the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame will welcome the public on Thursday, 98 days after the rampaging coronavirus pandemic forced closure of the building on the edge of Red Deer on March 16. It is fair to concede that reopening a small-city building warrants little public interest when compared with the billions involved in professional sports, but it’s also reasonable to accept that every step of progress in this deadly world-wide struggle is worth recording.

Although none of the $302,000 committed to the Hall in the current provincial budget has been received – a $75,000 commitment has been made but no cash has appeared and a review is already promised for later this year – executive director Tracey Kinsella said some pleasant things have been achieved during the lockdown.

“We have been extremely busy giving our Hall of Fame an update,” she smiled. “Our goal is to improve the entire experience for our visitors from the moment they walk in the door.”

Cleanliness was, and is, essential in the reopening. Sanitizers, directional signs and plenty of obvious messaging are part of the opening, of course. There is no plan for an opening ceremony, Kinsells said. “We would like to do something of a celebration, maybe later in July.”

At one time, fingers were crossed that induction of the 14 members selected several months ago but “we had to decide (last week) that there will be no induction banquet in 2020. We’ve had to tell all the inductees that we’re having to wait until next year.”

The list includes four athletes: skier Deirdra Dionne, hockey player Chris Phillips, chuck-wagon racer Kelly Sutherland and snowboard-cross star Michael Robertson. Five builders – Jan Ullmark, figure skating; Terry Morris, curling; Ken Babey, hockey; Derek Douglas, soccer – were selected along with five Hall of Fame Award winners Nancy Southern and Ian Allison (equestrian broadcasters, Bell Memorial Award), John Currie (Western Canada Summer Games 1983, Achievement Award); Stan Wakelyn (1922 Canadian soccer champions 1922, Pioneer Award); Dennis Kadatz (coach of Edmonton Huskies national junior football champions 1962-64).

Those awards show clearly how broad is the effect of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame. Every winner spent years working and practicing toward the world’s most elusive goal: perfection. There is no suggestion that it was reached, just as there can be no hint that they have inspired thousands to follow them.

Discussing the government’s failure to live up to its contracted financial commitment, Kinsella was not especially critical: “We’re sad, disappointed, maybe a little alarmed.” During a lengthy discussion, she finally confirmed receipt of the government’s letter providing the limited amount and mentioned “I’ve asked for meetings, have not had a direct, face-to-face conversation with anyone in the area of culture.”

My unsolicited opinion: this is unreasonable. As the Hall opens its doors, perhaps a government department should also open up.

Learn more about the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

Our sports history has value