Honestly, it's about time I got started. Introducing myself, point-blank in front of an empty computer screen..... not easy for a techno-dummy like me! Not that your very own Wong is exactly tongue-tied! Ha! Ha! :)
So, here goes. I'm Nadine Lauzon, 34, your Kili colleague Mélanie Lauzon's twin sister. I'm a single mother with an extraordinary 14 year old son. When I'm not ferrying him to basketball, baseball or guitar lessons, I divide my time between three jobs. I've been an auxiliary nurse at St-Eustache Hospital for 9 years, a foot-care nurse in three homes for the elderly and, finally, a self-employed massage therapist. Let's just say I'm an unmedicated hyperactive or - quite simply - VERY, VERY, INSECURE!!! Joking aside, I really like diversity, being a Wong of all trades and I'm always looking out for something new.
Sure, thanks to good management, I still find time for the small pleasures of life. I do lots of cycling - a sport I rediscovered 5 years ago - which does me the world of good. I walk regularly in the beautiful spot where I live - the air is so pure... I also ADORE Karaté which I discovered 2 years ago. I'm not Mr. Myagi, but I manage quite well :). Last, but not least, there's dancing which was part of my childhood and adolescence and still thrills me as much today.
So why Kili? Easy! It goes back to 2003 when I returned hooked on poor and forgotten places from a humanitarian mission in Haiti. I wanted to return but to another destination - Africa of course. I longed to explore it and I even went to a travel agency for some information. I was thinking of going with my son when, one day, my sister announced that she was joining a group from work on an expedition to Kilimanjaro! It didn't take much for me to join. WHAT A GREAT WAY to celebrate our 35th birthday - give ourselves the highest peak in Africa. Yahoo! Obviously, I hadn't planned on going there exactly and so soon but - I took it as a sign not to let such an opportunity pass and I decided to do something just for me ...
You know, in everyday life, being a single mother means wearing a lot of different hats - accountant, administrator, disciplinarian, cook, housewife, taxi, friend, doctor, etc. You end up forgetting yourself, losing yourself in the role of mother. I lost sight of Nadine the child, the woman, the great dreamer whom I loved and missed terribly. In 2004, I ended up in a wheelchair after an accident. The wheelchair has been put away but, since then, I desperately need to prove to myself that I can take on such a challenge. I need to get rid of all the labels - functional limitation, severe physical restrictions, 40% physical incapacity, bla,bla, bla - that the doctors and all the others gave me.
Climbing Kilimanjaro is an ideal occasion for me to face a very personal challenge. It's also a dream - my old dream of going to Africa. But, above all, I hope it will help me to find Nadine, the child, the woman, the dreamer who were lost for far too long. I want to get to the summit of Africa and be able to say "Hey you. Heavens, but I've missed you". (Even if I'm sure that my first words are more likely to be "***** MY FEET HURT *****"!!!!)
This is for you, my Kili gang - I love you so much already.
"BY THE WAY, HOW ABOUT AN ICE-CREAM? LOL!!!".
Wong xxx :)
So, here goes. I'm Nadine Lauzon, 34, your Kili colleague Mélanie Lauzon's twin sister. I'm a single mother with an extraordinary 14 year old son. When I'm not ferrying him to basketball, baseball or guitar lessons, I divide my time between three jobs. I've been an auxiliary nurse at St-Eustache Hospital for 9 years, a foot-care nurse in three homes for the elderly and, finally, a self-employed massage therapist. Let's just say I'm an unmedicated hyperactive or - quite simply - VERY, VERY, INSECURE!!! Joking aside, I really like diversity, being a Wong of all trades and I'm always looking out for something new.
Sure, thanks to good management, I still find time for the small pleasures of life. I do lots of cycling - a sport I rediscovered 5 years ago - which does me the world of good. I walk regularly in the beautiful spot where I live - the air is so pure... I also ADORE Karaté which I discovered 2 years ago. I'm not Mr. Myagi, but I manage quite well :). Last, but not least, there's dancing which was part of my childhood and adolescence and still thrills me as much today.
So why Kili? Easy! It goes back to 2003 when I returned hooked on poor and forgotten places from a humanitarian mission in Haiti. I wanted to return but to another destination - Africa of course. I longed to explore it and I even went to a travel agency for some information. I was thinking of going with my son when, one day, my sister announced that she was joining a group from work on an expedition to Kilimanjaro! It didn't take much for me to join. WHAT A GREAT WAY to celebrate our 35th birthday - give ourselves the highest peak in Africa. Yahoo! Obviously, I hadn't planned on going there exactly and so soon but - I took it as a sign not to let such an opportunity pass and I decided to do something just for me ...
You know, in everyday life, being a single mother means wearing a lot of different hats - accountant, administrator, disciplinarian, cook, housewife, taxi, friend, doctor, etc. You end up forgetting yourself, losing yourself in the role of mother. I lost sight of Nadine the child, the woman, the great dreamer whom I loved and missed terribly. In 2004, I ended up in a wheelchair after an accident. The wheelchair has been put away but, since then, I desperately need to prove to myself that I can take on such a challenge. I need to get rid of all the labels - functional limitation, severe physical restrictions, 40% physical incapacity, bla,bla, bla - that the doctors and all the others gave me.
Climbing Kilimanjaro is an ideal occasion for me to face a very personal challenge. It's also a dream - my old dream of going to Africa. But, above all, I hope it will help me to find Nadine, the child, the woman, the dreamer who were lost for far too long. I want to get to the summit of Africa and be able to say "Hey you. Heavens, but I've missed you". (Even if I'm sure that my first words are more likely to be "***** MY FEET HURT *****"!!!!)
This is for you, my Kili gang - I love you so much already.
"BY THE WAY, HOW ABOUT AN ICE-CREAM? LOL!!!".
Wong xxx :)
Translated by Pamela Gauvin
