Children weren't born Olympians. They were raised that way.
Adam van Koeverden was getting into trouble as school. At 13 years old, her son was highly intelligent, he challenged his teachers and provoked the school. He was a teenaged boy looking for trouble. His mother, Beata Bokrossy, a single mom, decided Adam needed some male role models. She spotted an advertisement in the local newspaper for the Burkoak Canoe Club in Oakville, Onatrio that said, "Future Champions Wanted." Adam agreed to check it out. He was hooked. Thanks mom!
Canadian Olympic Diving sensation Alexandre Despatie owes much of this success to his mom Christiane. I was lucky to spend a week with Christiane and husband Pierre here in London for the Thank You Mom program. Her energy and warmth was infectious as she shared her personal story of raising an Olympian with me.
Walking through the Olympic Mall with four moms who have kids competing at the London Olympics gave the Opening Ceremony extra meaning for me. Although I was only one of 71,000 spectactors for the Danny Boyle directed spectacular, I feel like I had an insider perspective compared to the close to one billion people who watched around the world.
There are times when you just have to take one for the team.
Such was the case yesterday when I was requested to spend an afternoon at the Wella Salon here in London to experience the pampering all the Olympic Moms will be enjoying over the next couple of weeks.
I've been keeping a secret from the Olympic Moms I've met since arriving in London this week. The big announcement was finally made last night at the big P&G Global Mom Moment Event. Fifty of the moms from all around the world who were brought to the Olympics by P&G were (finally) told that each of them would be going to the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics. OMG!!
It's my first day here and the Thank You Mom program created by P&G began with a big international press conference. Journalists from around the world crowded into the London Media Centre to hear Olympic Athlete Charmaine Crook and P&G Head Honcho Marc Pritchard officially announce the kick-off of the biggest sponsorship in the company's history.
My family and I just spent a week at Clevelands House, making it our eighth summer kicking off the summer at this Muskoka family resort. Here are a few family photos that capture the laid-back fun we had.
If you've seen this "Thank You, Mom" ad—produced by P&G—and haven't wept, your heart is made of stone. Watching these moms, from all around the world, sacrifice their time and energy to help their children excel and live their dreams to compete at the Olympics, resonates with any exhausted mother who has schlepped her kids to any number of programs, sports, dance recitals, auditions, etc.
Promoting self-esteem is incredibly important to me. It's the foundation we base our self-worth on. And it's what we, as mothers, ultimately pass on to our daughters and sons.
It's weird running a website for moms. Unsolicited packages from PR companies show up on my doorstep daily even though I'm not in the habit of doing product reviews. Occassionally one grabs my attention.
Here are a few products I had time to make, taste, test or wear.
I'm putting together the final touches on my son's busy summer. Of all the things he's going to be doing, he's most excited about attending the Take Action Academy, a week-long sleep over camp for like-minded kids who are passionate about fundraising and philanthropy to learn how to inspire others.
I'm not in the habit of doing nude photo shoots. Especially at "my age'. When my mompreneur friend Karyn Climans, helmet safety advocate and owner of Tail Wags, invited me to take it all off in support of Mothers Against Naked Riding, I agreed. I'm not an exhibitionist, especially as my once fit body is beginning to sag like an old fence. But, the underlying messages are so important I sucked it up and took it off.
Arianna Huffington is a virtual mentor of mine. Of course she has no idea who I am, but after hearing her speak at the Canadian Marketing Awards earlier this year, I felt we were on the same virtual page, so to speak.
There are a couple of airlines I adore—WestJet and Porter. So, if I experience bad customer service from either one of these airlines, not only is it frustrating, it's disappointing. There is no excuse on the planet for bad customer service. It should be part of the company's corporate culture on how they deal with their customers. For the record, WestJet continues to exceed my expectations by doing things like this for their customers.
I'm amazed how the two day conference Mom 2.0 Summit had such a profound effect on me in such a compressed period of time. The combination of being in close proximity to 300 inspired digital women mixed in with the elegance and stress-free vibe of the Ritz Carlton was a catalyst for a ton of new ideas.
For the last eight years, my family has spent a memorable week at Clevelands house, a fantastic family resort in Muskoka, Ontario. We always go the same week, as do a bunch of other families, so we've made friends with a ton of families who are also Cleve's regulars. It's our summer family tradition.
By now, you must know that I'm a self-professed rewards junkie. I'm all about getting more bang for my buck when shopping using loyalty programs. I've been a card-carrying Air Miles member since 1998 and have been upgraded to a Gold Card. I don't just collect my miles—I use them! Over the last decade I've been able to to buy gift cards, an air conditioner, flights, a television and movie tickets using my miles.
I'm not going to be coy or modest. Of all the samples of snacks, diapers, ointments and gadgets new moms at the Baby Time Show in Toronto were lining up for, I must say the best swag was given out by YummyMummyClub.ca
While not the most valuable monetarily, what YMC handed out to all the new moms who visited our booth and signed up to be part of the club, was a simple, colourful postcard with wise words for exhausted moms to live by.
After reading this blog about Shoe Porn, I was inspired to share my own. I'm kind of weird about shoes. As much as I love high heels, I just can't walk in them. I've bought a bunch of seemingly comfortable heels throughout the years, but after half an hour I'm hobbling. I call that shoe torture.
