My Brother My Hero

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero- Marc Brown

Some of you may have read on Facebook or Twitter that my sister got married on July 14, 2012. This was my younger sister, the baby of the siblings I might add. Even though this was her second marriage, the excitement for her special day and love we have for her brought my whole family together. 

Whole family you wonder, yes all seven of us. My parents who are in their eighties and my four siblings. Well of course my little sister was there, she was the bride. So me, the bride and my three other siblings all together again. As we all get older, my little sister being forty six, making the rest of us barely hanging on to our forties and into our fifties, we realize it is harder and harder to be all together. The fact that my older sister Barb lives on the West Coast and my brother Larry lives in Calgary makes the getting together for family dinners a bit harder. And using skype on the IPad and placing it on their place setting at the table just isn’t quite the same. Punching my IPad hurts a bit more than punching my brothers arm and giving a hug to my IPad just isn’t the same as hugging my big sisters soft skin.

So whole family time (not even including kids) comes by few and far between, so we make the most of it when we are together. So when my sister announced her wedding I knew there was a good chance my siblings and I would be together to celebrate.

The wedding day came and went without a hitch, well there were a few minor hiccups, but what event doesn’t have a few. Besides no animals were hurt during the production so all was good! Unless you count the actual dinner then yes, some animals did sacrifice for the carnivors in attendance. Me being one, yes I love my meat!

The bride looked radiant, the groom had a glossed over look in his eyes, the ceremony was lovely, the meal was delicious, the entertainment (Free Ride) was fun, cousins reconnected and my siblings and parents were together again.

Of course like all weddings, we stayed up too late, hollered too much, danced til our feet hurt and perhaps enjoyed the free bar a little too much! I’m just guessing on the last one, but when I saw my oldest brother Richard wearing a t-shirt the next day, that said “Rum Pig” I kinda thought that may be the case.

The next day, oh that will be the day we remember more so perhaps than the wedding itself. The Sunday after, my little sister bless her heart, planned a gift opening, entertaining day. So with about thirty five people in her big beautiful house in La Salle, pizza, chicken, salads and taco chips abundantly being consumed, with Elvis – yes I said Elvis just starting his first set, everyone was enjoying yet another family filled day.

My dad after filling a plate with food walked into the living room and placed himself beside a fellow he’d just met, but both were discussing how good the Elvis impersonator was. It was at that point my dad lost his sense of wear he was standing, took a step back onto what he thought was floor, however he stepped backward over the stairs with no flooring to put his foot on. I was in the family room farthest away, while my brother Larry stood across from me in the large open kitchen area. 

I saw my brother move quickly to the living room but from where I was the room was out of view. Suddenly the music stopped and I heard “someone just fell down the stairs”. Without hesitation and  now thinking about my brothers sudden dash, the thought of my mother (because of her lack of mobility) laying at the bottom of the stairs came to mind.

Shocked I was to see my father laying helpless, not breathing and my brother Larry doing a finger sweep of pizza and false teeth. It was amazing to me to see how calm Larry was. He knew exactly what needed to be done to clear my dad’s airway and once opened, rolled my dad onto his side in the recovery position. An ambulance was called and dad taken to hospital for xrays, ct scan and a three day stay. 

Dad has no broken bones, but a bruised back and tailbone to go along with his bruised ego. My brother Larry saved my dads life by his quick actions, truly being a hero. Larry is an unassuming guy, that goes through life doing what needs to be done. 

Larry has had a few high level strategic positions in the telecommunications and oil and gas industry. But it was his last position with a start up company that let him go, “to take the company in another direction” that hit him the hardest. He gave his heart and soul.

He bides his time these days, doing a lot of house work (while my sil works) and a lot of fly fishing. He found his true love and passion, creating his own flies, teaching kids about fly fishing and being on the streams for hours, to see which of his homemade flies work the best.

His patience, love for the outdoors, his experience of the hellish corporate boardrooms, and his new found passion, have shaped him into the man he is today. Oh and the fact he saved a mans life!  I think he should definitely write a book as he surely has a story to tell from boardrooms to fly fishing! To saving his own dads life. 

I aspire to be half the human being my brother is, my brother, my hero! Oh he doesn’t know it yet, but my sister Barb and I have already titled his book, “Hooked”.  He just has to write it and I can’t wait until he does. My whole family will be first in line for our copies. His journey will no doubt touch all of us and bring growth to everyone’s body, mind and soul!

Just remember Larry, dad is eighty one this year and mom is eighty six, so take a pen and paper along on your next fishing trip! 

Take Action - Exercise!

The other day I followed up with one of my clients. I asked how her last week was, how often she got to the gym and how often she followed the exercise plan I set out for her.

Well her answer really didn’t surprise me. She commented, she just doesn’t have enough time in the week. Aaaack I feel like banging my head against the wall sometimes when clients who have come to me to loose weight, feel healthy and get fit, don’t walk the talk. She said getting healthy is a priority but she isn't making the action a priority.

Oh yeah, lots of people are at the stage where they know they need to take charge and make changes, they verbalize all the right things. Its just the action phase they can’t perform, yet they know no one else can make the changes for them. They’ve fallen off track and can’t find their internal voice or haven’t looked deep enough to find the internal voice. 

Part of the problem is their diet is poor and lacks the proper nutrients to help energize their body. Part of the problem is that exercise has not become part of their lifestyle. Exercise is something you do to loose a bit of weight, fix a problem with a muscle or joint according to them.

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Exercise and healthy eating MUST become part of a lifestyle, part of your routine. Just like brushing your teeth, putting on cloths, doing laundry, eating, etc, we do sooooo many other things automatically why isn’t exercising one of them? Lots of those other behaviours we do infinitely. People need to understand exercise is an infinite behaviour. It is vital to living a long life and a healthy, strong long life.  And who doesn't want that. 

So one of the tools I like to use is a calendar. A visual to place on the fridge right beside the kids schedule of activities. Its YOUR calendar of activities. I don’t know about you but I can’t remember nor do I want to try and remember all the things I have planned. So I use a calendar! Schedule your workouts, just like everything else. And ya there will be times when self talk that you don’t feel like working out. But thats when the true you needs to step up to the plate because you know how good you’ve been feeling since getting back on track with a healthy lifestyle. How much more confidence and happy you are. You are proud of the accomplishments and personal growth you’ve done.

You know exercising and healthy eating is a life long positive habit. Don’t talk about starting, just do it now. Change your lifestyle, no beginning, middle or end. It’s an infinite way of life. If you don't know how to get started talk to a personal trainer, a friend who exercise regularly, family member who will support you.

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
– Mark Twain

I’m 49 years old, stronger and more fit and healthier than I’ve ever been. I've been on the unhealthy, overweight side. I know how much work you need to do, to face fears, to struggle to learn to love who you are. Age has nothing to do with your abilities. Always challenge and always grow. This is a lifestyle, change yours and I guarantee you will never look back! Awaken your body, mind and soul!