Author: Judy Kucharuk

A Date with Aurora

Judy Kucharuk

%22The sky can dance for all of us – we simply need to allow it to happen%22.

What happens when an adventurous Miami medical student taps “Best places to watch Northern Lights in British Columbia” into the Google search engine on her laptop? Well……many blogs and websites and tourism links pop up, but in this young woman’s story, the location name that caught her interest was Dawson Creek.

Meet Amanda Barnes: a 27-year old Miami medical student who is soon to be finished school and focusing on her OB/GYN specialty. I met Amanda at the Dawson Creek airport as she checked in for her Hawkair flight to Vancouver and she was more than happy to share her unique experience of traveling over 4000 miles (approximately 6400 km) to see something that many of us take for granted: the Aurora Borealis.

Why Dawson Creek? It was simple, when she saw that Dawson Creek was listed as a location where the Northern Lights can be visible, she discovered that there were flights from Vancouver. Vancouver was going to be her first pit stop in Canadian adventure so it worked perfectly!

“Oh, so you have friends in Vancouver?” I asked.

“Yes…I mean no…I mean yes” she said with a laugh. “I did not know anyone in Vancouver when I arrived, but I did know a Torontonian who I called and asked if she knew anyone in Vancouver that I could meet up with”.

At this point I might have snorted with laughter because Toronto is a long way from Vancouver and I know we Canadians are friendly but we don’t automatically know everyone and that was funny.

Surprise, surprise! Her Torontonian friend DID have friends in Vancouver and of course she would introduce them to each other via long distance.

Now my interest was fully piqued and I leaned against the counter to get comfortable for what was promising to be a very cool story.

Amanda flew from Miami to Seattle where she boarded a train to Vancouver. I can imagine that the lush greenery of the Pacific Northwest mentally juxtaposed with the sand and surf of Miami in her minds eye would be mind-boggling.

This intrepid young woman spent a few days in Vancouver and did indeed meet up with her friend of a friend and subsequently fell in love with Canada.

On December 31st, Amanda boarded her Hawkair flight to Dawson Creek in search of the natural wonder Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) also known as “Dawn of the North”.

There was no guarantee that the sky would dance for her during her stay in Northern British Columbia. As she told her story I realized that it was her infectious joie de vivre and optimism (combined with a wee bit of adorable naiveté), which prevented her from thinking about the real possibility that her journey might be for naught.

Dance Aurora! Dance!

And they did dance for Amanda: a command performance.

The northern cheek of the heavens,
By a sudden glory kissed,
Blushed to the tint of roses,
And hid in an amber mist,
And through the northern pathway,
Trailing her robe of flame,
The queenly Borealis
In her dazzling beauty came!
(excerpt from the poem Aurora Borealis by May Riley Smith)

Driving 10 minutes from town, the Miami student was thrilled by the epic wonder of the aurora as the waves of light magically moved across our northern sky.

Amanda showed me some of the photo’s she managed to capture on her iphone and indeed they were spectacular.

AmandaNorthernLights
Amanda Barnes proudly showing one of the many photos she snapped of our Northern Lights in Dawson Creek

“I want to move here” she said with a giggle.

“Please do…..we need doctors here” and I laughed and then said more seriously, “No….really we DO need doctors here”.

After Amanda boarded her flight of the first leg of a long journey home I began to reflect.

What an amazing young woman, so full of enthusiasm for life. Willing to take a giant step into the unknown and revel in the wonder of what she encounters and experiences during her journey.

We should all resolve to be like Amanda – wide-eyed and optimistic, manifesting goodness and gratitude.

The sky can dance for all of us – we simply need to allow it to happen.

Happy New Year 2016 – Love Judy

 

Fat and 51

Judy Kucharuk

Gawd last week sucked. Not only have I turned another year older, crossing over to the dark side of 50, but also I didn’t get a job that I felt was a perfect fit for my qualifications.

So after kicking myself over an obviously stupid answer to at least one of the questions, I emailed the interviewer, “where else did I go wrong?”

The explanation was that there were many qualified applicants, myself included, but that I was up against tough competition and didn’t quite make the cut.

I can handle that……I guess. It’s tough to be told that you are no longer at the top of your game and no longer a first choice. I have never applied for something that I didn’t feel with every confidence that I would be the successful applicant. I don’t try something with an expectation that I would fail. That isn’t narcissism; it is being smart about where I expend my energy.

So I was surprised, but otherwise okay with the outcome.

Until I began to think about it and then I felt like I was hit in the gut with a sledgehammer.

Reality check.

I am 51, applying for a job where there would long days on my feet. Add to that equation that I am about 30 pounds overweight and……I probably wouldn’t hire me either without wondering, “is she up to it?”.

It feels weird to judge myself like that, but it is a fact of life.

Is it fair? No…it’s not fair.

Will this be my future now? Am I no longer a “viable candidate” because of my age? Am I not worth investing time and energy into because I am potentially 15 years from retirement?

Am I supposed to give up on my dreams or career aspirations because it’s “all downhill from here?”.

It is horribly depressing isn’t it?

There are definite perks to hiring someone my age. I’m not going to get pregnant that’s for sure, nor am I going to need time off when my kids are too sick for daycare.

Is it because you didn’t feel that I would fit in with your work culture?

So, where do I go from here? Well, I can’t do anything about the date on my birth certificate, but I can do something about the number on the scale. So….I work focus on that and see where it takes me.

I know that I am not at the top of my game right now, especially physically. Have I been “phoning it in?” at life?

Maybe this is the kick in the pants that I need to make some life adjustments.

Stay tuned……

 

Sleep is Underrated

Judy Kucharuk

“I don’t need that much sleep, I can get by on as little as 4 or 5 hours each night”

That statement seems to be standard opening when an uber successful individual is interviewed about the secret to their success.

I have always wondered, “Would I be more successful if I got up earlier in the morning?”.

The past couple of weeks I have tried an experiment. The experiment was to set my alarm for 4:30 a.m. and see how much I accomplish each day if I could manage to rise early each morning. Normally I wake up at about 6:30 or 7:00 and it feels like half the day is gone by the time I finish drinking my coffee or checking my Facebook status.

I am in the final stages of finishing my book and I really wanted to be able to go on a book tour and say something to the affect of, “”I wrote between the hours of 4:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. when the sun had not yet risen and the world was asleep”. Of course I imagine that I say that with an English accent a la Downton Abbey.

Every night this week I went to bed with my alarm on my Ipad set for 4:30 a.m.

Every morning I woke up with the Ipad beside me after swiping snooze 3 or 4 times until I finally turned it off.

4:30 a.m. is really early…..I mean….it is middle of the night early.

The house is chilled and everyone else is sleeping (everyone else being Bob and the two dogs). The whole point of waking super early is to get something done, but if I accidently wake them up, then it will ruin my experiment.

I need not be too concerned, because I could not manage to drag my butt out of bed all week. In fact, last night I went to bed at 8:30 p.m. because I was so tired after an entire week of interrupted sleep. I figured, “Ah ha….I’ll bet I will wake up at 4:30 without even setting the alarm”, but no…….I slept until 6:30 this morning.

So screw that damn experiment.

Weather Oneupmanship – A game we play in Northern Canada

Judy Kucharuk

#winningAnd so it begins……the game of weather oneupmanship played by Northern Canadians

“We got about 3 inches of snow last night”
“Really? We got at least 4 at our place”
“Well, the 3 inches we got drifted across the highway making it seem like it was worse”
“Yeah? The 4 inches of snow we got was followed with freezing rain”
“Hmmmmm….we got freezing rain FIRST, THEN the 3 inches of blowing, drifting snow”
“Wow….well, MY car barely started”
“Really? Hmmmm……thankfully I have a big heated garage”

Game – Set – Match

Standing at the Edge

Judy Kucharuk

There is a feeling of helplessness following the attack in Paris. I read it on social media, I hear it in voices.

Is it anger or is it fear?
Simmering below the surface
Growing with every beat of the heart
Every pulsing synapse of our brain
Creating a feeling of helplessness
Standing at the edge
Forward sends us into the swirling world of hate
Backward is a memory book of suffering
So we remain in place, paralyzed by impotence
Tears falling, a burgeoning pool of cynicism growing beneath us

By Judy Kucharuk

What is lurking in the shadows……

Judy Kucharuk

The lights are on, but nobody is home……and that is okay

Gosh it gets dark early now. Winter is coming and our hours of daylight are getting fewer and fewer. By 6:00 p.m. we are blanketed in darkness and if you are still at work or out of town, chances are that your home is dark as well.

The other evening I drove home and paid specific attention to how dark it was in our City. Houses completely dark – not one light on.

We have to get serious about protecting ourselves from crime and that begins with something as simple as lighting. Today….go buy yourself TWO new exterior bulbs – one for your front door and one for your back door.

Next step: TURN THEM ON WHEN IT IS DARK

Energy Efficient bulbs use a minimum of power so if you know that you won’t be returning until after dark, perhaps just leave the light on. (Here is a handy guide to assist you in purchasing the best light = highest lumen for your front door).

I know that this goes against everything we have been taught regarding conservation of power, but we have to be more thoughtful about the consequences of shrouding ourselves in darkness.

Why make it easier for criminals?

Next budget item on my list is a light timer for my exterior lights.