Against All Odds

This is a little crazy but in a really good way, but mom entered a music video contest several weeks back and won first prize in her division. How cool is that? What makes it all the more rewarding (yet astounding) is that she finished in while in the throes of the worst flu of her life and during the coldest days of the season. I exaggerate not. It was a really mild winter this year but on the days that we filmed her video the temps dropped, for the first time, well below zero. More like 10-20 below. It was freezing, and we had to brave the bitter cold to film the video outside.

If that wasn't bad enough, two weeks before the deadline, when the last of the filming and all of the editing needed to be done, mom managed to get herself out of bed, work the camera and then edit the film. The kids helped out enormously, and I held down the fort with the domestic duties. At some point, feeling as awful as she did, I think she just wanted to finish it and be done with it, and who can blame her? She submitted it at the deadline and we all moved on with our lives, though it's worth noting that mom never does things halfway. Even when in the throes of a horrible illness, she always does a stand-up job. It's just the way she is.

They announced the winners at CATV in a big ceremony, but we couldn't make it. Mom still wasn't feeling 100%, and we all had other things to deal with, mainly hockey and work. She got an email a few days later informing her that she'd won first place. It was a nice event amongst the chaos that's been our lives, and believe me, our lives are sheer chaos.

I was incredibly stoked for her. The reality is, she did a great job. I watched the video and was very impressed with the creative vision and editing. I'm also proud of her for finishing what she started when it would have been completely reasonable and understandable to throw in the towel and give in to illness. Not for our mom.

Another reason why we love her so much. Thanks for reading, and thanks to grnybeanie for the pic.