Moment of the Year by Moira Lassen
My most memorable moment of 2011 is not one single moment but rather a memorable reaction to a moment. I had just arrived back home in Ottawa and was recovering from jet lag after twenty-five hours of travel, a two week stint of meetings and acting as President of Jury at the Junior World Championships in Malaysia.
I was typing my Jury President’s report and the phone rang; it was my Mother to advise me of the devastating news that my Dad had just passed away. I was alone. I didn’t understand what she was telling me as my mind still felt like it was at 30,000 feet and what little brain function I did have was focused on weightlifting reports, updates, and committee to-do lists.
How could this be, two weeks earlier on the way to the Junior Worlds, I visited my parents in Victoria, BC and everything was fine. The rest of the day is still rather blurry in my memory, although I do know, later that day, after a five hour plane ride I found myself safely in the arms of my family at my parents home; sadly, with the patriarch of the family missing.
Very early the next morning, as I sat alone, very sad and very jet lagged, while all others slept, my Blackberry started buzzing. Word was out that I had lost my Dad and I was receiving many heartfelt messages from around the country and all over the world. As I sat alone, that early morning, with tears welling in my eyes, I realized once again, I was safely tucked in the arms of my family; my weightlifting family.
My Dad always delighted in the stories my daughter, Jeane and I shared of our weightlifting travels and he and my Mum attended many regional and national competitions including 1999 Pan Am Games and 2003 World Championships. Although, he never participated in the sport, soccer (football) was his game growing up in Scotland; he was a huge supporter of the sport of weightlifting. The sport has lost a very big fan!
So my most memorable moment of 2011, although, very sad, felt very comforting with the arms of my weightlifting family around me.
Moira Lassen
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