I started this post on February 14th. If you would rather watch this post in a vlog, click here to watch it on my YouTube channel.
It was 15 years ago that I took a trip that changed my life. Since I was a child, I dreamed of going to the Olympic Games; first as an athlete and later as a spectator.
I had been on trips before, but this one taught me the magic of synchronicity and the importance of following our dreams. I almost didn't go to the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. I'm so grateful I did. There were challenges to overcome but in the end, the trip could not have been more magical.
For this Revive25 in 2025 mini-project, I will combine the photos and blog posts into a photo album. Leading up to the Vancouver Games, the Canadian Olympic Committee talked about "Owning the Podium". They wanted to win the most medals at the Games. I didn't want thirty silver and bronze medals. I wanted (at least) one gold medal. I didn't want to be known as the country who had not won gold on home soil and we did it twice, in 1976 and 1988.
On February 14th, 2010, I couldn't believe that I was at Cypress Mountain witnessing Alexandre Bilodeau win the first gold medal for Canada at home. So I am using this anniversary as a nudge to revive the photos and blog posts I wrote at that time and preserve them in one place.
Blogger may not always be there, so printing the blog posts is one way that I am preserving them. I am so happy I wrote the stories because there are details I would have forgotten.
Along with reviving the 2010 memories, I also want to connect them with other Olympic-themed moments I experienced since then. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Vancouver Games, my husband and I went to Vancouver and Whistler. We were thrilled that they lit the cauldron on the anniversary of the Opening Ceremony.
We then visited Cypress Mountain and went skiing in Whistler where we took photos of many Olympic rings.
Other moments I wanted to connect were visits to Olympic host cities. In the 1990's, I visited Calgary Olympic venues and in 2014, we were coincidentally in Montreal when they lit the cauldron during the 2014 Olympic Games.
By connecting these moments together, it gives the stories more meaning. It also gives me hope that I will continue to experience more Olympic-themed moments that I can enjoy, capture and preserve.
The Creative Memories albums I make are 60 pages. My 2010 memories took 32 pages, so there is almost half the album to connect my other memories.
It took me longer than I thought to put the photos and blog posts in the album, but I'm happy it's now preserved and can be enjoyed for decades.