Tag: Be The Best.

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Be The Best.

Quilt Story 2

You can see a whole movie franchise here…Quilt Story 5, The Stitcher Returns…but I digress.

You see that ‘C’ square in the quilt?  That’s a story all of its own.  Brett Dobray, one of Chris’ Langley teammates and buds, wanted to bring something to the funeral and leave for Chris.  He had his Grandma make this square with the ‘C’ for Captain and the stars.  This was an amazing thought from a young man and one that will be treasured forever.  It wasn’t planned, but I don’t think it was a fluke at all that this square ended up right beside the Iroquois Lacrosse square.  Along with Josh Beasley, Ryley Brown, Ryan Gladiuk and Will VandenHooven, Brett and Chris were all Langley boys who played together on the Bantam Team BC Box team that won a bronze medal in Ontario in 2007.  The Iroquois were amazing to watch at the tournament and many of the boys exchanged shirts and helmets to bring home a memory. Brett, I want you to know how much Chris loved playing with you.  It came down to a very basic reason.  You have a passion for the game and you want to win.

As Langley’s Midget A1 Box team and teams from around the province prepare for weekend battle at the Provincials this Saturday and Sunday, I think it’s important to think about Be The Best.  It’s really about 1+1=3.  Personally, leave nothing on the floor.  That means 110% every shift.  Then do something for a teammate…an extra hit, an extra effort on a pass, a full sprint to the bench on a line change.  It’s those little things that you do yourself (that’s 1) + what you do for others (that’s 1) that when added up make the magical 3.  Think about it.  That’s what Be The Best is all about.

Young men like Brett get it.  Leadership is not always the loudest guy in the room, it’s the loudest person through his or her actions.

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Be The Best.

7 days to write a post…about a quilt.

But it’s not just any quilt.

When one of my amazing staff members in Marketing and Communications at BCIT asked a bold question she was really putting herself out there.  She did not know how Ingrid and I would feel about creating a quilt from Chris’ clothes, but with most things involving Be The Best, she took the risk.  It didn’t take long for Ingrid and I to say that we loved the idea and we were absolutely humbled by Kim’s generosity and that of her friends and family who supported her through this incredible project.

What you are about to see is intense.  It’s beautiful.  It’s sad.  It’s incredible.  It’s powerful.  These pictures are worth a billion words. Actually…not a chance.  They are  simply priceless.  You can also read/see the quilt from Kim’s perspective on her blog. As far as we’re concerned she’s an amazing artist, a gifted quilter and someone who has given us a most incredible gift.  Thank you Kim from the bottom of our hearts.

Look closely at the edge (I’m sure it has a technical name – piping or something…I don’t want to use the real name in case you think I actually know anything about quilts…).  You are seeing Chris’ favourite jacket…that stupid black and white checkered thing he wore all the time! (Yes, I secretly liked it…)

I love this quilt.  We love this quilt.

I’ve tried to write about it for 7 days, but I couldn’t take the photos or make the movie or type the words.  Tonight I can and that’s the way it goes.  This won’t be the last post about this quilt, because each square contains a story. Who knew?  This may become a quilting blog…!  LACROSSE PLAYERS….don’t worry…there will be plenty of lacrosse talk this weekend as we check out the Provincial Championships in Mission.

For now, understand that one side of the quilt is all of Chris’ favourite shirts including Langley Thunder and Team BC.  The other side is his BMS jerseys and the jerseys of his BMS teammates that brought them to the funeral as a show of respect.

You see?  Priceless.  And I simply can’t type anymore right now.  Enjoy the beauty, because as much as it’s sad, it’s wonderful, beautiful, incredible.

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Be The Best.

New Hope, Poem Night and Robert Frost

New Hope is a not for-profit-group in Vernon that was founded by my sister Grace after she suffered the loss of her husband (my brother-in-law) Andy some 15 years ago.  Not one to back away from a challenge, she faced and formed her ‘new normal’ head on and New Hope has helped hundreds of windows and widowers (and their families) over the years.  Now remarried to a fantastic guy Steve, it is a great example of honouring your past and also not giving up on the future…far from it.

Remember ‘giving is a part of grieving’?  There’s a lot of that in Grace.  You can check out more from New Hope here.  I was on their site tonight and they had the poem from Robert Frost called ‘Lodged’ on the home page.  It is similar to Invictus in some regards and when I researched Frost’s personal life I understood why.  Wow.  He had a lot of reasons to be bitter, questioning and angry.  Instead there appears to be a quiet resolve to persevere and explore the future as the Captain of his soul.  This is ‘Lodged’ by Robert Frost.

The rain to the wind said,
'You push and I'll pelt.'
They so smote the garden bed
That the flowers actually knelt,
And lay lodged--though not dead.
I know how the flowers felt.
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Be The Best.

The One Minute Zoo

It’s been a long, sometimes tough (dare I say HOT (I’m not complaining!)) week!

I found these clips from the New Normal San Diego Adventure Weekend a couple of months back with Steve and Meggan and thought it was time for a lighter view of the world tonight.

I am pleased to release, San Diego Zoo in 1 Minute.  A gripping documentary look at 5 tourists interaction with animals (and each other) at this world renowned facility.

With tongue firmly planted in cheek, I give you The One Minute Zoo.

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Be The Best.

#32 in Denver this weekend!

A picture is worth a thousand words.  You’ve heard that before, right here in this blog.  Well take a look at this 1,000 word picture.

Chris learned so much from the Burnaby Mountain Selects program.  Their coaching and admin staff have been incredibly supportive during this time and of course these are the folks (Brent and Jeff) who coach the SFU Lacrosse team.

The news tonight is that the Burnaby Mountain Selects summer program which has teams going all over the place (New York, California, Denver etc) will be wearing the helmet stickers that you see above.  (Thanks Steve Lacoursiere and Brad Haima for rockin the original design)

They are playing in Denver this weekend.  Chris will be with you all in spirit boys!!  Be The Best.

To Joyce, Brent and Jeff, we extend our thanks for the honour of having Chris remembered throughout this season with the Burnaby Mountains Select players.  Extremely cool!

I also want to thank the many players and parents of the BMS program that so generously not only purchased the Chris Friesen lacrosse stick, but made amazing contributions to the fund in his memory.  We can’t thank you enough!!

Boys…go win some lacrosse games.  Better yet, keep learning how you can get better and listen to those coaches ok?  They are the real deal.

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Be The Best.

Vuvuzela withdrawl…really?

Ok, it’s the first Sunday in about a month without a soccer match.  That hurts.

I LOVE the World Cup along with a few billion people around the globe.  I think that is one of the big reasons I like it so much.  With American (Happy 4th of July) opinion aside, soccer IS the world’s sport and it’s fantastic to watch.  With a little Dutch and German heritage in our family, we are hoping for a Netherlands/Germany final next Sunday.

I know Ingrid’s Uncle Don is a BIG Dutch supporter and lives in Holland so we may be leaning to the Netherlands and perhaps wearing a little orange if we can get through to the finals this week.

As you’ve seen documented in this blog many times, I love sports.  Sports has also been an amazing help in getting through these first three months without Chris.  Obviously lacrosse was a MAJOR part of our lives in the past 8 years. Being able to go on the emotional ride with the Canucks this Spring and then following the Flyers (Hawks officially omitted from this blog until Canucks beat them in playoffs)  through to the Cup Final, watching Tiger implode on the golf course and off, or following the World Cup of Soccer, it is the ‘guy drama’ that keeps many of us captivated and inspired.  If I was writing a grief book for guys, there would be a chapter in there called, ‘watch sports on TV…it’s good for you’, or something like that!

Anyhoo…back to today…I am missing those vuvuzelas strangely enough.  Hold it.  There’s a BC Lions game on at 4?  Great.  Those CFL horns are a close 2nd.

Have a great week.

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Be The Best.

Fire me up

On this holiday weekend, I hope some of you are able to enjoy a campfire.  With current restrictions on fire size or fires at all, in some ways having a fire isn’t as easy as it used to be.  (yes, that did make me sound old!)

We have an outdoor fireplace with open flame that really feels like the real thing…without the effort of chopping wood.  I love it.  As the weather turns just a bit warmer, there is nothing better than to sit outside on a crisp evening and enjoy the darting flames, odd crackle and wind wisped flickers of light coming from each ribbon of blue and orange.

Here’s my fire tonight.  I often come out here alone and think or take the laptop with me and do anything from music composition editing to email.  I would also come out here a lot with the boys.  When Max and Chris heard me say, ‘let’s go have a fire’, they knew it was code for father/son chat about something!

See guys in particular, don’t care to sit down in a room and talk.  We’d rather be doing stuff.  A fire is a good distraction and gives guys something to look at and in that way you may even have more of a conversation beyond the usual grunting that us males are well known for.

In any event, this outdoor fireplace has been much more than a source of heat.  It’s been a place to think, ponder and connect with my sons.

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Be The Best.

Be The Best – Chaz style

When Chaz was over with the gang the other night, he brought over the Chris Friesen Inspirational plaque that he had won at Brookswood.  As is my nature, I documented with a photo!  This is probably the shortest blog ever, cause you don’t need to really read too much to see what this Be The Best thing is all about.  If you haven’t read Chaz’s story…read it now and then this picture will be like another 1,000 words. Be The Best.  Nice example Chaz.  Cool.  This is what we meant when we said Chris’ passion would fuel us.

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Be The Best.

Invictus (the video)

If you read the blog a week ago or so, you know the impact the movie and poem Invictus had on me.

What an incredible poem by a man who had every reason to be questioning, bitter and unmotivated for the future.

Ditto for Nelson Mandela, the South African leader, who also had 27 years of reasons to be downtrodden.

Although not a straight line forward, step by step, decision by decision the choice is made to move forward.

Invictus means undefeated, and undefeated we’ll be in the long run.

These sunset pics are dedicated to my mom-in-law Grace who loves them (and is quite an amazing photographer herself!).

Enjoy.  (note: by clicking on those arrow things under the video, you can watch in full screen)

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Be The Best.

Ok, this was last night’s blog.

Wow.

I think I went about 80 straight days and then it all fell apart last night.

What did you do without a blog?  What did I do?  Well, I fell asleep watching the Slap Chop infomercial.  I just hope I didn’t ‘sleep order’ 5 of them or something.

This may seem minor, but I wanted to blog daily through the end of June and then ease up a little through the summer.  It’s one of those things…when you have a goal and you don’t quite meet it, do you quit?  That’s how most New Year’s Resolutions end.  Miss one day of exercise (busy), miss two days (tired) miss three days (work) and you’re done.

The best way I’ve learned to change habits is a very simple technique called Do It Now, Do It Now, DO IT NOW!!

Max and Chris heard this 1,000 times.

I remember as a kid going to the PNE and signing a form with my name and feeding it into a ‘handwriting analysis’ computer.  For the late 70’s this was a big deal!  The report came back with a number of things including that I had a ‘propensity for procrastination’.  Turns out that was right…along with about 99% of the world’s population.  Most of us tend to put things off…myself very much included.

So, when I deviate from my goal or don’t quite hit the mark, the quickest way to get going is DO IT NOW, DO IT NOW, DO IT NOW.  Your ‘it’ may be different, but the result is the same.  Another great example is push-ups.  Since Chris’ passing, I’ve worked my way up to 50 push-ups per day.  I aim to do these every day, but don’t always succeed.  It is incredibly easy to forget one day, then two, then three and then look out!!  DO IT NOW is about forgetting that I’m running a little late and getting down on the floor and pounding out 50 push-ups.

Have a great Canada Day!!