I'M GOING TO TORONTO

Can I just say, 

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

 

 This pretty much sums up my reaction when my Fiance came home the other day and handed me a piece of paper with my name and "VIP Ticket" printed underneath it.

Why Toronto? For the Roller Derby World Cup but of course! This competition is the first of it's kind in the Roller Derby world. For you non-derby folk, this is basically like the Stanley Cup, on roller skates. Teams from all over the World will be making their way to Toronto, with the competition running from December 1-4.  Tryouts for Team Canada were held across the country from May-July, and with the roster being announced August 5th, I'm super proud and stoked to say my own sister, Gunpowder Gertie from the Belladonnas in Red Deer Alberta, made it!

The World Cup is being hosted by Blood & Thunder magezine.

After getting past my initial,  omg I get to see my sister play! OMG I get to see BONNIE THUNDERS, my hero from Gotham Girls Roller Derby in New York, play! AHHHH!! My second thought was the baby, what about the baby?! To which I was told, "we'll just take her with us".

With us?

On a TWO day drive just to get there? Through the states? In WINTER?! My ecstatic feelings came to a screeching halt and my new mom anxiety kicked in. Simultaneously, the small part of my brain that has remained somewhat sane since childbirth, then took over and said, "why the fuck not?''. I'm constantly having to remind myself that life does not stop just because you had a baby.

I hear from other parents, and people who are just generally terrified of the idea of having children, "Isn't life just SO different now?", or better, "You must barely have time to live your life..". Well no, and no. Childbirth made me realize many new things about myself, mainly what my body was capable of. Hell, I played my first game back to derby when my daughter was just 3 weeks old. I still had stitches! And despite racking up penalties due to 9 months of no gameplay, and getting booted from the game (for the first time EVER) with 30 seconds left, it was a hell of a time and I was so glad I did it.

Jamming, 4 practices under my belt, still carrying 20lbs of baby weight, breast milk, and post-baby stitches. Photo cred: Visual Musings Photography

I'm 21 years old, for the sake of my youth I can't afford to let my life stop! I just now have a beautiful baby girl who makes my life better. When I do something, I make sure to fit her needs into it. And I wasn't robbed of my young life by having a baby, my life is just worth that much more now when she smiles at my silly faces, and shows me that I'm her only comfort when she cries. She gives me an enormous sense of pride and accomplishment every time she does something new. 

 Stopping for "lunch" during the Medicine Hat Chili Cookoff.

Having a child isn't this total life-altering, fun-stopping, bomb-dropping weight on my shoulders. And it shouldn't be, for anyone. You get a rhythm, a solid routine, and you mould your life to fit your childs needs. And if you do it good enough, you make plans for yourself to still have new experiences and have fun doing it. Is this to say it's easy? Not so much. You live your life with less money, and have new priorities, with all the old ones being completely flipped around. But you make it work. So when I want to go out, I take her with me. When I go to Roller Derby practice, she comes with me. And last week when I spent 6 hours in Calgary getting tattooed, the longest I've ever been away from her with no contact whatsoever, she got to have a great day in the city with her Dad.

In the end, we decided that either she'll be babysat by my other sister for the week we'll be gone, or at 7 months old by the time the cup rolls around, she hits the road with us and gets to experience this incredible opportunity too. Am I still a bit nervous about driving on the highway from Alberta to Ontario in prime winter weather? Yeah. But life is all about overcoming hesitations and going ahead with a "do it all" mentality. I can't wait.

For more information on the Roller Derby World Cup, go here:

http://bloodandthundermag.com/WorldCup2011.htm

To donate to Team Canada, helping them get to Toronto, go here:

http://www.teamcanadarollerderby.ca/