While school districts master distance learning and employers determine ways for their staff to get work accomplished, every global citizen is learning how to adapt during the Covid-19 health crisis.  White Rock Rowing is no exception.  On Sunday March 21st, White Rock Rowing distributed erg rowing machines from the White Rock Boathouse to each and every teammate that wanted to continue their training at home during these uncertain times. 

The incredible network of coaches from Middle School and High School, both boys and girls teams, rallied to begin a virtual coaching program to keep young athletes in shape and connected during the quarantine.

“Students need to have normalcy and routine during this difficult time,” says Sue Ellen Chambers, White Rock Boathouse President.  “We at White Rock Rowing feel that adapting our current programs and lending the erg machines gives each young athlete a chance to stay connected.”

Not only is the training important, but the camaraderie is as well.  White Rock Rowing is a medal-winning Rowing organization with proven results.  “Yet, the sportsmanship and teamwork is what makes us so special.” state Samantha Prado, girl’s varsity coach. “We are always finding new and fun ways to keep the team connected and this time is no different.” Many of the teams virtually connect via online apps to check in on each other, as well as workout together.”

Given that many of the upcoming regattas have been postposed due to the Corona Virus and travel for the teams will look different moving forward, White Rock Rowing is overcoming these challenges with innovative techniques.  The at home virtual training will allow novice and varsity teams to remain connected, as well as stay in peak performance condition.

With the idyllic White Rock Lake being swapped for at-home living rooms, garages and backyards, White Rock Rowing is providing a secure and familiar ground during these crazy times. 

Faith & Grief Ministries recognizes that the holiday months tend to be the hardest for those dealing with loss.  Several years ago, the founders created a special event to honor lost loved ones.  The Memorial Arch, a beautiful artistic sculpture, is erected at the east end of Klyde Warren Park from December 1-20. There the public can visit, write messages of remembrance, and place names on a ribbon to live on the sculpture throughout the month as they find comfort and peace during the holiday season.

The Memorial Arch, a living art piece, will transform from a architectural structure to one filled with billowing ribbons of remembrance as visitors honor their friends and relatives and have meaningful moments of personal reflection throughout the month of December.

Faith & Grief invites you to visit the Memorial Arch this week and find comfort and peace this holiday season.

Visit www.faithandgrief.com to learn more

The White Rock Rowing team travelled to Austin, Texas to compete at the 35th Annual Pumpkinhead Regatta this past weekend.

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

by Rhoni Golden

Earlier this month we acknowledged World Autism Awareness Day.  For those of us working with, living with, and loving people in the autism community, it can be a tricky day. When you open your Facebook feed, you will likely find equal measures of celebratory posts from the Neurodiversity and Autism Acceptance community along with sobering posts reminding the world that, down on the other end of the spectrum life can feel bleak.

The problem, it seems, is that this incredibly wide range of people get classified under one name: Autism.

As the mother of a child on the severe end of the spectrum and a clinician who works with families of kids all over the board, I can see both sides. I can admire the unique perspective that an individual with autism might bring to any situation when they are unfettered by the social constructs that bind the rest of us and are free to dive deep in their areas of expertise. I can respect the offense that is taken when a person who is proud of all they have accomplished feels reduced to a “disorder.”  And yet, as I watch people with all of those gifts, I can’t help but feel a twinge of envy.

Our family’s autism is not that kind of autism. Our family has learned to function in a house where there is a code on the door so that all of my son’s caretakers and therapists can come and go as they need to – our house has “shift changes.” Our family has learned to make adjustments when my son swipes his dinner plate off the table and dissolves into a thrashing screaming self-injuring mess on the floor. As parents, we aren’t thinking about the great works of art or complex scientific puzzles that our son is uniquely qualified to unravel.  We are thinking about who will care for his daily needs when we are too old to do it ourselves.

And then there are the families who have children somewhere in the middle. These parents struggle with knowing how much help they should put in place and how much they should encourage independence.  When does the behavior need modifying and when is it the environment that needs to change?  These parents are thinking about how to foster friendships for their children and wonder if a romantic relationship might be in the cards.

Perhaps one day, all of these people will end up with different classifications and diagnoses.  Personally, I think that would go a long way to help the rest of the world in understanding each group’s challenges and gifts.  In the meantime, we are all under the same umbrella. As involuntary members of this diverse club, my only advice is to listen to each other, support each other’s individual right to tell their story, and try to find gratitude in the achievements our kids make – wherever we may find them. As the saying goes, “If you’ve met one person with autism…you’ve met ONE person with autism.” Each family is different, but as a COMMUNITY, we can extend our support to one another and acknowledge that we ALL have the goal of making a place for ourselves in the world.

- - - Rhoni Golden is a physical therapist and mother of three, ages 9, 13 and 15. Her middle child was diagnosed with autism at 19-months of age. She has spent the last 20 years professionally and personally advocating for people with special needs and their families.

Therapeutic Movements, located at 6301 Gaston, Ste 190P, takes a family-centered and collaborative approach to empower parents and equip children with life skills through a variety OT/PT services.

While the holiday season is known to bring happiness and joy, it also can bring sadness and a swirl of conflicting emotions for those who are grieving.

Dallas-based Faith & Grief Ministries is bringing The Memorial Arch to Klyde Warren Park this December to provide a place to remember loved ones.

Faith & Grief Ministries say they have created this event to help those through healing and comfort. The Memorial Arch will be at the east end of Klyde Warren Park from Dec. 1 to 22.

Between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., members of the community who have lost family and friends can write the names on a remembrance ribbon, tie it to the arch, and have a moment of personal reflection.

Faith & Grief Ministries also is hosting three multi-faith memorial services of remembrance:

Service of Comfort
When: 6:30 p.m. Dec. 3
What: This multi-faith service provides a space for individuals, families, and communities to gather as one to remember the lives of the departed.

Remembering All Veterans
When: Noon Dec. 7
What: On the day the Nation remembers the brave men and women who fought at Pearl Harbor, Faith & Grief Ministries will gather again with the members of the community to honor all veterans who have served our country. The Heritage Brass Band, comprised of 30+ veterans, will perform.

Service of Hope
When: 6:30 p.m. Dec. 18
What: On the longest night of the year, Faith & Grief Ministries will host the last multi-faith prayer service to acknowledge the pain that loss brings and to cling to the hope for those struggling through grief through the holidays.