Saturday 13 August 2011

I am just glad I made it to be an adult.

That would be Kyle (aka Saul).  Kyle has appeared a couple of times in the blog and a memorable night was the Boys Night Out with Elmo .

Kyle's statement sums up every hope of every kid in the house:  Glad to be an adult.

Sometimes we are reminded, by certain events, that Canuck Place is a hospice. Most of my experience at the house is one of life and of living.  Embracing Life is a statement that Canuck Place has adopted to express their reason for being.  It works.  Every moment in the house is one of living.  Even as a family gathers when their child is desperately ill and a departure from this life is imminent they are all embracing life.

I have known Kyle for six years and I was elated when I got an email from Joan and Kyle saying this weekend was his last.  My first thought was, "Cool.  Free dinner."  My second thought was "Which Kyle is this?"
I discovered last night he was the only Kyle in the house...however I did learn (while trying to prove there was more than one Kyle in the program) that names starting with 'K' are the MOST popular of the kids in the program.

So what does an aged out kid do when he leaves the program?  Apparently the first thing you do is get a tattoo:

His Grandfather (and dad?), and cousin all have the same tattoo!
You talk about getting ID (which he now has) so you can get beer.  Apparently there are places where you can get beer without ID.  Hmmmmm.
You talk about going to school.  In this case, Kyle has signed up to go and complete a Computer Graphics and Design program in Kelowna.

When a kid ages out of a program I always have mixed emotions.  Elation because, as Kyle said, "I get to be an adult", and sadness because the chances of crossing paths with a friend are reduced.

So, to Kyle:  It has been a pleasure, and remember...Elmo likes it when you shit.



This is Tony.  Volunteer extraordinaire.
I think he has been volunteering at Canuck Place before  there even was a Canuck Place


1 comment:

Mandie said...

Hi, I came across your site and wasn’t able to get an email address to contact you. Would you please consider adding a link to my website on your page. Please email me back and we'll talk about it.

Thanks!

Mandie Hayes
mandie.hayes10@gmail.com

The Blog

My name is Malcolm and I was a volunteer at Canuck Place Children's Hospice in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for nearly seven years. Now I support them by raising money by participating in the Canuck Place Adventure Challenges!


I said hospice. Not really a word that you associate with children but there you go. We will tell you about the house as this blog progresses with the hope that you will learn, and as you learn we hope that you will share. The purpose of the Adventure Challenge is to raise money for AND awareness about Canuck Place.

The name of each kid at the house you read about has been changed.

September 14th and 15th are the dates for the next Adventure Challenges.

You can sponsor me for the race here: Adventure Challenge
Maybe you should do the race?

Names:

Just a quick note about the names of the kids in the house that you will read about: they are made up!