Many of you are familiar with the character-building adventures Ray and I have taken Nick on over the years. Since Ray’s definition of character differs from mine, these are generally separate trips.
Ray’s character-building trips involve being outdoors for long periods of time, often in cold, wet and uncomfortable conditions, after which you lie down, exhausted, in a tent or on the floor of a rustic cabin, and feel a sense of ‘accomplishment’. Apparently the suffering enhances the feeling of satisfaction once you finally achieve your goal.
9-hour Gatineau traverse in the rain. Just look at the character on that face.
Climbing Mount Washington (character hidden by balaclavas).
Personally, I see no reason you can’t build character while staying in a luxury hotel, preferably one with a hot tub. My adventures with Nick tend to involve psychological discomfort rather than physical discomfort; the exhilaration that comes from stepping outside your comfort zone and facing your fears.
The CN tower EdgeWalk.
Bungee Jumping
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses (for those diagnosed before their 18th birthday, so Nick missed the cut-off by about six months). Make-A-Wish has a Rope for Hope fundraising event that involves people rappelling down a tall building. Ottawa’s event takes place in mid-June at the 18-story Brookstreet Hotel in Kanata.
If you’ve been paying attention, you can guess which family dyad is interested in taking part (coincidentally, the hotel has a hot tub). The event falls two weeks after Nick’s last scheduled treatment, but if we’re unable to participate for any reason, the opportunity can be offered to someone else as long as we’ve raised the requisite funds. Each participant for the rappelling event needs to raise $1500.
Nick turns 19 on Saturday, the day after his next chemo treatment, and will likely spend the day feeling nauseated…which is not an unusual way for 19 year olds to spend their birthday in Ontario (19 being the legal drinking age), but for very different reasons. Nick’s been pretty adamant that he doesn’t need or want anything for his birthday and says he already has too much ‘stuff’, but if you’d like to sponsor him for this experience, here’s the link to our fundraising pages.
Of course, I’d like you to fill Nick’s ‘bucket’ first, but if he happens to make it to $1500, then I’ll be happy to take the overflow. And if anyone wants to try raising $1500 for a good cause and rappelling with Team Chodura, please feel free to join our team (the event is limited to 90 participants).