Five Red Deer children got to experience the Olympics the way their parents had wanted, even after losing them in a tragic car crash just a few weeks ago.
Krista and Brad Howe had planned for the past year or more to take their children to the Olympics, buying tickets and the special red Canada Olympic mitts and toques in preparation for the trip.
As a child, Brad had wanted to go to the Calgary Olympics, with the grade above him in school getting to take part, but he was too young. He always said if the Olympics came back to Canada he would go and take his children. Krista and Brad were avid curlers and planned to see some curling, with the whole family planing to see aerial skiing.
It was important for the children’s aunt Karla Green, who is acting guardian, and the children’s grandparents Sandra and Ed Green to still make that dream come true for the Howe children, even after the loss of their parents.
So Karla, Sandra and Ed, along with MacKenzie, 14, Cory, 10, Ashley, 9, Molly, six, and Maggie, four, headed to Vancouver on February 19 to see as much of the Olympics as they could fit in and returned to Red Deer on Saturday night.
Sandra gave each child a journal to write about everything they got to experience while in Vancouver.
Karla said one of the big challenges for her is to make sure that the children realize they are still going to be able to have the same plans they had before.
“I thought this was a really good opportunity to let them feel secure that the things they had planned for their future could still happen and they’re just going to happen in a different way, and they’re going to be supported by different people, but that we’ll still be able to work with them to make their dreams happen,” Karla said. “I didn’t want that to just stop, because for them I think it’s really important that life keeps moving forward and that we just tackle our fears as we come to them.”
Some of the tickets and flights were already booked, but the family was grateful for the help they received from WestJet, VANOC and Brad and Krista’s companies NOVA engineering and MEGlobal to get to Vancouver and take the children to even more events than initially planned, with them also getting to see a hockey game and speedskating. Each of the children came home with one of the stuffed animal mascots from the Olympic games and lots of unforgettable memories.
Molly liked the aerials, MacKenzie enjoyed the speedskating and Cory was a fan of the hockey game, where the family was given a suite by VANOC above the media section to watch the game in style.
Sandra said it was really good for the children to go because it was a way to honour their mom and dad, who had planned the trip for so long.
“I think it’s something the kids will remember for the rest of their lives,” Karla said. “I think for it being the first thing that we’ve done together, as this new family dynamic that we’re learning about, it was a big challenge and they all handled it amazingly.” She has collected all of their tickets and taken lots of pictures that they can make a scrapbook about their trip.
Karla, who until recently lived in Vancouver, also had help from friends there to set up her apartment to accommodate the children and her parents during the Olympics. While in Vancouver she packed up her apartment to move to Red Deer, where she is acting guardian of the children. Her cats Licorice and Lazy Boy have also moved in with the family and are popular with the children, but the cats are still getting acquainted with current resident Zeke the beagle.
sobrien@www.reddeeradvocate.com