August 6, 2011
There is something mesmerizing about looking out at the ocean, watching the waves undulate. We are on the ferry from Argentia, Newfoundland, to North Sydney, Nova Scotia. Skye and I have a cabin with a large window looking out at the sea, and we are on our way home after more than two and a half months on the road, and it feels good to be homeward bound. It feels particularly good to know we’ll be seeing Kerr and Burns soon, and resuming life as we know it.
There is a very different feeling to this journey than to the one at the beginning of our trip westward. There were so many unknowns at the beginning, and with them, accompanying anxieties. My biggest fear was about Skye’s safety. That fear was intensified when one of my contemporaries told me about setting out to cycle across the country many years ago, only to have his plans curtailed by a car with a trailer that fishtailed, and landed him in the hospital, fortunate to be alive. Now, there is not only the relief that Skye is alive and well, but I feel such a sense of pride in Skye’s accomplishment, and I am moved by his passion, dedication and self-discipline. Cycling across the country is a feat for anyone who does it. Add to that, actively participating in approximately 25 events, sticking to a rigorous schedule because of those events, blogging mostly on a daily basis—often when he was dog tired—and talking to the media countless times; this was an extraordinarily challenging journey. The weather—particularly the wind and the rain—was often more of a fierce opponent than a friendly companion. Skye did it all, day after day, and I could tell from the responses he got from one Cool Communicator after another, as we traveled across Canada, that Skye’s journey sent an implicit message to everyone who speaks in different ways, not only that , “You deserve to communicate,” but that, “You deserve to be treated in the same way anyone else is treated, you deserve to participate, you deserve to be respected and valued”, and “You are important.”
Now, on this journey home, there is a sense of having faced the challenges, having sent the messages over and over again, a sense of how important it is to keep sending those messages, and a sense of how much work there is to do to ensure everyone is able to communicate to the best of his or her ability and to participate fully in every aspect of Canadian life.
We also have a wonderful sense of community. There are so many of you who inspire us, Cool Communicators across the country who, through the way you are living your lives and through your advocacy, are making a difference; dedicated professionals—many of you members of ISAAC Canada— who are passionate about AAC and who have worked hard to make the events across the country happen; and families who are trying desperately to find the services and supports to help your loved ones communicate and live meaningful lives. And then there are all of the volunteers who jumped on board, some of you who knew little or nothing about AAC before getting involved in Kilometres for Communication. There are those of you who joined us along the way, old friends and new friends who cycled or traveled with us. There are our sponsors, many of you unfamiliar with AAC before making your contributions to Kilometres for Communication. There are also all of the reporters who understand the importance of what we are trying to do, and who are doing a wonderful job of helping us to spread our message. There are those who have donated and those who have continued to encourage us every step of the way. The hospitality we’ve been offered has been extraordinary. Skye and I talk about Kilometres for Communication as a campaign of generosity; it has been personally restorative and rejuvenating. To all of you who have participated, contributed, encouraged, and supported, I add my heartfelt thanks to Skye’s.
I want to say a special thank you to everyone who has submitted stories to our website. I apologize for the delay in posting them—not an easy task to accomplish while on the road with slow, unpredictable or nonexistent internet. Posting stories will be a priority once we return home, so thanks for your patience and understanding.
Skye has completed his cycling journey, but Kilometres for Communication has just begun. We look forward to continuing this journey together.
Gail
kilometresforcommunication 