A national community...

What an absolutely monumental occasion! We are on the Skytrain, on our way home, after the Victory Ceremony where Alex Bilodeau received the gold medal.

It was truly a sight to make your heart glow, looking around at all the red and white in the stadium. It was pure luck, landing tickets to the event, as they were purchased weeks ago when the group was still planning our trip. Last night while volunteering at the security gates at Canada Hockey Place we could hear all of Vancouver break into a unanimous roar! The news spread across the crowd in a wave, that Canada had just captured gold in men's moguls, and just as quickly a second wave of cheering followed. Everyone excitedly resumed their duties and it wasn't until later in the evening on our way home that we realized we had purchased tickets to the next nights events and would witness the presentation of the medal.

Being in Vancouver during the Olympics is enough to make you want to break into both the English and French versions of "Oh Canada" and being a volunteer only heightens that experience. I find I am humming it regularly this week. Being at the ceremony this evening blew all of those patriotic experiences right out of the water (ocean to be specific)! The stadium vibrated with full frequency as 20,000 people cheered, shouted, stomped and cried for Alex the Great (yes, there were tears)!
Did you see Alex's face? We are standing here at the bus stop trying to find the words to describe it; elation, pride, overwhelmed with emotion... Whatever the proper description would be, that boy is going down in history. Never again will there be a first gold medal awarded to a Canadian on Canadian soil and a country was united in pride.

A historic day like no other that will occur again and this group feels fortunate to be involved. We are so very proud to belong to our national community.