This morning, I woke up with the burning desire to do something special, something fun with my oldest son. I asked him if he wanted to go skiing for the first time this year. He said yes, so we were gone. We went to a small ski hill near Montréal. He's 4 years old and it was the beginning of his third season. When we took the chairlift, I could feel his hesitation, it was still something big for him. The first ride was not easy, but he kept going. He recovered everything he learned the previous year in the blink of an eye. Soon, we were riding side by side. Brave boy, he likes to go fast and straight! I did not want to pay him hard time, I will leave this to his instructor next week. We had so much fun! I was invaded with such happiness! It was great, I hope I will remember that day all my life. 

Today partly happened because a month ago I was on OoH. I'll remember this adventure for the rest of my life! It was for me a tipping point. 

Before applying, I was very busy working as engineering first line manager. Economy being difficult, pressure was high and constant. Engineers don't like to have easy lives and tend to push themselves a lot. I accomplished many things in the last decade, but somehow I lost touch to my inner-self and profound happiness.  Over time I lost work/life balance and eventually health. At the time of applying, I was on sick leave for two months and starting to get better. The desire of doing something special, something for me was growing up. It was a feeling I had not experienced for long time. Between a demanding job and a family with two young boys, I neglected part of me. The part that needs to have fun, be profoundly happy and do things just because it feels right to do them. At that time, OoH came to my attention and I decided to apply with the support of my loved one.

I am very proud of that decision! Being on the boat meant so much to me. I was not going for vacations, I was going to redefine who I am, what I want to do and what matters to me. Being on the boat is a great place for such thinking, for doing a reset and reboot. 

On the boat, I soon realized that we all shared MS but had very different lives and somewhat different health condition. Half of us were retired, one works part-time and two full-time or more. Two of us had young kids and one was grand-mother. Some had sailing experience, some did not. In the end, despite all the differences we all had the burning desire to be on the boat and to live an experience that would change our lives. 

Being on a sailboat is a great adventure for people with MS. It is ok not to be able to do everything, we help each other and contribute to the extend that we can. We go together through rough seas and daily duties. We also enjoy sunsets on the coast and nice meals. In all instances, we live the present moment and forget about daily worries that can intoxicate our lives. In the end, we spent great times together and all succeeded!  

Since then, I am making sure to feel happiness more regularly and enjoy the satisfaction of small accomplishments. I also want to feel the burning desire to do something special once in a while... 

Before leaving, Mikkel asked if I would be interested in being involved in a project related to sailing sclerosis. The idea is growing and today I have the burning desire to pursuit that dream. 

For many years, I was striving to get things done and was suffering from working as hard as I could. My company and boss have been very comprehensive since my return. I have been proposed a new job with interesting challenges and responsibilities while being sensitive to maintaining proper work-life balance.

I now want to be smarter and spending most of my time doing things that truly matter to me. I want to continue accomplishing great things, be happy, right here, right now for a long time. Thanks to OoH.