We all have those pivotal moments in our lives. Moments that give shape to the form of our lives in a way that is undeniable. We know those moments as we glance back in time because they stand out amongst all the rest; we know that everything changed in that moment and started the chain of events that brought us to the place we reside today.  It’s kind of like an avalanche. It just takes a small event to get one started but once they get moving, they just keep collecting power and magnitude. And people look on in awe, “Wow, I didn’t know that such a small trigger would create such a thing”.

View of Whistler/Blackcomb

And so was my last visit to Whistler back in 2003. At that point in time in my life, I was going through a really challenging time on a personal level, having the worst summer ever.  And then a friend, Nancy, who I knew through mountain biking asked me if I’d like to join herself and 2 other girls at a race in Whistler in late August. I gave it some thought overnight and said yes. A month later I was on a plane to Vancouver with 3 girls I didn’t know too well at the time for a week long holiday and mountain bike event. In hindsight, it seems I followed my heart there as the experience turned out to be one of those pivotal moments that change your life forever.

Fortunately, Erin, Jenn, Nancy and I got along really well, talking and laughing easily. It was on the drive north from Vancouver to Whistler that we decided to take nicknames for the trip. We were having some difficulty brainstorming, certainly not from a lack of caffeine and Starbucks on the trip, so began to write down words from signs at the side of the road to give us some ideas.

There is a Daisy Creek that crosses the Sea to Sky highway. It is from that sign that I took my first name, “Daisy”. There is also a Gonzales Creek and it was from that sign that I took my last name, “Gonzales”. From that point on, my moniker was Daisy Gonzales or “DaisyG” for short.

Six years later I still feel an immense amount of gratitude to my friends Erin, Jenn and Nancy (Misty, Foxy and Rocky

A Wild Daisy at Daisy Lake

as their nicknames went) for their role in catalyzing an experience in my life that would shape so much in the years that followed. Not only will that trip go down in my life history as one of the best vacations I have ever had (we had a deal that “what happened in Whistler, stayed in Whistler” so I’m sparing the details here…..),having forged some of the deepest of friendships, it also planted the daisy seed into my life. It was one of those pivotal moments. I had no idea at the time how much that single seed would spread.

My life began to fill with more daisies. A few years later, I called my new business “A Wild Daisy”, it seemed an obvious fit. Thank goodness I didn’t take my nickname after Kwakanee Creek as I really don’t know what I would have done in that case. And here I am, a few years after, driving a giant Daisymobile, back to Whistler, back to Daisy Creek, and back to Daisy Lake.

As I drove Miss Daisy along the Sea to Sky highway, past the sign for Daisy Creek, I couldn’t help but smirk to myself, thinking and speaking to the sign, “Hey, check out my daisy thing now! It keeps getting bigger!”

It was a bit of an emotional trip down memory lane this trip, albeit a very positive one, as I recalled the memories of my last visit. It was also a great time to ponder the power of a moment. To ponder all that cascaded from the decision of a moment to take a nickname from a tiny sign at the side of the road.

I got the sense in driving past the sign this week that time will also reveal the power and meaning of the pivotal moment that was my decision to buy and travel with Miss Daisy and, to again, follow my heart on a trip to the west. It felt almost as if the voice of life was speaking to me and saying, “Here you are again Heather, one moment having lead to another and you will again come to appreciate the power and meaning in time. In the meantime, just continue to enjoy, as you did in the past.”

And I will do that, I am doing that. It’s a wise prescription. I do have a hunch though that the daisy avalanche is going to continue to get bigger……from Daisy Creek to Daisymobile to ?????? I just got that feeling this week, right from my heart.

P.S. I’m off to Ottawa tomorrow for my friend Peggy McColl’s exciting book launch party for her upcoming book, “The Won Thing” on Tuesday, Sept 22nd. If you would like to attend, it’s at the Crowne Plaza Hotel which is “close to Jasper”. Okay, I’m just kidding, it’s in Ottawa. It’s going to be a ton of fun so don’t miss out!!!  http://thewonthing.com/rsvp/

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