Ever since I was a little girl, I knew my daughter’s name would be Brooke.  Whenever I would spend time with my brother Ricky’s family that he married into, I often saw my sister-in-law’s sister, Brenda’s family.  Wow, what a complex explanation!  We all grew up together in Manotick so Wendy’s family was very much part of our family.  Brenda had two children, Chad and Brooke who I often babysat and I swore when I grew up I’d have a daughter named Brooke.

A funny thing happened when Brooke was born.  Her dad wanted to name her since I had named Blain.  He said, “I want to call her Shannon”.  I agreed since he lost the battle in naming his first-born son after his own name, Alexander.  Well, long story short, when he left the hospital I simply filled out the birth certificate and ta-da, we had a Brooke Shannon!

Even from the day I brought her home from the hospital, I knew I had a girl who knew who she was.  She slept through the night at just a few months old and this was her fuel to be the busiest little person!  She was always marching around the house with some project on the go.  I never had to spur on her imagination about the list of activities for the day as it seemed like she woke up with a plan of what she had on her to-do list.

Her athleticism was a brought to my attention when she was about 7 years old.  Growing up with a mom who worked in recreation, she was often at work with me.  That meant she swam a few times a week, did endless sport camps, ultimate frisbee, competitive tap dancing and karate to list a few.  While at the park one day while she was playing she did a complete inverted shoulder move.  One of the moms pointed out that Brooke had double jointed shoulders and incredible strength.  Off to gymnastics we went!  This competitive program didn’t last long because it took her from the variety of other activities she did during the week and she missed her friends.  I’m so glad we made this move because I see in her now, a very well-rounded woman.

As she moved through high school, she joined her brother working in the Georgian Bay Area every summer at their dad’s home.  This was a great opportunity for a lot of reasons.  They could spend their summer in a resort town on the water, live with their dad and make money where there was nowhere to spend it.  This taught her at a very young age, how to make money in the service industry where she learned the skill of working hard to make extra money in tips.

When Brooke hit grade 10, I dropped all curfews and nagging of homework or working.  I felt at that age she knew what she needed to do to get what she wanted.  She worked at Wendy’s all through high school and when she graduated, she went into the Bachelor of Design program at Algonquin. It is known to be the hardest program by people in the industry.  She graduated all while working at Tommy’s restaurant and living on her own all while being a fur mama to TJ and The Fonz.

While trying to find her way between working and going to school, Brooke decided to go to India to achieve her certification as a yoga instructor.  This was a huge and scary undertaking as she was flying for the first time alone to a remote area of India, but she wanted to be in Rishikesh to learn.  She left and did her 200 hour training in one month and she returned with much growth, grounding and vision of who she was, is and was going to be.

It was at this time that she had found the love of her life, Charbel.  I could write a blog just about their meeting!  I have known her husband longer than she has, so he was quickly approved when they started dating.  He is a fierce believer in family and has a great sense of humour, which is much needed to be in our family, but most importantly, he cherishes Brooke.

In her career she started off with business suits and sales.  It wasn’t her cup of tea and she then accepted a position as a building inspector in North Dundas.  She traded her business suits and heels for a Carhartt workwear and steel-toed boots.  Within 1.5 years she was promoted to Deputy Chief Building Inspector and has now joined the City of Ottawa for the prospect of more career growth.

What I cherish most about Brooke is the fact that we are so close.  We text all day, compete on our Apple watches to keep each other accountable, and can spend endless hours together.  Anyone who knows Brooke, loves her.  She is caring, extremely funny, a wonderful hostess and always has her friend’s back.

Hug those daughters, my friends, as they are a true blessing!