Instagram story viewer> @realnotyouraveragejo> Posts

Jo Williams

@realnotyouraveragejo

523

followers

2009

following

All the things.

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Truth and Reconciliation Day is personal for me. My grandma spent years in residential school and grandpa escaped.

Those are simple sentences to write, but there is nothing simple about what they meant for them or their families.

And then, when they became parents themselves, they made sure their own children would not be taken to residential school. There is a pretty remarkable story behind how they made that happen and if you want to hear about it, let me know.

They knew firsthand what that system could take from a child and they chose a different path for their children.

Today, I think about my grandparents and what was taken from them, but I also think about what they protected.

I think about my own family, the opportunities our children have, and the growing number of Indigenous young people pursuing education, building careers, starting businesses, leading organizations and strengthening their communities.

There is something incredibly powerful about that.

We cannot move forward without acknowledging the truth of what happened. We need to remember the children who never came home, honour the Survivors who did and recognize the real impacts that continue today because of that history.

But there must be room today for hope.

For me, that hope is in our people. In education. In opportunity. In culture. In community. And in seeing generations move forward with pride in who we are and where we come from.

#truthandreconciliation by @realnotyouraveragejo

35

4

19 days ago

Ironman 70.3 Tri-Cities done and 70.3 number eight in the books.

And I got a PB! Woo hoo!

I came into this race with a goal and I hit it. The run didn’t turn out quite as well as I wanted. It was HOT out there and I knew going in that the heat was going to make the run tough. But I’m still really proud of how I raced and especially proud of one decision I made right at the beginning.

Swimming has been something I’ve worked on over the past year and this time I decided I wasn’t hanging back.|

I went right to the VERY FRONT of the swim start.

Yes, I did that.

It might seem like a small thing, but for me it was a pretty great moment and a reminder of how much progress I’ve made mentally.

A huge thank you to my coach Charles and the entire SOLO training team for all the work that goes into getting us to these start lines and across the finish.

And of course, Al, my travelling mechanic, support crew, cheerleader, videographer and pretty much everything else on race weekend. I couldn’t do these adventures without him.

We took the van on the road for this one too and it’s turning out to be a pretty great race vehicle. There may be more Ironman road trips in its future.

Eight 70.3s. A new PB. And still finding new ways to surprise myself.

Pretty proud of this one. taken in Tri-Cities, Washington by @realnotyouraveragejo

26

10

24 days ago

Three weeks after the towers fell, I was sent to New York with the Canadian Red Cross. My first job there was screening volunteers. The line wrapped around the block, every day, people waiting hours for the chance to be useful. Roughly 6,000 came through those doors.

Drivers. Cooks. Nurses. People who could type, or lift, or sit with someone and listen. Almost none of them were emergency experts. But every one of them had something.

That is the part I carry, 25 years later. Not the scale of what was lost. The number of ordinary people who turned up before anyone asked.

The help that works in a crisis is almost never the help that flies in. It’s neighbours. It’s the person who signed up locally, long before anything happened.

When I was a kid, our house burned down on a bitterly cold Manitoba winter day. Among others, the Red Cross was one that showed up for our family. Years later I had two job offers in front of me. One was more lucrative. The other was the Canadian Red Cross. There was no decision to be made in my mind.

You do not need a disaster to be useful. The need is already here, in our own city, on an ordinary Tuesday. There are homeless shelters and food banks, organizations working with seniors and with youth, animal rescues, river cleanups where the job is literally picking up garbage, and the list goes on and on.

Every one of them needs donations to keep the lights on. Every one of them needs people to do the work.

Start with what you already know how to do. Somebody in your own neighbourhood already needs you.

I finally wrote the whole thing down.

https://notyouraveragejo.com/after-the-towers-fell-my-9-11-red-cross-deployment/ by @realnotyouraveragejo

23

3

a month ago

Back to school pics with Bryn! We actually did golf but forgot to take a pic on the course (best game I think I’ve had with him!). Great summer with the boys & now back to the books. 📚 ☀️🏌️‍♂️⛳️💕 by @realnotyouraveragejo

53

1

2 months ago

Dogs of the Kooc contest!
@barksidefernie
@koocanusavillage by @realnotyouraveragejo

30

2

2 months ago

🩷 by @realnotyouraveragejo

19

2

2 months ago

Here’s my mom with Hazel on her wedding day. Love this pic.
My mom turned 88 today & is as excited for her birthday as a 10 year old. 😊 If you know her & would like to wish her a happy birthday, DM me. She may forget it’s her birthday, but she’ll feel the sentiment & remember a phone call. HBD to my mom. 🥰🌸💐 by @realnotyouraveragejo

22

5

2 months ago

Still smiling over this little collection of wakesurf moments from the Kooc. ☀️🌊

Honestly, this is pretty much my happy place. Out on the water with family & friends, Peso along for the ride, lots of laughs, lots of cheering each other on and, of course, a whole lot of wakesurfing. ❤️

Even though rugby is Kerry’s main focus these days, he’s still such an amazing wakesurfer and I could watch him ride ALL day. Watching him throw down tricks, push himself and just genuinely love being on the water makes this mama pretty darn happy. And seeing him out there riding with the Duzeck bros and some of our other favourite people makes it even better. 🔥

And then there are my wakesurf girls. ❤️ The Masters Women crew is just the BEST. Talented, encouraging, hilarious and always up for getting after it. Cindy, who is approaching 70 and still rides with more enthusiasm and GUSTO than just about anyone I know, continues to be absolute inspiration. And naturally, we wrapped things up with a well-earned cheers with our apple juice. 😉

And none of this would happen without our patient boat driver @adv.dna who knows one more time never means one more time.

The BC Provincial Wakesurf Championships happened to be part of the weekend too, which made it extra fun. Kerry threw down an awesome run to take 3rd in Pro Men Skim, and I managed to sneak onto the podium myself with 3rd in Masters Women Skim. 🥉🥉 His tricks are marginally more impressive than mine. 😂

But really, the competition is just one little piece of it.

This reel is the stuff I love most: my family, my friends, Peso, our lake, a boat, a board and a ridiculous amount of fun doing something we all love. ❤️🌊

And we’re definitely not putting the boards away yet… Surftember is still to come!! by @realnotyouraveragejo

30

6

2 months ago

#dogdaysonthekooc by @realnotyouraveragejo

31

3

2 months ago

52

7

2 months ago

Friendly Manitoba belongs on the license plate for a reason. Beyond racing, we connected with friends & family in Boissevain, my mom, aunt & uncle in Winkler (BEST Mennonite food always!) & topped it off with a visit to Laurie in Neepawa. Always good to go to the motherland! Big thx to Peggy & Steve for hosting us. 🦬🍁💛 taken in Boissevain, Manitoba by @realnotyouraveragejo

71

5

3 months ago

Super fun wknd in Manitoba competing at Peace Garden Triathlon with my SOLO teammate Maureen. First long venture out in camper van which proved its worth as a tri support vehicle.

🌟⭐️⭐️kudos to Al for supporting me as always. Fun to have John as part of our team too. 🙌

The best was having the Manitoba support crew of family & friends to connect with before our race & cheering us on - more to come on that. 🩷

And it looks like both Maureen & I have qualified to compete in Worlds to be held in Hamburg, Germany next September. Here we go @maureenmacd 🏊‍♀️🚴‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️

Thank you to Charles & @solosportsystems for the training & inspo always! taken in International Peace Gardens by @realnotyouraveragejo

55

13

3 months ago