B.C. senior celebrates 80th birthday by in-line skating 350 kilometres in costume
While contemplating what to do for her upcoming birthday, Sonya Bardati knew what she didn’t want to be.
“I’m not going to be a rocking chair granny!” Sonya recalls saying.
So she stared considering her life thus far.
“I want to dwell on the good things.”
Instead of dwelling on the tears that were shed while growing up in an orphanage, she recalled the smiles that were inspired there, while performing on roller skates.
“We did a show (that included moves like) circles, airplanes, and the finale was the split,” Soya remembers. “It was very nice.”
So Sonya decided to don a pair of in-line skates for her 80th birthday.
“It feels fabulous,” Sonya says, while blading down the street. “You feel like you’re in a cloud.”
But this was just the beginning.
“When I decide to do something, I do it,” Sonya says.
Like how she decided to start working at 15, join the Royal Canadian Air Force at 18, and become the first woman to graduate from her university as a chartered industrial accountant, Sonya decided to embark on a skating road trip for her birthday.
She planned to blade from Port Hardy to Parksville on Vancouver Island over seven days — more than 350 kilometres.
“My motto is: I can do anything I want as long as I don’t hurt anyone,” Sonya says.
But what about hurting herself? What about her asthma? Or what about the osteoporosis that caused Sonya to break 10 bones over the past six years?
“I was scared,” she admits. “I’m made of glass.”
But Sonya faced her fear, and started training five days a week, because she said this journey was bigger than her.
Sonya wanted to give back to her adopted cat, Holly.
After her husband of more than 50 years died, Sonya says that Holly was a crucial comfort.
“She kept me from falling apart,” Sonya says.
So Sonya turned her journey into a fundraiser for the SPCA.
But she wasn’t done celebrating. Sonya also skated in a different costume every day, dressing up as a showgirl in fishnet stockings and a hippy with peace signs and a flower-blossom headband, among other things.
“I’m a nutcase!” Sonya laughs. “I love doing things that make people happy!"
And after completing her birthday goal, Sonya says she’s learned the best way to celebrate every day is bettering yourself, so you can better to others.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
'Tactical evacuations' underway near Fort Nelson, B.C., as wildfires encroach
The BC Wildfire Service says 'tactical evacuations' began Friday near Fort Nelson, B.C., due to an out-of-control wildfire that has grown rapidly since it was discovered earlier in the afternoon.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.