When she turned 50 my mom wanted to take her boys -- my brother and me -- on a river rafting trip. She booked the trip on the Red Deer River in Alberta. It took a lot of courage for her to book the trip. She's not normally very daring. A river rafting trip was a big adventure for my little mom.

We set out to meet up with the rafting and guides on the day of our trip. We'd never been in that part of the country before so we followed a map until the paved roads turned to gravel roads. Then we followed handmade signs posted on trees: 'Rafting This Way.'

We drove for 2 hours and seemed to get no closer to the meeting point. We took a wrong turn somewhere along the way. We backtracked and sped along the gravel roads. We watched out the windows but never say another car or rafting bus or sign.

To make a long story short, we missed the meeting point and the meeting time. We never actually did find the meeting place. We just ran out of time and turned back.

My mom took this pretty hard. To say she was disappointed is to put it mildly. Not ever her favourite treat, Cheezies, were successful in cheering her up. In the years since she continues to mention it as an example of a bad experience.

So 10 years later, for her 60th birthday, her boys (my brother and me) are organizing a trip for her. This time we know the countryside better and the driving times and directions. We'll book in advance and drive close to the meeting spot the day before our departure.

All in it will cost us about $750 for the three of us to take a 2-day trip down the Thompson River. Your donation will ensure my mom goes river rafting (and gets her hair wet) and fixes her disappointment.

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