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12 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | SEPTEMBER 2025 By Tina Canon I was born in Hemet in 1966 and grew up on a farm in what is now called Menifee. With three older brothers, you could always find my entire family at the ball field, stadium, or gym. At five years old I was always imitating the cheerleaders from the sidelines. The squad noticed and dressed me in a tiny panther suit, making me a mini-mascot for the Perris High School Panthers Football Team, where my oldest brother was the star quarterback and my father was the PA announcer under the Friday night lights. I continued cheering through middle and high school. After I graduated from a private school in Temecula in 1984 (Linfield Christian), I worked and took some college classes, but in 1986 at barely 20 years old, I met my future husband, Michael. He was fresh off a New York-to-California cross-country drive to begin his new west-coast life teaching music at Menifee Elementary School. He had to get his TB test clearance and I was the lucky medical receptionist who handled his paperwork. We were inseparable from that day forward. In 1988, we were married and welcomed our first son, Ben, in 1992, followed by our second son, Jake, in 1996. Our little family was complete. When I became a mom, I left my job as a real estate agent to stay at home full-time. We lived in the San Jacinto Valley and Michael got a job teaching technology at Hemet Unified. When my youngest was in third grade, I got a job as a library/ media technician at Hemet Unified, first at his elementary school, then later at the high school level. When the boys graduated from college and began their lives and careers in Irvine— Ben is a software engineer, and Jake is an electrical engineer — we sold our house in Hemet and moved to Four Seasons. We planned to work another five years or so, but fate had other plans. The call came at around 8 am on Wednesday, March 21, 2018; we had lived in Four Seasons for only 10 months. I was already at work in Hemet and Michael was just getting ready to leave for his 30-minute commute to the district office where he worked at the time. "I think I'm having a stroke," he said. This couldn't be happening; Michael was only 57 years old and so healthy and active — golfing, mountain biking, hiking, traveling. I called 911 and remotely opened our garage door and began my frantic drive home up the hill from Hemet. Luckily, our neighbors, Shelley and Marty, were home and when I called they came right over to be with Michael until the ambulance came. They are still my heroes. After a few days of uncertainty in ICU at Riverside Community Hospital and recovery at Kaiser in Moreno Valley, Michael spent around 40 days at Ballard Rehabilitation Hospital in San Bernardino. During those trying times is when my perky cheerleader persona came in handy. "YOU GOT THIS! YOU CAN DO THIS! DON'T GIVE UP!" was my mantra even though I was falling apart in my moments alone. I was suddenly not just a wife, but also a full-time caregiver. Life as we knew it had just come to a screeching halt. I wasn't even 52 years old. Michael relearned to talk with intensive speech therapy. He also relearned how to walk, thanks to a great deal of physical therapy and a daily dose of cheer leading and self-determination to get back as much functionality as he possibly could. He called himself Michael 2.0. Much of Michael 1.0 was gone, but we would learn to adapt and enjoy new things. Different things. But happy and wonderful things. I can't imagine living anywhere else through those difficult times. As Michael improved and could be alone for a time, I began getting out a bit and enjoying some of what Four Seasons had to offer. I began line dancing, then went to fitness classes like Zumba, Conditioning, and Kickboxing. I love the fun dances (disco is my favorite), cruising around the neighborhood in our golf cart, going to the gym, walking on the beautiful trails, playing bunco with friends, and more. I especially enjoy heading a Landscapers' Appreciation annual event that I started in 2020. Living here is like therapy for me. I have danced in the Shimmy Mob fundraiser performance for the past couple of years and recently participated in the PAC's Disney Reimagined. I think I have officially been bitten by the performance bug and look forward to more in the future. The past seven plus years have taught me that life is so uncertain. You never know what is in store. What you plan is often met with a detour sign. That is when you have to find the good in what you DO have and make it shine. Add a little sparkle to your daily performance and provide some cheerleading along the way. RESIDENT SPOTLIGHT Cheerleader for fe High School Cheer 1983 on Disney Spirit Day (see my ears?) Ariel in Disney Reimagined Cheerleader for fe

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