Happy Halloween!!!!

Hi!

So, here we are once again. Another holiday, another tradition that's going to require some tweaking to adjust for the times we are in. 

Instead of bringing kids into the house to have them walk the line between a good scare and nightmares for a week, they will have their treat ziplined to them, outside, from 30 feet away. Don't get me wrong, I will still do my best to make it a spooky, borderline traumatic experience, but it will definitely be a challenge.

Outside, where I live, at this time of year, it will most likely be pretty cold. Let's just hope the wind behaves itself. 

With everything that's going on right now, this must seem pretty frivolous to most. Why am I worrying about trick or treaters in the middle of a pandemic, for crying out loud?

Here's why.

It's fun. We need fun. It might look different, it might require adjustments, but it's fun all the same. It's easy to feel swallowed up by the fact that we are going to have to work around this virus for months yet to come. We need to find pleasure in the goofy things, the fun things.  It can't all be about what we can't do. 

This weekend, let your goofy roar. You're allowed.

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For our neighbours to the South...

You are days away from determining who your president will be for the next four years. 

The early voting numbers prove how consequential this election is. 

I have to say the measures taken to mess with the postal service, limit ballot drop boxes, close polling stations, encourage intimidation, and to just make it way more difficult than necessary to vote, period, are shocking.

This isn't something you generally see in a democracy. 

From the outside looking in, it's freakin' scary to watch.

A while back someone on Twitter asked what it has been like watching the past four years from another country. This is how it feels for me.

It's like watching your friend and neighbour, knowing they are being abused by their spouse, also knowing there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. You've made the authorities aware, you are there for support, and you will be there when they summon the courage to break free. 

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May truth, real truth, filter through the noise so your vote can honestly represent who you really are.

May every vote count, every voice be heard, it's a right, not a privilege, no matter who or where you are.

May you vote for the one you'd like your children to emulate, the one driven by empathy, the one driven to think way beyond himself.

May you vote for the one who champions democracy, science, reality, equality, the one who will put conspiracies back on to their crazy shelf. 

May you vote.

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Now, you'll have to excuse me as I go and put the final touches on my fake furry rat zipline and other creepy things! Bwaaaaahahahahahahahaha...

 Looking for a bit of fiction to pass the time? Check it out!!!! 

https://www.amazon.ca/Once-Broken-Margy-Reid-ebook/dp/B071HTFTX6/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=once+broken&qid=1604076432&sr=8-3

A Very Simple Thing...

                                           My cousin, Chrissy, an ICU nurse.

                                                                                 
 Hi,

The trees, once again, stripping bare to save themselves from the damage heavy snow can bring.

An involuntary survival mechanism built-in by nature.

The hair standing at attention, the twinge deep in your gut, your instincts, all of it steers you toward survival, nudges you toward the path you're meant to take. So much of what we need to do is simply allow ourselves to pay attention. 

Some people are more intuitive than others, that's a given, but survival instincts are baked in because, well, evolution. 

The basic, but incredibly important difference between humanity and nature's other beings is that we have other factors the come into play.

Trees that lose their leaves, lose their leaves. The leaves fall to the soil beneath, acting as insulation from the snow, rotting, becoming nutrition for the soil, in turn, feeding the tree. 

Trees don't have a choice. But, what if they did?

Would trees choose to keep their leaves out of vanity, out of pride, out of comfort? Would they question the loss, refuse, even knowing that doing so could cause harm to the ground beneath? Would they look at other trees shedding their leaves and thriving because of it, and change their minds? Would they hold on to their leaves because they simply don't want to believe that it would help them survive the winter? With time and information would they become willing to shed their vanity, shed their comfort for not only their best shot at survival, but the survival and betterment of the forest as a whole?

Personifying trees is a stretch, I know. But, throughout nature, you'll find ready examples of birds, mammals, amphibians, and countless other creatures where convenience of self does not trump what is needed for the greater good. 

When you get rid of the noise, all of the outside influence and listen, really listen to the twinge in your gut, listen to what your instincts tell you truly makes sense, that's when you can make decisions about moving forward. Decisions that you will be able to look back on and feel good about. 

Very few decisions in life are all or nothing. This is no exception. This is not either/or. It's all about adjustment and rolling with solid, proven information as it expands with experience. 

As a person, like so many of you, with vulnerable people within my family, watching the rallies protesting the wearing of masks makes me both sad and angry. What a slap in the face to the front line workers. The doctors, nurses, hospital support staff, EMTs, teachers, grocery workers, and all of those who put themselves in danger, and in some cases have lost their lives to this thing. They deal with the ugly reality of this virus every stinkin' day. They go home, or whatever they are calling home through this nightmare as not to put their families in danger, and turn on the news to see hundreds of people fighting against the very simple thing that can keep our system from being overwhelmed by patients. The very simple thing that would help lessen and slow the spread, help keep this thing at bay until it can become eradicated, or as close to it as possible. A very simple thing. 

And for what? Some warped stand for freedom? Our freedoms are impaired each and every day for the sake of health and safety.

*Speed limits- You can't drive 50MPH through a school zone, right? 

*Drunk Driving laws - You don't get to drink and drive and put yourself and others in danger, right?

*Seatbelts/car seats - Science proved them effective, you don't drive around with your baby jumping around all over the place, right?

*Smoking in hospital/hotel rooms/restaurants - literally happened, but not anymore, right?

None of these mean you can't drive at all, you can't drink at all, can't smoke at all, they just mean you have to do them with some modifications.

As you learn, you know more, when you know better, you do better, right? Evolution.

Every single one of these things had a starting point. They had controversy. They had arguments against them. Eventually, though, common sense wins. Science wins.

This time it's not even a permanent change. It's a temporary inconvenience. 

Please quit spitting in the faces of those who are trying to get us through this. The least we can do is do everything we can to make their jobs a little less horrible. Literally, the least.

We got this. We just need to lift each other over the hardest parts.

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May we take the care needed. All of us. Every. Single. One. It's a Very Simple Thing. 

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If you are looking for a little fiction...

https://www.amazon.ca/Once-Broken-Margy-Reid-ebook/dp/B071HTFTX6/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Once+Broken&qid=1603474177&sr=8-2

 

The More Things Change...

Hi!

Although we still are living in a bizarro version of our lives, it's comforting to know that not everything has changed.

Kids still climb trees, jump into piles of leaves, play board games, and create scenarios in which clones of Lexi hang out with vintage Donnie and Marie. 

As this virus stalks humanity into the fall and winter seasons, the temperatures will dip and people will head indoors. We can already see the number of cases ticking upward. Although it isn't at all realistic to think that we can protect every single person from getting this thing, it is possible, necessary, and our duty as humans to keep as many people from getting it as we can.

At this point, we know what we have to do. People still have different opinions as to how serious to take this, mask use, and so on. The bottom line remains, stubbornly, the virus doesn't care about opinions.  

Opinions won't get us beyond this thing. Fighting about opinions won't get us beyond this thing. 

Our actions will get us to the other side of this nightmare. Lifelong epidemiologists will get us to the other side of this. International science grounded in fact will get us to the other side of this.

Vaccines are in the works. They will help. They will not be a magic bullet. They will take time to take full effect. 

That's okay. 

We can do this. We can take care of each other. It's not sexy. It's not ideal. It's not impossible. Hard, but not impossible.

We haven't been living in a vacuum for the past eight or so months. We've learned things about this virus and each other. 

Now, we need to take what we've learned and move forward. 

We got this.

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Okay.

This is insane. The actual President of the United States of America spread a conspiracy theory that Obama and Biden killed a Seal team and didn't kill Bin Laden. That Bin Laden is alive.

What?!

This is insane. The President of the United States of America refuses to disavow QAnon.

What?!

He likes to pretend he doesn't know stuff. 

Two things. 

He should ABSOLUTELY know these things. IT'S HIS JOB TO KNOW THESE THINGS!

So either he knows, and is lying, or he truly is completely unaware, and is incompetent. 

You can't have it both ways.

He either believes the nonsense he spreads, which, in and of itself is a huge issue, or he doesn't believe any of it and is intentionally feeding gross misinformation to his vulnerable followers, filling them with fear and hate.

You can't have it both ways.

You are either fighting to protect pre-existing health conditions or taking the case to the Supreme Court fighting to kill the ACA which protects them.

You can't have it both ways.

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The next few weeks are going to be interesting, to say the least. We have elections going on here, there are elections going on south of the border, and last, but not least, I have to figure out a way to make sure  Halloween is fun, filled with candy, and scary enough to make the trick or treaters squeal just a little.

We got this.

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Until next time...

May we all look within ourselves and do what we know in our hearts is right.

May we band together and keep our aim true, bringing the end in sight.

Thanksgiving 2020...

 

Hi!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my fellow Canucks!

With this stubborn virus still circulating, this holiday, like everything else during 2020, looks a bit different this year. 

Celebrating safely requires a bit of creativity.

So, this year, it's a Thanksgiving wiener roast! Outside, bonfire, distanced. Nothing fancy. roasting hotdogs, ham and brown beans in slow-cookers, broccoli salad, and cheesecake. Not everyone could come, but we do what we can, always.

There, of course, is no denying that this year continues to throw challenges in the mix without discretion. 

It's requiring patience, resourcefulness, ingenuity, and more types of discomfort than we knew existed. It's scary as hell and can be overwhelming more days than not.

Through all of it, the things to be thankful for seem to take to the shadows, they become a bit harder to find, a bit harder to feel.

We still need to find them. We still need to celebrate them. Even if it's hard. Even if it's in a very different way. 

We are very lucky. I know that. 

There are so many facing evictions, long-term unemployment, food insecurity, monstrous hospital bills, lack of decent medical care in all its forms. 

Where you happen to live makes way more of a difference than it should. 

Everyone is tired of it. Unfortunately, the virus doesn't care.

Let's continue to lift each other over the hardest bits. Let's put others' safety before our comfort. Let's continue to adapt, continue to be willing to roll with new information as we get it, and follow the science. It may not seem like much, but it's everything. 

So for now, today, I'm pulling from the shadows.

I'm so thankful for my amazing husband, my incredible kids, their husbands, partners, and friends, my crazy huge family, and, last but absolutely not least, my grandbabies. 

I'm thankful that where we live, our leaders have followed the experts, and in doing so, have kept our systems from becoming overwhelmed. 

I'm thankful.

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May we all find our way through the shadows pulling into the light what makes us sing.

May we continue to find ways to put smiles on those who need them most, happiness can still be a thing.

May we find a way in this mess to get beyond doing just what we need to do to survive.

May we find a way to smile easily again, find a way to bring joy, to lift neighbours, thrive.

May we all be thankful for the little things, even if the big things feel heavier than ever.

May we try to keep in mind, although it seems so far away, this chokehold still isn't for forever.

Even Now...

 

Hi!

So, in Canada, during this past week, we had Orange Shirt Day.

For those who don't know, Orange Shirt Day is a day set aside to acknowledge, and honour our indigenous people, all of whom are affected by the residential schools they or their loved ones were forced to go attend.

Horrible abuse, mental, emotional, physical and sexual took place within the walls of these schools, the last of which, shamefully, only closed in 1996.

First Nations children were kidnapped from their homes and families, all but destroying an entire culture.

Generational abuse generates generations of broken souls. 

It's not something to 'forget about' or 'get over.' 

You can't continually run over someone with a car and then tell them to walk it off and forget about it.

We can't go back and change the past. I so wish we could. We can, however, do everything we can to learn everything we can about what happened and how it happened so nothing even remotely like this ever happens again.

Even now, a First Nations patient recorded racial abuse she suffered at the hands of staff as a patient in a hospital in Quebec. Even now.

Even now, indigenous people, women and children especially, go missing exponentially more than anyone else in the country. They vanish. Even now.

Even now, there are many who hold racist attitudes toward indigenous people. Even now.

I don't claim to have all of the answers. Massive damage, such as what we have done to the First Nations culture since we landed on these shores all those years ago, isn't repaired quickly, if it ever can be. But, we have to try.

Systemic racism runs deep in our legislature, in our institutions, in our culture, in our streets. We don't, as a country, do enough to help heal the wounds we caused.

We don't get to dictate to those we've hurt what is needed to heal. That's not how it works. 

It's beyond time to listen. To really listen. It's beyond time to take real steps toward healing.

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Now, south of the border.

Holy crap!

The "debate" between Biden and the guy that is supposed to be a President.

Okay, I ran a dayhome for YEARS, caring for over a hundred toddlers over the course of that time.

Needless to say, I know a tantrum/meltdown when I see one.

I recognize a lack of self-control. I know precisely who needs a timeout and when.

I think Biden showed incredible amounts of restraint in the face of someone who couldn't, not once, keep quiet for a two-minute stretch of time, and respectfully let someone else finish a thought.

Then to top the evening off with a refusal to denounce white supremacy, and a call to arms of his conspiracy theory loving, gun-toting lunatics, well, to say it was unsettling would be putting it mildly. 

At the event, he, his family, and his cronies refused to wear masks at the venue, where it is required to do so.

Now, he's sick, his wife is sick, he went to an event even after he found out Hope Hicks was sick. They themselves weren't the ones to notify the public about Hope, It was leaked. Leaked. This seems to be the only way the citizens get to find out truth. 

How many people have they put in jeopardy because of their lack of... I don't even know at this point what the word is for what they lack.

Even now, it's being reported that people working within the White House aren't wearing masks. Even now.

Even now, they are trying to downplay this. Even now.

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Until next time...

May we all acknowledge and accept the part we play in the pain we cause, even now.

May we do all we can to help heal the wounds, listen, really listen, doing that, we may learn how.

May we, someday, create a time in history wherein true equality thrives.

May we get to that place, lifting culture, lifting families, lifting lives.

May we allow ourselves to feel the responsibility of what happened, and how.

May we accept it. No excuses. Do better. Especially and even now.

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