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When A Stranger Has No Social Filter…

Jun 06 2017

When it comes to social graces, some people completely missed the boat. Were they born without a filter or did something happen to make them that way? I have no answers here, but I do have a story. A few months ago I was at the grocery store with my daughter and the cashier criticized my parenting. No qualms, no mercy, she flat out tried and convicted me without knowing a thing about me or my daughter. You can read about how enjoyable that was HERE. Turns out, this was the same cashier who a few years earlier (she’s a lifer at our local grocery store… lucky, lucky us) berated my friend in front of a long line of customers. She made a snap judgement about her parenting (she is a wonderful, loving parent by the way), and called her out for being what she deemed “a negligent parent.” Seriously lady?! a) Who do you think you are? b) You had no idea what this mother was dealing with that day. c) Ever heard of customer service? d) If you don’t have any nice to say, zip it. e) Your conveyer belt is always sticky. Yesterday my sister in law and[…]

May 09 2017

Back in University the nursing students were cool AF. As I rotated between sociology and anthropology lectures (not cool as anything) I admired them. They were good at science and not afraid of blood, needles or germs. Other than nursing a few hangovers, and “Nightingaling” my kids over the years, a career in nursing was never in the cards for me. Though nurturing by nature hospital smells have been known to make me faint. Plus science is like, really hard. Thank god for nurses—qualified, kind-hearted, non-fainting souls—who have cared for my family over the years. As the parent of a child with disabilities, I’ve had my share of interactions with nurses—mostly positive. There were a few Nurse Ratchets, but I get why they’d be snappy at the end of a long shift dealing with needy sick people. There are three nurses in particular who have made a lasting impression on me. They are all skilled professionally, but their secret medicine, humour, makes them exceptional. Maternity Mayhem Nurse No disrespect to doctors, doulas and midwives—you folks know your way around a dilated cervix. But huge props go out to the amazing nurse who looked after us after the rather horrific birth of our[…]

Apr 21 2017

Inspired by a presentation given by Canadian environmental scientist, David Suzuki, my son delivered an impassioned speech of his own at school on the topic of the urgent need for environmental rehabilitation. His words echoed that of Suzuki as he explained that the days of merely preserving nature are over. Alarmingly, many scientists believe that 90% of humans will be gone by the year 2100. This horrifying revelation is not science fiction, but based on scientific data related to overpopulation, environmental destruction, carbon pollution and climate change. Our kids understand the urgency and want to be the difference that saves our planet. Unfortunately, adults with the power to execute change, aren’t listening. Suzuki’s concern and underlying frustration was apparent, “Who needs nature in a city? We have Netflix,” he said. His tongue-in-cheek statement refers to our obsession with technology. We’re too distracted and desensitized to comprehend or even notice the gravity of our situation. I can’t get his words out of my head and I want to shout from the rooftops, “Wake up!! We need to do something!” Earth, air, fire, water. These are fundamental needs. Without them, life will cease to exist. We know this, but do we understand the[…]

Apr 12 2017

My daughter loves playing at the park at the end of our street. She’d stay for hours if she could. But since she’s a child with a disability, she can’t go to the park by herself like her peers do—they can come and go as they please, but my kiddo has to drag her mother along. “Drag” makes me sound like an unwilling companion, but I’m usually content to supervise. Though some days, admittedly it’s inconvenient. And boring. After a few pumps on the swing and perhaps an (awkward) chin-up or two on the monkey bars, my thoughts quickly turn to, “I need to start dinner” or “I have to return that phone call by 5pm” or “I have to pee” or “I wish I brought more coffee” or “I really, really have to pee.” But she’s a kid who needs fresh air, and climbing and swinging, and companionship, and your basic childhood fun, so I park myself at the park. Yesterday was a beautiful spring afternoon so I was happy to spend some time warming the park bench. Within a few minutes of arriving, the play structure filled with kids from Avery’s school. They quickly organized a game of[…]

Mar 29 2017

These days it’s unlikely you’ll be pickpocketed in the city square by singing and dancing orphans (think “Oliver Twist”). It’s more likely you’ll be mugged without even leaving your home. Financial fraud can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone…and you aren’t even compensated for your loss with a jaunty dance number. I have a few infuriating experiences of financial fraud to share that have been committed against three generations of my family this past year. Kids, seniors, and people with disabilities especially, are ripe for the picking. These shameless thieves don’t discriminate. Hopefully by sharing what happened to us, (along with some helpful tips from TD!) you’ll avoid the sting of scams like these…. and the new ones cropping up every day. Gen Z—Tweens and Teens My teen is uber tech savvy. Without him I wouldn’t know which remote to use to turn on the TV. But, this doesn’t mean he’s immune to fraud. In fact, he was duped into forking over money (ahem, MY money) for an app. He thought he was paying a one-time-only fee. It turns out the payment was charged to my credit card automatically every month. When I finally noticed and figured out what the charge[…]

When A Stranger Has No Social Filter…

Three Nurses Whose Secret Medicine Makes Them Exceptional

The Truth About The Urgent State of Climate Change

When Your Child With A Disability Is Told, “You Can’t Play With Us!”

Three Generations of My Family Fell For Financial Fraud