Here we are more than 1/2 way through 2022. COVID continues to be present with those immuno compromised getting a 4th shot. Rumors that a booster of COVID will be in the annual flu vaccine. This remains to be seen. Co-workers have had COVID, family has had COVID – all with people being cautious and maintaining all the safety precautions. People are no longer wearing masks although I continue to when in public spaces and around unknowns like the grocery store or mall.
February 24th, Russia invaded the Ukraine, displacing so many families and with great losses of life, homes, separated and broken families and pets. Canada is accepting families with hopes of providing them with a safe & secure place to start over. I can not imagine what these people have and are going through.
Today in the sleepy little municipality of Saanich, an attempted bank robbery resulting in 6 police officers injured and in hospital. My thoughts and prayers go out to these brave men and women that they have a speedy uneventful recovery. I also hope the perpetrators face the full extent of the law.
South of the border, the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade, with the onus on the individual states to allow or not allow abortion. What a step backwards in women’s rights and autonomy. Hard to believe that this is 2022 and this type of ruling is happening. Canada is a very different country and it is my hope that we continue to have choices as women. Abortion can be needed in so many scenarios from preserving the life of the mother, birth defects or eugenics, it’s not birth control for the most part, there are valid reasons that only the woman, her partner (if she has one) and care provider can decide. It is never taken lightly and should not be dictated by State rules. Women stopped dying from abortions with Roe vs Wade, sadly this is now being undone by the government. There was a post on Social Media that said ” We CAN NOT allow a world where our daughters have fewer rights than their Mothers or Grandmothers” ~Amy Klobuchar ~ and this is SO true.
This year is certainly not shaping up the way people anticipated. One of our adult children is dealing with PCOS , heading to IVF possibly and then a recent diagnosis of Lupus and inflammatory arthritis. The Lupus diagnosis is still very new so just beginning medications and learning on how to manage flares and pain on a daily basis.
Our eldest daughter has achieved her dream job at the University of Toronto as Assistant Director of Education and Communication at the University of Toronto’s Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre!!!
This is a dream job for for her that brings together her experience as an educator, a researcher, an advocate, and a front-line support worker and applies it through a role focused on eliminating sexual violence and providing trauma-informed, anti-oppressive, non-judgemental support to survivors. This is very exciting.
She also has a peer-reviewed article “Maintaining the Carceral Echo Chamber: Tensions Within the Anti-Trafficking Movement in Canada” was published (open-access!) by the Canadian Anthropological Society’s bilingual academic journal Anthropologica!!!
The link to the journal is: https://cas-sca.journals.uvic.ca/index.php/anthropologica
And the link to the article is: https://cas-sca.journals.uvic.ca/…/article/view/1071
Our grands are growing and all doing well. Our eldest grandson is heading into grade 8 come September. Second grandson heading into grade 3, followed by his brother starting kindergarten. They grow so quickly.
We did a thing and now have a puppy. Her name is Shelby and she was born on Valentine’s Day. Back in the fall we were asked by our then neighbour if he was to breed his male Rottweiler, would we be interested in a pup. We said sure. Then come December we heard that Odin was going to visit the bitch. Next thing we heard on Easter Monday was that the pups were ready for pick up and did we want one. Initially we declined based on the $$ however we went a looked at the 10 pups (4 spoke for) and ended up bringing her home with us. Kona went with us and approved the adoption of this girl. She is fitting in well and is a very good pup as far as puppies go. Slept through the night from 9 PM – 6 AM right from the start, very few accidents and has brought lots of laughter and more love to our home.
Summer is sneaking up with my big birthday of six-zero and our fortieth wedding anniversary. We will be renewing our vows prior to our Alaska cruise in August. Family is traveling from away to be here for the renewal. It’s very exciting. How did I become sixty? I sometimes feel it but honestly I feel more like 40. Looking back over the years, sure there have been ups and downs but more ups than downs.
I truly believe that there is more good in this world than bad. More kindness than hate, more generosity than meanness, sometimes you just have to look a little harder to see the good and kind, but know it’s there. Celebrate the good in people. Compliment someone daily, smile at a stranger (if you aren’t wearing a mask), talk with your eyes, show you care, show your compassion. We could all use something positive daily.
Peace and blessings, smile and laughter. Remember that YOU are special and important.
