Bell Let's Talk...Today Anyway

  Every year January 28 is Bell Let's Talk Day. It's a day set aside to raise awareness and money for mental health programs across the country. For every social media post with the hashtag, Bell Media will donate 5 cents. Simple, easy, and every year it raises millions of dollars. It's a wonderful initiative. The downside of it all? One day we are all talk and supportive...the days and weeks that follow? Not so much.

  We keep hearing the word "stigma" and how we need to remove it from our vocabulary and way of thinking permanently. So why do we lower our voice when we talk about a friend or family member who is depressed? Or an aunt who is bipolar? If mental health is no different than kidney stones or diabetes why the secrecy? Embarrassment...that's what. 

   Yesterday we were told that kids would be heading back to school while we are still in lockdown. I was told that they should not be going and when I said that of all the days to be dismissing mental health's importance I was told that at least they would not be dead from COVID. Okay, that's a point but if a teenager suffers from depression or anxiety it could last their entire lives!! Would any parent want to condemn their child to a life filled with those two diseases? I don't think so. But we make tough decisions every day as parents and we need to look at the whole picture and our kids mental health has to be part of the equation.

   So how do we change the way people talk and look at mental health issues? I used to think if you or someone you knew suffered from it then it would be easier to get people to open up about it. But the stats say 1 in 5 Canadians suffer from some form of issue. That means we ALL have a friend or family member already. And that didn't change anything. Then I thought well once you go to a funeral of someone who just couldn't go on because of their suffering that would immediately change your way of thinking. Yet sadly I can think of at least 4 people in my family and nothing changed for the majority of those left behind. I was wrong again.

  If death and suffering haven't turned the whispers into screams then honestly I don't know what will. It makes me sad knowing so many people are tortured and they cannot tell their loved ones about it. I always come back to something my mother-in-law said close to 25 years ago. "If my child had cancer or diabetes people would be offering support but because he is mentally ill no one will look at me or talk to me about it." Truer words were never said back then, or unfortunately, now.

  Keep talking. Always. And if no one listens talk to me...I will. That's a promise!

  Ang

The Calm After The Storm

  I woke up this morning feeling I had lost 10 lbs and 20 points off my blood pressure. My coffee tastes better and my house looks cleaner. There is a bounce in my step and even my hair seems shinier. I don't need to explain why. The world is feeling the same way!

  Since we are still in lockdown, will it ever end, my day is pretty uneventful. More Christmas decorations going into the storage room. Another load in the dishwasher. Some time on the treadmill. Checking Twitter between each task. An average day just with a bit more hope injected into it.

  I know there are many people in the US who are not as happy as many non-citizens about the new Pres but in the words of Mick Jagger...you can't always get what you want. Even if you were a Trump supporter on policy, the daily chaos must have tired you out like it did everyone else. A little peace and serenity won't hurt you.

  So today...just 24 hours...let the world breathe, relax, enjoy the calmness. Tomorrow may be another story.

  Ang

  

Thirty Day Recap

  It has been exactly one month since I sat down to write. In that month I have wanted to talk about so many things but sometimes the words do not fall onto the paper like I would want so I leave them there til I can make them into the thoughts I want to express. While I am waiting for that miracle to happen let me skim over the last 30 days of my life for ya.

  The biggest & best news of the season is Trump is gone. Not out with a whimper but out with a bang. It's official in the courts, in the congress, in the senate...everywhere but in Trump's head. True to form, he is still rilling up his supporters, of which there are many. It has cost him another impeachment which honestly I'm Canadian and don't really understand the harm of it because the first one did absolutely nothing except make him more popular. In 5 days the orange-faced jackass will slither off to Florida to continue on his "I was robbed" tour from the comforts of his golden retreat. On behalf of the world...good riddance!

  Vaccines are rolling out and into the arms of Canadians. Not at the speed we would all like but progress is being made. Many healthcare workers and LTC residents have gotten one, if not two, doses. We just need to keep our shirt sleeves rolled and soon we will be seeing a return to the normal lives we didn't know we enjoyed so much. Public Health across the country will get a standing ovation when we are all vaccinated...not to mention a long rest! 

  The holidays were a modified success. Meaning they were quiet with only us but we kept as many traditions as we could. The kids got more presents than they ever have since we are not vacation bound in the spring. I'm forever thankful for online shopping or no one would have received anything! I have planned our 2021 Christmas holidays and let me assure you it looks nothing like this past one! Except the people of course.

  School is back on-line after the holiday season where apparently not everyone stayed home and away from others. It's hard to watch my kids be isolated again. I know it's difficult for them to put into words just how tired and frustrated they are with the entire situation. We stay positive for them and try to make them laugh daily. Though my oldest talking about what home he is putting us in is getting a little worrisome. 

  Babies have been born and friends have mourned the loss of loved ones. We laughed. We cried. We screamed. I bought a fire pit and we watched the flames until we became too cold. I cooked. I cleaned. I cursed the ever-growing laundry pile. We watched too much tv and finally finished Poldark though it's taken so long I forgot how it all started. Harry Potter trivia kicked our butts but my kids know way, way, way too much about The Office.

  That is the past month in a nutshell. We survived and with the new extended lockdown, we will continue to do so. There is light at the end of our tunnel. Focus on that.

   "It will be all right in the end. If it's not all right it's not the end."

  Ang