Only 208 pennies left

In a matter of days, my son will be turning 10.  Ten….how is that even possible?  I swear it was only yesterday he was swaddled up in my arms a mere few minutes old.  It was instant love.  A love that I never knew I could have for someone.  Yet, when I look at him now, I can’t even remember life before him.  So what do 208 pennies have to do with all of this?

Recently I came across an article by Eryn Lynum, called How 936 Pennies Will Forever Change How You Parent.   The story is about how at her son’s dedication, they were given a jar with 928 pennies.  Each copper penny represented 1 week of his life until he would turn 18.  It was a story about spending your weeks/pennies wisely.  And this story resonated with me and when I went it did the math, it rocked me to my core.

My son turning 10 means that I only have 8 short years left until he’s officially considered an adult.  He’s already more than halfway there.  But considering the fact that I share custody of him with his father, that means I only get half as many weeks to enjoy with him.  So 8 years is 416 weeks, and for me that means on 208 weeks left where he will be with me.  208 weeks!   It really puts things into perspective of how little time we have in this life and how important it is to spend it wisely.

I once wrote about how I had been criticized for loving my son too much and I will never, ever apologize for that.  The first few years of his life, I was deep into a tumultuous divorce fight with his father and feel like I lost of lot of that time being upset and worried about what was going to happen next.  So I will not be made to feel guilty about enjoying every moment…every one of the pennies I have left.

We will enjoy cuddles and kisses, laughter, adventures and all kinds of fun.  We will go exploring, we will learn new things and enjoy every single penny’s worth.   I’ve already used up 260 of the pennies that I have been given in a blink of an eye.  It’s bad enough I only get half the pennies that most parent’s get with their children, I don’t want to look back at my son’s childhood and feel like we’ve missed out on anything.  I want us to live life to the fullest.

How will you spend your pennies?

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Midwives – Supporting Pay Equity

Most people that know me, know that I am not one to talk a lot about my personal and political beliefs on social media.  I believe what I believe and am very rarely swayed from that.  However, being not only a woman, but a single parent doing it on her own, this is a campaign that I support fully and believe we should all know more about.  And that is supporting pay equity for midwives.

I did not use a midwife personally, but that doesn’t mean I don’t support what they do and support the right for them to have pay equity.

Pay equity for midwives is #overdue. In Ontario, women on average earn only 71 cents on the male dollar. This gap is more pronounced for women and trans people, especially those who are Indigenous, racialized, elderly, newcomers, or those who have a disability.

 

The pay equity gap for Ontario’s most female-dominated profession, midwifery, is at least 48%. How is this even possible?  Male or female, whoever is doing the job should be treated equally. 

 

Midwives are awaiting a decision from the Human Rights Tribunal in response to their application for pay free from gender discrimination. They believe a decision is imminent – likely later this month.

 

They need your support. You can help support this campaign by ordering a t-shirt from their campaign site (www.midwivesoverdue.com) and take a picture to share on social media channels. Please use the slogan: Pay equity is #overdue!

 

Once the decision is out, you can also join midwives for a rally at Queen’s Park or across the province on social media with the hashtag #OVERDUE.

I believe that the concept of equal pay for equal work is something we should all support especially when the variance is so drastically different.  Your support is appreciated.  Thank you!