Waitress loses job after shaving her head for charity

I came across this article on Perez Hilton, of all places. This woman, living (and until recently working) in Owen Sound, ON. shaved her head to support a cancer charity (Cops for Cancer) and when she showed up to work the next day she was fired!!! 

My husband's parents, who live in Wiarton, ON (about 40 minutes outside of Owen Sound) were just at this restaurant, Nathaniel's, to celebrate their wedding anniversary and they've raved about it on more than one occasion. They're both very disappointed, and surprised at this news, not only because the woman was unjustly "laid-off" (ahem, bullshit, she was fired), but because apparently this head-shaving ritual is really popular all over the area up there. My in-laws listed off a number of people they've come across who participate, some shave their heads every year, and it seems that the whole thing is quite supported by the public. So, it's not like the owner of Nathaniel's could claim that people would think he had hired a skin-head or something. Customers see this all the time and embrace it. 

This is sexist and ridiculous (I've attached the article which details this point well, so I won't bore you by rehashing it here...), and I just had to comment. 

Follow the link and read all the details.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/080605/canada/canada_shaved_head

Words

These aren't new, but I wanted to keep better track of them, so up they go...

Audrey

Sweet little girl.

She squeezed my finger,

And melted my heart.

Jeff’s lips, Dashka’s cheeks,

Long limbs and expressive eyes.

This perfect baby,

A dream fulfilled.  

In Times of Struggle

We may ask politely for answers,

but we must also learn

to find comfort where we can,

without them.

Warm Winter Days

Before you I dreaded

The coming of winter days.

But now I wait for them eagerly,

Knowing that once the chill sets in,

And the snow starts to fall

You will be here keeping me warm. 

Stars and Strollers

Today was a big day for Owen and me. After mulling it over for several weeks now, I decided that today was the day I would try and take Owen to the movies for the first time. My baby, while being the absolute love of my life, has not been the most adaptable kid in the world, so I was nervous about taking him before he was ready, even though I've heard of other moms taking part in Stars and Strollers regularly with no trouble by this age (5 months). But, I know my boy, and I needed to wait until I felt confident (confident and less petrified are synonyms, right?) that we stood a chance at getting through 2 hours being in the same place, without crying - much. The potential was certainly there for it to be truly awful for both of us, not to mention the other poor movie-goers, so I took my time psyching myself up for this day.

I timed it all out last night. His feedings and naps had to be scheduled in just so in order for this to work. I needed to get him to the theatre a little on the hungry side, so I could give him a bottle during the movie, thus occupying approx. 20-25 minutes where I was guaranteed a happy fella. He also had to be a little on the sleepy side, so that I could get him to nap after his bottle. However, he couldn't be too sleepy, otherwise the grumps come out, it makes it really hard for him to calmly drift off, not to mention just making him cranky in general.  Anyway, so we started off well. He watched the previews happily and took his bottle like a champ. He continued watching the movie for a bit, and started to show signs of tiredness. The drifting off to sleep part, however, didn't quite go the way I hoped. He wanted to sleep; the poor guy was rubbing his eyes and would look at me as if to say, "Mama, why is it so loud? I can't sleep like this." I felt for him. It didn't last long before he gave up trying, and he proceeded to throw a bit of a tantrum. Not wanting to make a scene (despite the whole nature of the Stars and Strollers supposedly being inclusive of babies' ways), we stepped outside to work it out. After some coaxing he relaxed and fell asleep in my arms, so we ventured back inside, this time going way up to the back corner of the theatre where it was considerably quieter. 

This is when I made note of my one mistake: I picked an action movie, instead of a dialogue-heavy drama. During the quieter scenes Owen was able to sleep well, but then the guns and tanks come out, the music swells, the soldiers and sidekicks start screaming... and well, you get the idea. Not good. In my defense, though, there were only 2 options for the baby show, Sex and the City, and Indiana Jones 4 (you can guess where I was). The thing is that I'm going to see SATC with my girlfriends on Friday, and I didn't want to ruin the excitement of that, so it was Indy or nothing. I suppose I had been hoping that when the website info claimed "reduced volume" at these screenings that they really meant it. They didn't. Not enough for babies to stand much of a chance to sleep through anyway. *shrug* Anyway, I'll know for next time. In the end, Owen woke up with 15 minutes to go in the movie, so I turned him to face the screen and he made it to the end without another peep. Then I packed him up and when we got home he immediately passed out.

All-in-all a good experience, I'd say. We will definitely do this again - maybe even next week! And the best part is I now have this romantic vision of Owen looking back on his childhood with fond memories of movie dates with his Mama, starting all the way back when he was only 5 months old. As I head off to bed, that's better than warm milk, I tell ya. 

Good night. :)

The Orphanage (movie)

You all have to run to your nearest video store and rent The Orphanage. If you liked Pan's Labyrinth (another movie I raved on and on about last year), this is produced by Guillermo del Toro, the director of Pan's Labyrinth and the two are similar in feel, effect and stunning visuals.

By the far one of the best, scariest, most moving films I've ever seen, Luke and I spent the first half of it trying to decide whether or not we could handle continuing to watch it; it's that intense and suspenseful. But, unlike typical slasher flicks made these days, the scares conjured up by this team (director is Juan Antonio Bayona) are in what you're afraid is coming, rather than what actually does. It's like they played on our assumption that a gruesome death or flash to a scary screaming face is imminent after every long silence - but the trick that makes The Orphanage stand out is that scares don't come cheap. At one point my heart literally pounded for almost 40 minutes straight, but I think I only actually jumped once or twice. The fear just builds and builds and BUILDS until you think you're certainly going to explode. 

The story revolves around a woman who decides to move back into the orphanage she lived in for a time as a child, whose own child ends up with "imaginary" friends. The awful things that take place, and the intertwining pasts of characters that unfold create an amazing world where you are heart-broken in one moment, and terrified in the next. This a touching, devastating, beautiful movie and I can not recommend it enough. At the end of it, Luke and I just sat there, blown away at how effectively this movie shook and entertained us, without pandering to obvious horror movie expectations. 

You will love this movie, but be warned: Do NOT watch it alone. 

Woman lived entire life in an iron lung

I just read this article on one of my favourite sites, Momlogic.com, and had to repost it here. It's so heart-breaking and mind-boggling! Check it out here:  http://news.aol.com/story/_a/woman-who-spent-life-in-iron-lung-dies/20080528140809990001

Green Toronto

I just got back from the Green Toronto Festival happening at Yonge/Dundas square. It's quite a big event; they've closed off Yonge street for a couple of blocks and dozens of eco-friendly artisans, groups and businesses have set up booths. The vibe is really positive and people are all really excited to take part, whether by attending and learning or by informing and/or selling their products. 

I picked up a few things, but one company in particular got me excited. Greenbean Studio (greenbeanstudio.ca) is a "sprouting business" that uses plastics bags and wrap as stuffing for pillows and pet beds. People unknowingly recycle their plastic grocery bags or bubble wrap, thinking that it's like any other plastic, but moldable plastics like these just end up in our land-fills and Greenbean Studios wants "to contain them so they do not become Urban Tumbleweed and leach into our water, air and food chain." Some of the pillows can be rather crunchy - if they're filled with bubble wrap for instance - but Christine Fulton, the owner and creator, uses these stuffings for more decorative pillows, and uses smoother fills for pillows that you'd use day-to-day. I bought the latter type, a small cushion for lower-back support and I love it. It doesn't lose its shape, and it's also cleaner than foam-stuffed pillows/mattresses because it doesn't attract dust mites. 

Greenbean Studio relies on the community to grow their business by donating plastics. They will come to your house, pick up your bags and plastic wrap, and create these wonderful products. Please visit their site to learn more - I think they're really onto something here. This is an easy and effective way to pitch in to help the environment and you can get something fabulous (beyond the mere satisfaction of doing a good deed) in the process. 

Have a green day!

Sad heart - not a fluffy post...

I've been totally overwhelmed by amount of news lately reporting on the deaths and suffering of children. The cyclone in Myanmar (Burma), the earthquake in China, the morons accidentally shooting their children while turkey hunting in the States (yes, plural!). I sit here, tearing, wondering how parents go on without their babies. Knowing they were frightened, that they suffered, that they died... it's too much. The other day, while watching my baby sleep, I committed to memory every scratch, every dry patch (he has eczema), his wacky hairline that's still re-growing and trying to figure out what it's going to be, the smell of his breath, the way his cheek got smushed and made his lips fold into a little bow. To think that I might ever have to live without him breaks my heart and stops my breath. And parents all over the world deal with that horror every day. 

I hate it, very much, when people say "we're so blessed to live in this part of the world...". While it's true that in Southern Ontario we live in a pretty safe little corner of the world, with few natural disasters to worry about, and a relatively equal and free society - to say that we're blessed, to me, implies that people living in other areas of the world are not.  It gives me shivers to think that there are people out there who believe that we have been singled out to live a blessed life while others have been selected to suffer indignities and pain. Who could be so arrogant and simplistic as to think that God (in whatever form) consciously pointed his finger to a map and said "These people will know pain and despair beyond comprehension, and these people will attend Tupperware parties and want for nothing"? Excuse my exaggeration, because of course we experience death and sickness, pain and heartache. However, while each experience is devastating to people it affects, our suffering is not wide-spread or in any way part of typical day for most of us. We do not experience genocide, or tsunamis, or slavery, or war, or political unrest. We do not legitimately worry that our children will be kidnapped and hurt, that our homes will be destroyed, that we may not eat on a given day. 

On a given day in my life, I worry about things such as getting my pre-pregnancy body back, about "finally" buying that bed frame I've wanted for a year or so, about having to share laundry facilities with annoying neighbours (as well as other, less trivial things, but I'm illustrating a point here). It's audacious, yet totally typical I think, as I have never experienced anything that truly flattened me, nor do I live in fear. We don't know suffering on a massive scale and I write today from a humble and slightly embarrassed place. I've always been empathetic, and emphatic about certain values and beliefs that I hold dear. I don't believe myself to be ignorant, nor apathetic, but upon reflection this week I know that I can do more. After-all, it is the responsibility of those who can do, to do, and it goes a lot further that complaining or crying about the issues that provoke us. 

Post-script:

Whenever I tell my father that I'm embarrassed to be sad (because of all my life's blessings, it often seems silly and self-indulgent to complain), he says "Every drop counts. We all suffer and it all counts. Every drop of rain contributes to the ocean, and while others may contribute flood waters, don't dismiss the value of your drops into the pool. The ocean needs them all." That's a major para-phrase, but I think I've relayed the idea. Just something I thought about as I reread my post... I truly am not trying to devalue the people living in well-developed "safe" regions, just trying to wrap my own head around the unbalanced and often so unnecessary anguish all over the world. Hoping to figure out my part in it all...