- Today is "Family Day" in Ontario. It's a made-up holiday that was only instituted in 2008, & while the political contrivance around both the institution of the holiday and its name still make me roll my eyes, I have to admit: February has become a much more tolerable month since we (finally) got a long weekend to look forward to. (I've posted about Family Day in 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008.)
- The Globe & Mail had a front-page article today about Family Day. Sample wince-inducing quote: “Family Day is a great time to get everyone together and sort of remember why we have families and why we get married.” Ouch.
- That said, the article did include some interesting information & stats on how businesses are cashing in on Family Day. "...the day has, in its relatively short history, rapidly turned into one of Canada’s most important holiday weekends – and for those able to profit from it, a strong source of new revenue. Last year, WestJet set a single-day passenger record on Family Day, a remarkable statistic given that some major provinces, including British Columbia, don’t yet mark the day. B.C. plans to add it to the calendar in 2013." I guess that explains why I found it so difficult to get a flight to Florida (see earlier post).
- I've fallen behind in sharing some of the interesting ALI-related articles I find on this blog. That said, The Globe & Mail had an article in Satuday's paper about "The painful new realities of international adoption." "Just adopt," indeed...
- I haven't read all the comments yet (more than 200 so far)... but I was amused to see this early response to a 20-something saying they had always dreamed of adopting: "Why not have children of your own?" Followed a few comments down by: "I've never understood why Canadian couples would want to adopt a Chinese baby when there are Canadian babies to adopt." You just can't win when it comes to family building, can you??
- Dh & I were watching an episode of "Little People, Big World" on TLC Sunday afternoon. (We used to watch it all the time, but I gather it's not on regularly any more. I think this episode originally aired last fall.) The oldest son (one of fraternal twin boys), Jeremy, was heading off to California to study photography, & the parents, Matt & Amy, were having dinner together and talking about how rare an experience that was, and the prospect of becoming empty nesters and having to adjust to a new phase in their life. (They still have three kids at home, but I guess this got them thinking.) I looked at dh & said, "Not a problem for us!" I've had several friends whose kids have left home to go to school over the past year or so, and had to listen to them about how difficult it was. Sorry, gals, you're barking up the wrong tree here... (I did cry when Jeremy left at the end, just the same.)
- I had a really weird dream last night. I think it was triggered partly by photos I got via e-mail of The Princess having her first taste of rice cereal and partly by Betty Rubble's post about Rocky and his Swaddleme. In it, I was given a baby to take care of (not mine). The baby was tightly swaddled, & I put her in the top drawer of my dresser (!) & closed it. In the morning, I heard a faint "wah!" coming from the dresser, opened the drawer & took out the baby. I'm sure dream interpreters would have a field day with that one. ; )
Monday, February 20, 2012
Family Day odds & ends
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Wow. I guess I can see where celebrating families could be very popular, but so many people have a pretty narrow understanding of family, really. This just seems like a day of "Ugh" to me. Except for the part where you get some time off. That part is good.
ReplyDeleteI laughed at your dream. I'm sorry. But wouldn't that be the perfect baby? Just put it away in the drawer till morning.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the name Family Day - like Christmas - makes many people feel lonely. Honestly, I do wonder why politicians label things this way. I wonder if the benefits to the name outweigh the negatives. And why there couldn't be something that pulls everyone together, rather than reminding some people they're different, or alone.
There's a tax-rebate scheme here called Working for Families. My husband and I are working for our family - just happens to be the two of us, and his parents/my mum/ etc. But of course, no, we don't get any benefits whatsoever.
Oh, I just had to write a post about that Globe and Mail article. I just had to.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't they just call it a Civic Holiday and leave it at that. Oh, boy.
On top of Mothers Day and Fathers Day...yet another difficult day for the IFers and PG loss people...ouch in deed. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteI always find it interesting how everyone assumes everyone can have children and that if you are choosing to adopt that is has nothing to do with fertility. I find it frustrating people have such a difficult time imagining different reasons people don't have children or they adopt. But, I assume it is partly the media's fault as people are not exposed to that enough. It is kinda sad, but I typically just try to help inform people whom I can on the perils of infertility.
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