You know… that Blog?

So, Coke Brampton… what’s it going to be?

Written By: Jenn - Jun• 02•16

We’re there again, in contract negotiations between the union and Coca Cola.

Thing is, for a while now, they’ve been telling clients calling in for orders that we’re “definitely going to be on strike”, so they should “stock up”. I guess we know what the company is planning.

The last I heard about what they’re offering is that it was a complete joke – same old, same old: Divide and conquer, union-busting nonsense. I understand that offer was ripped in half at a meeting. I’m not quite sure where we are at the moment, but from what we’re getting, it appears that Coke is once again not going to play fair. Will that mean another lock out? As you recall, we didn’t actually strike last time; Coke erected fences and locked workers out. Oh sure, they CALLED it a strike, to anyone who would listen, but the simple fact of the matter is that it was a lockout, and an attempt to bring the employees of Brampton more in line with the American ways of doing things (read: no job security, lower paid jobs, contracting out or hiring part timers so no benefits or pension funds need be paid out, etc.) That just doesn’t fly in Canada. We are hard-working people, and we will not allow ourselves to be screwed.

Don’t quite recall how things went last time? Here’s a link to all of those posts that should bring you up to speed: http://youknowthatblog.com/tag/coca-cola/ – it’ll open up in a new tab for your reading pleasure.

So the long and short of it is, as it stands now, we’re likely looking at some sort of work stoppage. Lockout or strike? Guess we’ll find out next week, on June 10th.

Once again, the unionized employees of Brampton and everyone who supports them, will be forced to fight for fair treatment.

We’re not asking for the moon – we never have. We’re not asking for unreasonable wage hikes – just normal cost of living. Essentially, we’d really like things to just stay in line with what we’ve already fought hard for.

Keep it fair, Coke. Remember that these are men and women with families. Good people. And please, lets try not to throw untruths or misrepresentations around again this time, ok? That’s just sad. You have a great workforce that you should be happy to support, not try to screw over at any given moment. Let’s be Canadian about this, shall we?

Good luck everyone. Keep it civil please.

 

 

 

A year later…

Written By: Jenn - Apr• 23•16

Moms-birds

It’s been exactly a year since my last post, which I guess means that blogging just doesn’t hold the allure it once did.

This past year has been the hardest of my life, beginning with a cancer diagnosis for my Mom on April 21st. We hoped and fought so hard, but I lost my Mom a few weeks ago, on March 1st.

My Mom died. She’s gone. I still don’t know how to process this. Every day is a crap shoot on if I’m going to get through it without sobbing. The grief is so absolute. I keep thinking, and I can’t stop. I think about the last time I saw her, and said goodbye. I invited her to haunt me (she hasn’t, so far). I told her we would be ok, and that we’re strong because of her, and how amazing she was to have as a mom. I keep thinking about how hard she tried to respond to me, the fading grip on my hand, the gut wrenching yet faint moan as she tried to tell me how much she loved me. I knew, and I told her so. I knew how much she loved me. Throughout my life, we always, always said so to each other. Throughout her illness, we talked, although it doesn’t seem like we said as much as was needed. As much as *I* needed to say. I know it never will, and I have regrets only that we didn’t have more time.

mom-me-hands

I know it will get easier to bear. My friends who have been through it all tell me I need to just let the grief happen, and that it could take a year, or two, or more before the rawness subsides. I know this in my head. My heart will take longer. I can’t accept it, even though I know I have to.

We had a party for her on April 3rd. In my family, we don’t believe in putting anyone through visitations and funerals. They’re horrible traditions and make things so much worse for the families left behind. We aren’t religious either, so there was none of that happening, and I’m grateful for it. In our family, we have parties. Call it what you will, be it an Irish Wake, or a Celebration of Life. We celebrate, because memories are all we have now, and sharing those is the best way to heal. The turnout was beyond what we expected, as people poured through the door throughout the afternoon. We laughed. There were a few tears, but so many more smiles, and that’s exactly what Mom wanted. She would have been pleased to see so many faces of those who loved her, and those who had never met her, but came in support of her family. It meant so much. I made bookmarks instead of memory cards – Mom was an avid reader, and she would have been tickled. My Dad really appreciated that, and said how appropriate it was.

I see my mother in every Cardinal. They were her favourite of all the birds who frequented the feed stations or sat in the tree outside her kitchen window. I’ve always associated them with her, and even more so now. The day I went to pick up her ashes my SUV was dive-bombed by a Cardinal in an area that I’d never seen one before. I took that as a sign that Mom was there, and she was telling me that it was OK, because she was still here with me. Out loud, I said “Ok, Mom”.

A week before she passed away, it suddenly became imperative that I find a large locket so I could keep some ashes in it. My friend Alice, who is a funeral director, talked me out of that, and found instead a pendant that was made especially for ashes. She ordered it and had it shipped to the funeral home (she lives an hour away) who would be taking care of Mom. My friend at that home, Rebecca, called me the next day to say that it was already there, and she’d take care of filling it for me. I thank both of my good friends with my whole heart for helping me with this. Having a bit of Mom has been extremely comforting for me.

mom-ashes

The Hubby and kids have been wonderful, and understanding when I’m not as present as I need to be. I hurt my back lifting my Mom when I was caring for her, and it’s taking a while to heal. The grief and stress has exacerbated my Fibromyalgia, and the elevated pain I’ve been suffering with is my body is telling me I’ve got to start taking care of myself. I know, and I owe it to my kids and hubby to do that. I will. I am.

My Dad is a rock, and while I’ve only seen him break down twice in this whole ordeal, I know how much losing Mom has devastated him. He lived for my mother, and everything he ever did was with her in mind. I’ve been so worried about him in all of this, and between my brother and me, we’ve tried to minimize the amount of time that he’s alone. I know he needs to be alone though, in order to learn how, and also privately grieve as he needs to. A couple of times I’ve dropped everything because he’s called to ask if I was free to spend the day with him – he won’t say he needs anyone, but when he asks to spend time with you, you know he really needs it. He’s going to be ok. He’s making plans for his future, and that is a huge relief for me. He’s retired, but he’s not an old man, and he knows he has to keep going. We all do. And we all will.

A lot more has happened in my life in this past year, but this post is about my Mom, and I’ll catch everything else up another time. Or maybe I won’t. I’m not putting pressure on myself either way, so what will be, will be.

Thank you for sharing this with me, friends. Writing about it was damn hard, but I needed to do it.

I love you, Mom. Haunt me or fly by any time… I’m waiting for you.

mom-cheers

 

 

Wow – it’s been a long time!

Written By: Jenn - Apr• 23•15

I didn’t realize how long it had been since I posted until I was coming in to do some routine maintenance and updating. Yikes!

Lots of changes to my life, and a lot that hasn’t changed a bit. The Teen and Wee One need new names since neither applies any longer. They will be 21 and 11 respectively this year. I shall call them Thing One and Thing Two… no no Daughter the First, and Surprise! No no no… D1 and D2. Until I come up with better monikers, anyway.

D1 is currently in Punta Cana with her BFF enjoying a well-deserved vacation before real life begins. She is finished school now, you see, and is about to set her own course. Proud of her, and scared crapless, I am.

D2 is doing great in school, made a bunch of great friends, and of course you know what that means… we’re moving.

I don’t know where or when yet, but I can’t stay in this house another year. We have the neighbours from HELL – otherwise known as the “NFH” by everyone who knows us, or who knows them. Not all renters are bad, don’t get me wrong, but when you get doozies, you get doozies. I am sick and tired of having to call the police because of the noise and stupidity that happens on a regular basis. We actually had to put video surveillance cameras on our house because their friends were urinating on our cars! Most of that stopped when they noticed the camera (they only know about the one I think) but the constant parties are more than I can stand.

So we’re going to paint and make the place irresistible, and then we’re outta here.

I’ve wanted a bunch of things done around here, but The Hubby hasn’t had any desire much time to do them. A week ago I decided we were going to paint and do wainscoting on the main floor and up the stairs. Hubby needs to “see” things, I realized, so…

wainscoting-blog1

wainscoting-blog2

D1 was kind enough to help out with my shenanigans. Hubby was a little shocked when he came home, but he agrees that it looks great, and he’ll get to it. Eventually. No, it has to be ASAP because we’re MOVING, ok? It will increase the value of our house, dear!

I also want the second walk-in closet in the master bedroom done, and we need to do some landscaping. Sadie is still with us, and killing all the grass since she doesn’t like to pee in exactly the same place twice apparently, and yelling is pointless because she has decided she’s completely deaf now and doesn’t need to listen (although she can hear the food container being moved from the other side of the house still). She’s still crafty though, and avoids even looking my way for a hand signal until she’s ready to come in. The old girl was 15 in January. She is still incontinent, so our floors are super-clean because we have to wash them – well, her traffic area anyway, which is under the kitchen table and in many sniffing circle pathways throughout the main floor – several times a day as she wanders around. We gave up on diapers – they’re more trouble than they’re worth – so we have a rotating set of blankets for her to lay on in her spot in the living room, and we do laundry daily too.

J-B is doing great too – he and his wife have been traveling extensively so I hardly get to see him some months. They also just found out they’re going to be grandparents in a few months! We have expected this news for a while, but it’s fun to see him grinning like the Cheshire cat. He’s going to be an amazing Grandpa!

The Hubby and I celebrate 24 years in June, and we’re planning a big trip for our 25th next year. Likely a 2 week cruise somewhere – haven’t decided yet. It will be my folks’ 50th anniversary that same month, so they’re going to come with us and we’ll have a big celebration at sea. Or wherever we end up going. I choose to believe that will happen, even though we got some incredibly terrifying news this week. I don’t even want to talk about it, because losing my mother is something that I just don’t want to deal with for decades. I choose to believe that she’s going to be ok, and with us for a very long time.

There’s probably a hundred other things I haven’t thought of while sitting here catching up, but I can chat about them later I guess.

How are things with you?