Margo à la Maude

While pregnant with Margo, I was sometimes shocked by how things on the news affected me. Sitting in my kitchen one sunny morning listening to CBC, I heard an interview of family members of soldiers en route to Afghanistan from Canada. I began to cry inconsolably as I listened to wives, mothers, and children talk about their loved ones' impending departure. Mentally, I was putting myself in their shoes - what would I be feeling if my husband was heading to an unstable zone? What about Margo? How would I get through my days knowing that they might not make it back alive? My thoughts turned then to the women and children of Afghanistan. How would it feel to go through your days not feeling safe and secure? I cried. I pegged it on the pregnancy hormones, but as these deep feelings and ability to relate to others has continued, I'm not so sure it was pregnancy alone.

Recently, while visiting Michel's sister in Montreal, Angie asked me how things had changed since becoming a mother. I thought about it, and my answer was simple: "I have less time for stupidity in the world."

A simplistic answer, perhaps. But I really do think that I feel differently about the world. Never having loved someone quite so much as I do Margo, my ability to feel has deepened, and I want the world Margo grows up in to be a better place.

So what can I do about it? Over the course of my life, I've volunteered for many causes, ranging from delivering meals on wheels, canvassing for political candidates, working for a campus safe walk program, tutoring at a literacy program for the children of recent immigrants/first generation Canadian children, to organizing fundraising events for international women's groups. I've given money annually to many groups, including Planned Parenthood, Oxfam, the United Way, the Canadian Cancer Society, UNIFEM, the Kids' Help Phone and the Stephen Lewis Foundation. I strive to balance international groups with local, and give to organizations I really believe in. I'm a sucker for supporting friends and family who are running/walking cycling to raise money for their charities of choice.

Now that I have a baby, time is . . shall we say . . limited. I recognize that the time I have now to spend with Margo is precious, and important. Still, the desire to continue to do my bit is strong. I was recently asked to provide some research support for the web-based project: Status Report. I agreed to take on weekly Hill monitoring to watch for more attacks on equality rights in Canada. I've been struggling with this for weeks. I want to do it. I really really want to be involved in a project I feel is so important, but the reality is I.Just.Don't.Have.Time. And it sucks. If I am able to read the paper each day, I feel like I've kept up with what's going on in the world. Reading Question Period and Committee transcripts daily? I'm dreaming.

This morning, Margo is being a super napper (must be the cold she's fighting, poor thing), so I was attempting to catch up with some of the blogs I enjoy reading. I found this post: Changing the World, One Mommy Blog at a Time, written by a blogger from Toronto. (I realise that the Margoville Gazette is not so much a Mommy Blog as a Daddy Blog where Mommy ocasionally pipes in, but this genre of blog seems to be cast already).

I gotta say - it was the perfect thing at the perfect moment. In it, Sandra writes that making change in the world is possible, even for time crunched parents. Perhaps writing a blog entry every month about a charity or cause I feel strongly about - to raise awareness among you, our wonderful readers, is an act I can undertake. And I challenge the rest of you bloggers (Mommy or otherwise) to do so as well. What causes do you care about?



'Cause after all, who wouldn't want a brighter
future for this generation?

- Donna

Labels: Activism

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 23, 2006 at 11:09 a.m.. You can skip to the end and leave a response.