Buttercups & Burlap

I remember getting the phone call.
I remember the person on the other end telling me that our beloved committed suicided.
I remember my heart pounding, my ears ringing.
I remember hanging up.
I remember throwing my phone across the kitchen and sinking down to the floor.
I remember the tears flooding down my face.
I remember going to work the next day and breaking the news to others.
I remember their screams and their sobs.
I remember the funeral.
I remember spending the rest of the year picking up the pieces of broken people left behind.
I remember realizing that none of us would ever be the same.

Far too many people commit suicide to escape the pain.
Far too many people are left behind with the pain.

World Suicide Prevention Day is September 10!

The Canadian Association of Suicide Prevention is one organization that seeks to unite people in 50 countries under the auspices of promoting the understanding of suicide, and to aid in the goal of a world without suicide. If you click on this link (and I sincerely hope that you do); you can find out about the online event that the CASP is hosting, called, “Creating Hope Through Action.” In addition to toolkits available in a plethora of languages. You can also find WAYS TO GIVE.

September 5th is the International Day of Charity. This day was established by the United Nations in honor of Mother Teresa. It was established to raise awareness and encourage people to become active global citizens by helping others; whether this manifests itself in the form of donating supplies, money, skills or time. As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have said, “we can all live a life of service. Service is universal.” Any contribution great or smaller is one step closer to a brighter future. 

Sometimes it can be difficult to know who to donate to/support. A fantastic resource to help research the best rated charities is Charity Watch. This site assigns a grade to each charity, specifies the amount that is spent on programs relative to overhead and the amount spent to raise money (increment of $100).

A helpful source for Canadian specific charities is: Charity Intelligence Canada. This site also assigns a grade to each charity, outlines financial transparency, demonstrated impact, the need for funding and the cents that go to the cause. I used this site to choose the organizations I wanted to highlight.

This year, I am choosing to donate to five charities; ideally I would also like to volunteer my time; however, with remaining pandemic restrictions and still recovering from my accident that isn’t possible. 

1. War Child Canada
2. Canadian Foodgrains Bank
3. Aunt Leah’s Place
4. First Book Canada
5. Indian Residential School Society

How do you plan on celebrating today?

I had been looking forward to the summer for a very long time; basically the second we went back to work in September, I was already counting down the days. I know that sounds bad; but teaching in a pandemic really sucked.

We had gone into closure in March 2020; and stayed closed for the remainder of the semester at this time we were encouraged to work from home and minimize time spent in the school. We adapted very quickly to online teaching. Then we went back to in-person learning in September 2020 with a ton of restrictions and safety protocols. It was necessary but it was hell for us and for the students. We shifted to online learning for four weeks at the end of November; but we were mandated to be in the school building. As numbers continued to climb we were precariously skirting the line of online learning again… and we ended up having to quarantine, ran out of subs and were forced into closure a week before the province implemented a two week closure and shift to online learning once again.

Needless to say everyone was exhausted. As teachers, we were among the last to get vaccinated… which in itself caused a lot of stress.

You can understand why I was looking forward to summer after the topsy-turvy school year.

My summer started off with me catching up on some much needed sleep and chores and looking after the dog, who had surgery to removed a few hygromas on his elbow. I was looking forward to spending lots of time in the garden and breaking in my new greenhouse. And of course, reading! We planned a camping trip so we could do a little fly-fishing and I could “nerd out” at a few historic sites in the area. I managed to catch a fish and almost make it to the historic, Fort MacLeod… but eleven days into my summer; I fell and broke my ankle and required emergency surgery. It ended our camping trip immediately.

So, my summer has consisted of sitting on the couch, watching the Olympics, reading Wilbur Smith novels, prepping materials for the upcoming school year and doctors appointments.

BUT… I have been so incredibly touched by the love and care that my family and friends have given to me. They have looked after me and the dog, got groceries, did the chores I couldn’t do, driven me to appointments and so much more! I am so lucky to have the family and friends that I have. I don’t know how I will ever be able to repay them!