All clear

By the time this edition hits the streets, the election will be over and done. Some folks will be smiling. Some folks will be scratching their heads. The others will go back to the drawing board and tell themselves, “the world just isn’t ready for a real change, maybe next time.” And, so it goes with elections—of any kind. There are many voting strategies and as many theories about why we vote the way we do. Suffice to say, if you didn’t vote, don’t gripe about what could’ve been.

So, how was my weekend, now that I’m back in Ontariari- ari-OH? Glad you asked. LOML and I spent the weekend with my brothers and their others. They came to the County to help us celebrate a belated Thanksgiving. LOML and I had been in Shilo, Manitoba for a family emergency and missed the official Thanksgiving weekend. In fact, we spent Thanksgiving Day in transit back to Ontario. We are thankful the outcome of our youngest’s surgery was a resounding “all clear”. We are thankful to have family around us to celebrate all the good things in our lives. We are thankful for the good food and even the weekend’s homemade music. And, was it a stress-free weekend? Glad you asked. Of course it wasn’t. We talked about the kids—the sons, the daughters, the nieces, the nephews and the grandchildren. Everyone has an opinion about child-rearing, and everyone’s method is the right method. We talked about our jobs and our business. We talked about eating right, working out and getting older. We talked about our homes. We talked about those Blue Jays and, indeed, we may have talked a little bit about politics. Okay, we talked politics. Do I know how the brothers and their others voted? Glad you asked.

No, I don’t know how my brothers and their others voted. I don’t even know how LOML voted. It’s probably a good thing. We all get together and talk about the good, the bad and the ugly in regards to politics— provincial, federal or municipal, but we don’t reveal our hand. Politics have never been a taboo subject at our table. Politics, as part of a meal, has made the pie indigestible at times but we still talk politics. Whichever party is in power today, let’s hope it works together with the other parties to make amends for the wrongs, to continue to do the things that work, and plan to make good choices for the average, everyday citizen. As Canadians, we are all very vocal at the social media level. Additionally, we’re quite outspoken in our letters to the editors of local and national newspapers. What we fail to do is make ourselves perfectly clear to our elected officials whenever we feel something isn’t quite right. Let’s make the 19th of October the start of a new year for voicing our opinions to our federal members of Parliament. Griping on Facebook or Twitter or around the dinner table doesn’t make things happen, it just wrecks the pie.

You and I are fortunate to live in a country where we are free to let our prime minister and his cabinet know exactly how we feel about their platforms and policies. Heck, we don’t even have to put a stamp on it if we decide our political Hallmark Moment needs to go via snail mail.

Happy New Year, kiddies. Time to keep your resolution to be more involved in this country. Time to keep that resolution to get off our duff and let our prime minister and our member of Parliament know we want a strong, efficient, honest government. Let the bells ring out, let the banners fly.

theresa@wellingtontimes.ca