When I came online today, the first thing I saw were posts about the Ottawa Catholic School Board’s decision to limit access to the graphic novel Drama to kids in middle and high school only because a few parents were concerned that there is a same sex kiss depicted – and all the ahem drama the decision has caused. Naturally, I weighed in and several friends asked me for recommendations for books about LGBTQ+ families for kids of varying ages. So I’ve compiled a list – it’s not exhaustive or comprehensive and I’ve tried to include Canadian content where I could find it available, but it’s a starting point.
The Power of NO
In the last decade, a plethora of business and self- improvement books have cropped up – all either extolling the virtues of saying yes or purporting to teach you how to get others to say yes to you. Always the contrarian, I’m going to spend some time explaining why saying ‘no’ has opened my life to far more joy and far less stress than saying yes ever did.
Cancer’s Legacy
The first time I remember hearing about cancer, one of my young school friends had been diagnosed with it. Growing up with severe asthma, I spent a lot of time in the hospital and made fast friends with some of the other ‘regulars’ including some who had cancer. Some I saw a lot over the course of my childhood, others I only saw a few times (in my mind because they got better but that may be overly optimistic). Then, when I was 6, my great grandmother, who I was extremely close to, was diagnosed with leukaemia. Little did I know then that she would be the first family member but definitely not the last to do battle with cancer. Cancer has been a thread woven into the tapestry of my family – on both sides.
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Sensitive Santas Around Ontario
I’ve written before about how Christmas can be a tough time for kids on the spectrum, or kids who have Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), or kids with a host of other special needs that make typical holiday events such as visiting Santa Claus at the local mall almost impossible. In the past two years, more malls have embraced the sensitive Santa programs, which is great. However (you know there was going to be a however right?), as word about the programs has spread, more and more people are booking sensory-friendly Santa visits and the programs are nowhere near keeping up with demand. It’s not even mid-November and there are no sensitive Santa slots to be had at malls in and around the GTA. Most sold out of tickets (whether free or with a nominal donation usually to an autism related charity) within hours of going on sale. Which is fine because special needs parents can always drop everything to wait online for tickets to be released and nothing ever happens that would require their immediate attention… oh wait.
Travel Tuesday #JennDoesTheCapital (part II)
My last #JennDoesTheCapital post was predominantly about the beer – and though I enjoyed quite a few very nice beers over the course of my trip, they weren’t the focus of the next few days. After my exciting trip into the city, and the Beer Clock with dinner, I was ready for bed. Driving is exhausting – especially when it’s raining and there are trees trying to play whack-a-mole with your car. Plus I had an early morning ahead of me and a full day of activities planned so after packing my bag for the day, putting my camera battery on charge, and choosing an outfit (the less time I needed to spend in the morning the better), I hit the hay.
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