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For many years I regarded October as the most stressful month in my calendar. Not only does it include Thanksgiving and Halloween, it is my daughter’s birth month. For all of these reasons, and more, she absolutely loves the month of October, pumpkin spice and all! For me, as a single parent,

My two cents Moneca Jantzen Editor the arrival of October always signaled the beginning of a season of financial and social anxiety. While I was always happy to make the month fun and memorable for my kiddo, on the inside I was a big ball of stress wondering how to make things special, how to pay for everything and get through it all socially—turkey dinner, fun birthday party, gifts and Halloween costumes, too much candy in the house. It was also hard to not start thinking about Christmas as well.

Now that my daughter is an adult, I no longer feel so stressed when October rolls around. I reluctantly cook a turkey every year. A huge production in the kitchen for half an hour around the table and a big mess to clean up afterwards seems beyond anticlimactic and no one seems as thankful as they should, especially since it’s, well, Thanksgiving. Birthday celebrations now mostly consist of an e-transfer and maybe dinner out. No muss, no fuss. As for Halloween, sometimes I’m home, sometimes I’m not. Wink, wink.

I probably sound like a real party pooper and I probably am, but in the name of avoiding stress I like to think of myself as pragmatic.

A friend of mine actually has this whole thing hacked. Her family celebrates Everything Day. They choose a day in the year where they can all be together and they celebrate birthdays and all holidays on the one day. I believe they still observe all the things along the way but the pressure to try to get together is not there and the gift exchanges have already been accomplished. This is probably not an idea everyone would embrace especially when there are children involved but I happen to think it’s a clever minimalist solution.

To add to the festivities this October, we happen to have a municipal election on our plates as well. With so many candidates, most of whom we’ve probably never heard of before, I’d say we have our homework cut out for us. Whether we read all the news articles and ads, scour all the pamphlets that come to our mailbox, watch the news or visit all of the candidates’ websites and attend all of the forums, it is important that we educate ourselves before we vote. It would also be nice if everyone who is eligible actually votes this time. It amazes me how many people take our right to vote for granted and don’t bother heading to the polls. Some of those people that fail to vote also have the audacity to complain about the state of things after the fact.

Not only can you cast your vote on Election Day October 15, 2022, there are several advance polls (October 5, October 8 and October 12, 2022) and also a way to vote by mail for those unable to do so in person. There really is no good excuse not to vote.

Another day worth observing this month is Care Aid Day on October 18. If you have a care aid or health worker in your life that you appreciate, be sure to acknowledge them and thank them for all they do.

While October was a month that tortured me a little bit for a couple of decades, I can now stand back and feel more gratitude than anything else. In the grand scheme of things my life has not been that difficult. I am grateful for my family, especially my daughter. I am grateful that I’ve reached a point in my life where I can relax a little bit. I’m grateful that I still live in a democracy and can vote. (At least at the municipal level I still feel like my vote actually matters. Provincially and federally my vote never seems to make an impact in this riding yet I will always exercise my franchise.) I’m thankful for so many things and while there does seem to be a great deal of upheaval out there in the world, I find that counting one’s blessings can be one of the most grounding things one can do. I hope you, too, have plenty to be thankful for this October. Happy Thanksgiving!

Voices of Experience

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