Wild Fires in Fort Mc Murray - Donate to Red Cross

If you want someone to show up for you in a crisis, you need to show up for others in a crisis. Make a donation to the Red Cross to help the evacuated residents of Fort Mc Murray.

Meeting Joan Friedman and unpacking twins stories

I had the pleasure to meet Joan Friedman at the Multiple Births Canada conference this past September. I had spoken with her a few times over the last few years about twin dynamics, raising twins and limit setting. Joan is an expert on twins and one of her main messages is to reinforce the importance of seeing multiple birth children as unique individuals.

For the folks that I see raising multiples or who are themselves adult twins the messages in families - never mind society - play a huge role in individual development and self-actualization. The story you are told about yourself from birth plays a huge part in how you have relationships, how your organize yourself in the world and how you see opportunities or limits.

Little sayings

 I found some favorite little sayings when cleaning my office papers which is a nice way to frame a therapy process in the New Year.

The Irony is this: If you don't go In, you can't find out.

You can either Let Go or be Dragged.

New Year Resolutions Reveal His-Story

New Years Resolution: Clean my office papers.

I stumbled upon the newspaper article I kept when the Famous Five finally made his-story by arriving on the $50 bill. Goodness, it's been 4 years since they have been removed from the $50 bill and replaced by a boat. Has it been that long since I last cleaned my office papers?

The Force is dormant.

The Force Awakens was great.

I love Harrison Ford (Han Solo).

But it is such a disappointment to learn that Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia Organa / General Leia Organa) has earned less then both Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker). Remarkably less. All Luke Skywalker did was turn around and he got paid more. You'd think 40 years later some of this shit would change. And don't even get me started with Hollywoods "request" that she lose weight for the role. 

Multiple Birth Children and the EI Act Discrimination

When someone says your complaints are vexatious, which really means that you are whining without out cause, I wonder how equitable the situation is. When privileges are allotted to one group are not the same allotted to another group it is very easy to want to deny any extension of benefits. For example, if each pregnancy is given 35 weeks maternity leave and most pregnancies result in singleton children then if the same amount of maternity leave is given to families who have multiple birth children, they are only receiving half of the same benefit. When multiple birth families request for equal application of the EI act it is not DOUBLE as the media likes to portray it is, its is actually just equal to what parents of single born children receive.


When people talk about EI parental benefits they often take the perspective of the parents. It is the parents who earn the benefit and so they say “I only got so many months leave, why should you get anything different?” But with everything else, we consider the needs of the child(ren) first and foremost. The children’s needs are paramount, so from the perspective of the kids, the application of the EI benefit is unequal when there is a multiple birth. When people reject this idea, they see the benefit as some kind of luxury benefit being provided to the parent. However, it is not about the parents needs as much as the childrens needs. Everything else we do is with the focus of what is in the best needs of the child(ren) and clearly the EI act application is unequal in meeting the needs of multiple birth children.

Requesting the distribution of benefits to be equal to singleton children is not double when multiple children are considered, it is simply equal. To meet the needs of multiple birth children, the EI act needs to change to include multiple births! Otherwise systemic inequality continues to exist.

Niqāb

• Please don't vote for a government that does not respect women. Please don't vote for a government that is racist.