HomeMy WebLinkAboutLucknow Sentinel, 2009-10-14, Page 5Sacrificing for the kids is worth every penny
You will begin to miss many things as you make.
your journey through parenthood: your youth,
your energy, uninterrupted conversations;
weekend getaways for two; color in your
hair; a cool . car; your hair. The list goes on
and on.
The #1 thing on my list is spare change.
There was a time when my piggy banks were
full of quarters, loonies and toonies. This
was before I was even married. Once the
ring was placed on my finger, a subtle
process began which eventually robbed
me of my cash. First she (my wife)
would show me some cute but : totally
useless item that she found at Sears or Eatc ns and
enthusiastically, through a series of gestures and
hand motions, show me where it would sit in our
apartment and how it would make our life so
much better. I did not notice ray piggies getting
lighter until much later (possibly Year Three).
Try as I might to refill said piggies, life (and my
wjfe's devious plans) kept getting in the way: a
house, then a bigger house, then furniture to fill
the house, then kids to jump on the furniture in the
house, . . then a dog .to pee on them (the furni-
ture)(and the kids). In fact, there was a point when
we were dealing with so much "life" in our house
that I would come home from work and find the
shell of the woman who was once my wife.
Me: "Honey, come sit on the couch with me!"
My Wife: (gasp) "C -c -can't make it...s-s-so
tired...gonna fall a-zzzzzzz"
Me: "Nice."
Needless to say, I was so motivated to res-
cue my wife that I suggested (via the father-
ly tacticknows as "The Ultimatum") we start
sharing the jobs in our house amongst
all five inhabitants.
We came up with a list of jobs that
had to be done every week in our
house and who would do them:
dishes cleaned, floors vacuumed,
dog walked, useless items dusted, etc.
Then we reached an impasse. (From the Greek
"im" meaning "She wont and "passe" meaning
"let you make a pass until you agree.") My wife,
it turns out, is :of the school of thought that says
"Pay them for doing work." (I believe at one time
she was a commie.) Coming from the farm, I am
at the practical and common sense end of the
spectrum; I feed them; I buy them clothes and
don't usually make them sleep outside. They owe
me.
Unfortunately for me and my piggies, the wife
holds the trump card. ,It'll be ten more years
before I can start refilling.
Mark Thrice is our nationally syndicated humor
columnist.
cClinchey heading
rreg McClinchey, a,
former councillor for
North Huron Twp. will
be. heading to Ottawa to
work in the office of
Judy Sgro, MP for York.
West and the Official
Opposition Critic for
Seniors and Pensions.
A long-time Liberal.
staff : member,
McClinchey, who has
served the House of
Commons since 4993,
accepted the position of
S gro's Executive
•Assistant last month.
"Greg brings with
him a tremendous
amount of experience
working at all levels of
government and within
the fields of communi-
'Lucknow Sentinel;• Wedliesday; October 14, 2009 - Page .5
cations and public serv-
ice, said Sgro. "He has
proven his desire to
help and his ability to
deliver. He will be a
tremendous asset in
both the day4o-day
operations of my
offices and specifically.,'
on issues dealing with
seniors and pensions. I
am pleased to add him
to the team."
McClinchey, who
lives in Blyth and is the
author of a book on for-
mer Huron Bruce
Member of Parliament
Paul Steckle, said he's
"eager" to start his new
position.
"I have spent the last
.16 years working on
Greg McClinchey
important issues at both
the staff level and as a
municipal councillor,"
said McClinchey.
"When I was presented
with the opportunity to
engage on policy items
new job
impacting on seniors
and pensions, 1 jumped
at the chance. Seniors
in Canada need help
now; Judy knows this.
and she is working to
deal with those issues
today.1 am eager to roll
up my sleeves and get
started."
McClinchey resigned
from North Huron Twp.
council last month
when his job became
permanent,, but he has-
n't attended a' meeting
since July.
Both Blyth ward
seats .on North Huron
council' .have been
declared empty, and
council is looking :to
fill thein.
Buying local benefits the consumer and producer
Choice, variety and
year-round availability
have become an accept-
ed. and expected. part of
grocery shopping in
2009. Back in the , old
days, 'people had to make
do with what was avail-
able locally and season-
ally. Is one better than
the other? That debate
will rage on, but one
thing is for sure; fresh
tastes .best! As a result,
there has been a rise in
the popularity of local
farmers markets, market
gardens and 100 Mile
market stores. This new
trend is really just an old
tradition revisited.
If you have become
part of . this new trend,
you may have enjoyed
the taste sensation of
many local food items
already this year.
Perhaps you have even
canned, frozen or pre-
served extra to enjoy in
mid -winter. If -you did,
you would be in the
minority. Most families
today do not take the
time to search out local
food sources, let alone
grow their own or pre-
serve them. If only they
knew the cost savings
and health benefits to
eating more locally and
seasonally available
food.
Perhaps you are
already utilizing local
foods regularly -- good
for you! Keep it up and
teach others about it. If
you have just started to
think about getting more
local food into your diet,
consider these seven
options and choose what
fits your lifestyle.
Seven easy steps to get
more local food into
your life:
- Start somewhere. —
commit to spending $15
a week on locally grown
foods
- Pick Your- Own -
when in season, and do
your own freezing or
preserving.
See
www.foodland.gov.on.ca
for seasonal availability
charts, recipes and more.
- connect to a commu-
nity garden or
Community Supported.
Agriculture (CSA).
Submitted photo
Casey Ward,.of Brookside Public School, finished first in his divi-
sion at the West Region Cross. Country meet h eld ,Oct. 8 in West
Wawanosh , o _servation
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