For My Ambivalent Mother On Mother's Day

If my mom happens to be celebrating Mother's Day today then this is from me to Sandra. This song has been interpreted by many people and in so many different angles but for me it defines my life in terms of trying to be the reflection of my mother that she wanted me to be. She had to have control over everything we did that might say something about her. And we were mindful of that. But if she had stood back and let us be who we really are, I believe she would have been pleasantly surprised by our nature. And no, not everything I did or wanted to do in my life would have been okayed by Sandra but it really would have been okay overall. Instead, I lived my childhood in fear of disappointing her. I was constantly climbing a mountain to reach her, to connect with her and even though I felt I had made it to the top many times, she could never admit to my accomplishments even though my presence there couldn't be ignored. Instead she'd see me there then find a way to push me down again. In recent years I discovered that the bottom of that mountain is where I actually belong. There are people here, children, friends, family who need me and I can't spend my life trying to reach Sandra anymore. The last time I feel I was at the top of that mountain I was expecting my youngest son. I hadn't seen my mom this delighted in years and she couldn't wait to start shopping and telling all her friends. I felt as though I had done it again. Reached the top and had made her proud. But then the baby's kidneys failed him, I lost him and through it all I lost her too. The landslide brought me back down to where I belong, where love lives. To the friends and family who care about me as I am. Brought me back down to the people who laid low with me at my weakest and who stand to support me when I have strength. This is where I belong. I wonder if Sandra sees me in her reflection way up there. I wonder if she is tired from striving to be at the top all the time, trying not to slide away from it. Holding such control of a life she thinks she wants instead of living the life she could instead enjoy. One with children and grandchildren. One with holidays and celebrations. It's too much of a struggle for me to constantly strive to reach her up there and she's far too strong willed for the landslide to ever bring her down. So it is what it is. I celebrate Mother's Day as I'm grateful to be a mom. If Sandra is celebrating Mother's Day hopefully it's because she grateful for some part of her motherhood experience.

The Mother We Share

This song speaks volumes.

Broken Heart Syndrome ..As Described By A Surgeon

I came across this video this morning which ironically was posted on December 16th, 2012 the day I learned my baby had died and had to be soon delivered. I am one of those mothers who has been handed her still hearted baby to hold as described in her story. From a grieving mom's perspective, this doctor sorta gets it.
I had heard his soul through the doppler in my doctors office just a few days earlier. I felt his spirit tumble inside me when he moved. I was scared about a lot of things during this pregnancy but most of all I was afraid that these energies would all end as soon as I had him. But they didn't. I felt like I was going to die of a broken heart in the weeks following his death until the foggy head started to lift a bit and I began to realize he is still a part of me; I do still feel him. When I'm drawn to visit his grave, my heart swells with energy from him. I become emotional when my broken heart emerges to soak up some love and give it the boost it needs to get me through my day. Other times I go to give out the love I need Declan to have from me. Regardless though, I always leave there with a sense of calm in my soul and warmth in my heart because of our connection.
The doctor in this video wants to understand and a lot of what she says makes sense to me. Broken Heart Syndrome is a feeling and this surgeon does a great job at trying to describe what it all means.

Blackfish ~Documentary

Last night I saw the movie Blackfish with a group of people I organize with. Because of all the years I've spent being an advocate for animals, I really expected I wouldn't learn anything new from this film. I thought I had heard it all before but went to refresh what I already know and enjoy a night out. Instead I left the theatre with a wealth of knowledge. I gained insight as to how the trainers are trained. I saw the clip from the capture of Tillicum who has lived his life in a bathtub instead of the natural habit he came from. Horrified, I watched on film humans separate a mother and baby because the little one was a distraction to the mother during performances at Seaworld; always wanting to be by her side. I saw the torment she suffered, I heard the blood curdling cries she screamed and could relate to her grief all too well. I felt this film, I didn't just watch it. Everyone should see this movie. And afterwards, whoever is capable of stepping foot in an aquarium park, zoo or anywhere else that holds animals captive is simply ..heartless.

Winnipeg City Hall Will Vote To Ban Circuses!!

Yes, Winnipeg! Although it hasn't yet been decided, Winnipeg City Hall will vote next Wednesday on banning exotic animal circuses in their area. Read the Global News article here, write your MP, tweet about about it, share it on Facebook ..and maybe, just maybe one day this will have a Canada-Wide (better yet World-Wide) effect!

Blackfish Documentary

This documentary looks amazing and I'm hoping to get out with my friends from HALT to see it in Toronto. Check the TIFF website here for showtimes.

You Never Know How Strong You Are..

My girlfriend Bridge (my 'bridge' who helps me across many obstacles in my life!) sent me this :)

I'm In Love With My City

I believe in supporting my local community as best I can. I shop at local stores, I buy from farmers markets, I eat out at family owned restaurants and drink at establishments operated by people of the city who have invested in their business. I buy tickets for charity groups in our area, go out to Art Crawls and watch comedy shows and bands play at local venues. Hamilton gets a bad rap from so many who focus only on the industrial end of which many of our residents livelihoods are dependant upon. This city is full of culture and diversity and if you truly take the time to appreciate the really great things about it you'll see those things reflected throughout.
I play an active role in the animal rights organizations within the city, my kids play sports at the many beautiful parks and arenas nearby, we visit the AGH and the Royal Botanical Gardens etc but theres so much more to be a part of here; there's a place of interest for everyone, you just have to source it out. There's a new game lounge open downtown, you can roller skate in the outdoor rink at Bayfront Park in the nicer weather or hang out at a Vegan Community Potluck if thats your thing! I could spend hours posting what is going on these days but instead I suggest you check out sites such as Beaux Mondes Jamie Gunner Smith Tourism Hamilton and ihearthamilton or search the hashtag #HamOnt on Twitter. You'll see all that Hamilton has to offer this way AND you'll always be in the know for where the Food Trucks are!!

Thanking My Lucky Stars

I had this image etched onto Declan's
gravestone
in honour of my four taken babies.

I felt like I was starting to go crazy in the weeks leading up to me returning to work. My head was spinning, I was doing things that made no sense (caught myself putting a clean pot away in the fridge instead of the cupboard!) I forgot to pick up a good friend one day when we had plans and I was starting to not know the day of the week unless I looked it up on my iPhone. The numbness was starting to wear and I felt overcome with guilt. I was considering seeing someone, a grief counsellor but really felt like that wasn't the answer. They would only tell me something they learned from a text book and that wasn't for me. Then while browsing on social media, I came across a photo that led to where I am now.

A friend posted a picture on Facebook of a Caulbearer Baby born still in the sac with the amniotic fluid and placenta intact. It's very rare this happens; one website said once in every eight hundred thousand births. The doctor told me it's uncommon when I delivered Declan in that state ..but my mind was so distorted by my broken heart and I didn't quite understand what that really meant. It seems these babies are teachers of a higher learning, destined for greatness. After reading more about it I decided to see a Psychic. And my visit to her was life changing.
Once she had validated some truths that would be very big guesses if she wasn't truly connected, I bought into what she wanted to tell me and she told me this:

Sometimes we think the Universe is a cruel place but we humans accidentally make it out to be that way. The Universe only wants for us what is meant for us and through our misunderstandings we think it is out to get us sometimes. She said I wasn't meant to look after a crippled child for the rest of my life (she said crippled, not weak heart or any of the other number of reasons a baby is stillborn.. she said crippled which is in line with our dealings of positive Spina Bifida results leading up to his death) She said she sees guilt weighing on me because I have misunderstood my feelings from the start. She said I feel guilt as a result of looking back at how I reacted when I first realized I was expecting. She said she knows this was a surprise pregnancy and I acted in a way that I'm ashamed of now; in a way that was not typically me at all ..but that I need to see it as it really is which is Extreme Intuition. She told me I'm very connected and I actually knew what I didn't know I knew at that time. I knew I was heading into a storm and that this was going to happen so it was my way of guarding myself in the moment. It was my way of preparing myself for what was to come so I could be strong around everyone I needed to be strong around. She said Declan knows I love him, he knows I hoped as hard as I could even though I knew that energy used in doing so would not change the outcome. But out of love I tried it. She said he will be returned to me in this lifetime; probably through the form of a grandchild. She said she sees four stars above my right shoulder. Each of the other two psychics I've seen in my life have always commented on the star or stars in the same spot; the number they have given each time was representative of the number of miscarriages I had experienced at that point in time interestingly enough. All being said, her message to me was I need to just see it as it really was; a guard resulting from intuition and I have no reason to feel guilty for being so connected; in fact it's a gift and it is not meant to burden me..

I really feel in my soul that my caulbearer baby directed me to this woman to receive this message. I'm not sure if anyone else really understands what that message means but if you've experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth it may give you some insight to changing the way you interpret what you think you feel and it will make a difference to your well being. This message saved me from losing my mind, from being guilt ridden my whole life and has lifted off a tremendous weight. I still feel sad all of the time, I still wonder where I'd be now if I were still carrying him and how things would look going forward. I'm sad for the visions of our future that are lost and I'm sad because I miss being pregnant, feeling him flutter inside. I'm still very sad. I'll always be sad. But I honestly feel freed from the guilt. And I think I have my four Lucky Stars above my right shoulder to thank for that.

Bringing Balance To My Being

I believe everyone has an energy about them. I believe every thing in the Universe is made up of energy. It surrounds us. It can flow through us giving us a lift. It can escape us and make us feel low. And I believe good energy is infused with love. Sometimes you have to give more than you receive, sometimes you get more than you give but it goes back and forth refreshing your soul with a constant balanced flow. Not a day goes by that I don't tell my children and my husband that I love them. I'm drawn to their energies and feed off their glow.

They say that tragedy brings family closer together and I think that might be because we are stilled in those times. The chaos of energies comes to a halt allowing us to grieve. The people who love you hearts will fill naturally with compassion, surround you with warmth and feed you the healing energies you need to get through the process. As you begin to feel better those healing energies pick up the pace little by little and merge back into the good energy flow that is typical of a content soul. In the times of helplessness it's visible who is really there for you; who really cares. These are the people you want to give back to. It's a cycle of unconditional love and is more powerful than any medication could ever heal me. It's human nature at it's finest.

The only flaw to the process is when you learn some of the love in that cycle is actually conditional by someone you're depending on to draw from. Conditional in the sense that they are family, a part of your life, but not your energy flow. It's ok to include them in your life's routines but to expect to hear an I Love You spoken aloud may be crossing the comfort line for these people. Both my mother and sister have never been more absent in my life than they have been in the weeks surrounding the loss of my son. My sister has never acknowledged Declan's passing. These were two beings I assumed because they are family would offer a flow of uplift while we were at our weakest; but instead turned their backs in our time of need. I've often thought to myself if I can get through these circumstances without them then what do I really need them for? ..until I found meaning in it all.

Unconditional love should flow naturally through us but if there are too many negative energies filling someones being then it would block that flow. Misinterpretations, not knowing how to handle situations, selfishness and feeling overwhelmed can create such negativity and blockages in our spirit. Negative energy is heavier than positive energy. We know this, we feel this. So in understanding this, how could I possibly expect such persons to be able to give what they simply do not have? Why have I never understood it like this before, because nothing has changed; it's always been this way. Why did I expect it to be different when I lost my son?! These woman are my blood, but love is not drawn from blood..
I'm fortunate to be gifted with these awarenesses for if I wasn't it would be a shame for how sad life might seem in these times. Instead of of taking their abandonment personally I can wrap some understanding around it and be grateful that I can see it in this way. It makes my life less complicated and I feel an infinite sense of appreciation for those who choose to be a part of it. Those who chose to not take part in my healing process are still seen in my life, but just disconnected from the flow which is unfortunate for them as they cannot benefit from the power this energy cycle can offer them. I could choose to feel alienated by them but instead I forgive out of pity for what they have missed out on. There are plenty of people surrounding me to pick me up when I fall. And I love them back for it, keeping the cycle flowing with all the love infused energy I need to un-still me, make my inner light shine again ..and bring balance to my being.

Warm Herbal Goodness~ the health benefits of tea

I'm a tea drinking girl, I come from a family of Scots who have been known to give tea to babies in their bottles (auntie Emily!) Before bed as a kid my mum would often make tea and toast, an evening ritual I still sometimes partake in today :)
When I was pregnant I gave up coffee and looked to decaf teas instead. It's pretty amazing what health benefits they have to offer. I've had a lot of trouble staying asleep all night since I lost my son so I searched online for the best natural remedies and Chamomile Tea is on all the lists; so thats where I'll start. I was going to write a post about them but found this article from Best Health Mag in my search and it covers what I'd write anyways so steep yourself some warm herbal goodness and give it a read: http://www.besthealthmag.ca/eat-well/nutrition/7-herbal-teas-that-will-make-you-healthy

7 herbal teas that will make you healthier
Need a health boost? Reach for a soothing cup of herbal tea to relieve nausea, bloating and other common ailments
By Meredith Dault

There’s nothing nicer on a cold midwinter’s day than a soothing cup of herbal tea. But besides being a tasty, warming, caffeine-free pick-me-up, herbal tea has lots of wonderful health benefits. From soothing a troubled tummy to easing insomnia and calming a troubled mind, herbs have all sorts of healing powers. Drinking herbal tea can also be a great source of vitamins and minerals.

What is herbal tea?
Herbal tea isn’t really made from tea—which is a specific kind of plant. The French use the word tisane, which is a little more accurate, since herbal tea is really just an infusion of leaves, seeds, roots or bark, extracted in hot water. In drinking a well-steeped herbal tea, we get all the plant’s benefits in an easily digestible form.

The benefits of herbal tea
“In a lot of ways, we might get more benefit from a good organic tea than from a vitamin pill,” says herbalist Marianne Beacon of Elderberry Herbals in Peterborough, Ont. "You’re getting the benefits of hydration. There’s the social element: Tea is something that you can share with people. And when you’re drinking herbal tea, you get aromatherapy at the same time—and that’s something you don’t get from a tablet!”

That’s why Toronto-based herbalist Marcia Dixon says herbal tea should always be steeped in a covered vessel to contain the beneficial essential oils. “Otherwise, your room smells nice but you aren’t retaining the medicinal properties.”

How to choose a herbal tea
When it comes to choosing a herbal tea, both Dixon and Beacon agree that it’s important to look for a well-sourced product made from high-quality ingredients. If you’re drinking tea for the medicinal benefits, then definitely steer clear of products that add things like essential oils or flavours. And to really get the full benefits from drinking herbal tea, make sure you steep your loose tea or tea bags long enough—in some cases, as long as 10 to 15 minutes—to really bring out all the healthful properties.

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“Anytime you’re ingesting something, you’re giving your body the building blocks it needs to manufacture tissues and hormones,” says Dixon. “If you drink tea every day, you can make all sorts of significant changes to your mood, your skin, your sense of well-being and energy.”

There are so many wonderful herbal teas to choose from. Here are a few of the most common. Don’t be afraid to try something new!

Peppermint tea
Halifax naturopath Colin Huska recommends drinking peppermint tea to relieve the symptoms of abdominal gas and bloating, and to relieve muscle spasms. It’s also good for nausea (without vomiting) and for heating up the body and making it sweat. If indigestion or heartburn are problems, however, then Dixon recommends avoiding peppermint altogether. Peppermint tea can also be made using fresh herbs from the garden—and it's one of the easiest herbs to grow.

Ginger tea
Another great digestive aid, ginger can be used to curb nausea, vomiting or upset stomach due to motion sickness. Make fresh ginger tea by simmering a piece of ginger root on the stove for 10 to 15 minutes—add fresh lemon juice and honey when you have a cold for a powerful germ-fighting combination. Beacon also suggests making tea from powdered ginger to ward off a chill.

Chamomile tea
A gentle calming and sedative tea made from flowers, chamomile tea can be helpful for insomnia. It can also be helpful with digestion after a meal. Huska recommends chamomile in cases of cough and bronchitis, when you have a cold or fever, or as a gargle for inflammation of the mouth. Be sure to steep it well to get all the medicinal benefits.

Rooibos tea
High in vitamin C as well as other minerals, rooibos has all sorts of health benefits. An easy drinking tea, it’s largely grown in South Africa and has been touted for its antioxidant properties—which may in turn help ward off disease and the signs of aging. It has also been shown to help with common skin concerns, such as eczema.

Lemon balm tea
An easy-to-grow plant, lemon balm is helpful for lifting the spirits. “It’s good for the winter blahs,” says Deacon, “and it can help improve concentration.” She adds that lemon balm is safe for children and may help prevent nightmares when consumed before bed. This herb also makes a refreshing iced tea, and can be flavoured with lemon or maple syrup.

Milk thistle and dandelion tea
When consumed as a tea, milk thistle or dandelion are gentle liver cleansers. “They help the liver to regenerate and function at a higher capacity,” says Huska. “They can also assist in the production of bile, which can help with our digestive process.”

Rosehip tea
Rosehips are the fruit of the rose plant and are one of the best plant sources of vitamin C, which is important for the immune system, skin and tissue health and adrenal function. Consider reaching for rosehip tea next time you need a health boost.

Pink & Sarah ~Angel

..Let me be empty
And weightless and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight.

Paul Is Dead~George Harrison's Last Testament

I remember as a kid hearing rumours that the real Paul McCartney was dead. I remember trying to play the records backwards to hear the "I buried Paul" lyrics. But I never put too much thought into it since, until I watched this documentary last night... I can't stop thinking about it now. Could it be true? Could they really have pulled this off? Did this Beatles secret maybe lead to John Lennon's assassination? It's pretty crazy stuff but just crazy enough that they might have my buy in. You can view it on Netflix and probably find a clearer version of it elsewhere in the web but give it a watch and see what you think!

Paul McCartney Really Is Dead: The Last Testament Of George Harrison from Osde on Vimeo.

Thankful For Me

Each year around this time I write up a quick post for all the things I am Thankful for in my life even though almost everything I write which revolves around my family or friends is written with my heart bursting with love and gratitude for them. All of that still stands true however..
I've come to some realizations lately and see myself differently these days. I've given myself a harsh evaluation and have decided to rid my heart and my head of the chaos that lives within. I think sometimes I over care about people and take on responsibilities that no one ever expected me to in the first place. Sometimes I blame the Mommy in me for my over helpfulness but really I've always been this annoying. And its draining. Not just to me but to the people around me I'm sure. So, I'm letting go. Letting go of the chaos so I have more space in my head and my heart to enjoy the love that does come full circle for me, the good energies that are sent my way that I often acknowledge but don't fully absorb because there is too much going on. I plan to care less about the people and things who don't make that much of an impact on my life and it's not a negative process. It's just the opposite really. I'm thankful that I have the wisdom and intuition to recognize when my life is unbalanced and I'm thankful for the strength I have within to be able to make it change. Without conceited intent I'm thankful for me and I know so many others in my life are as well, making me thankful for them; ..and see? That is how the love comes full circle. And soon I'll have the space to absorb it all.

Summer Days, Drifting Away

We've all seen the Back To School commercials where the parents are overjoyed to be sending their kids back to the classroom, we've all heard people thank god they're going back soon and we've all heard someone somewhere at sometime tell us how they go about celebrating once the kids are back in school. I don't get it.
Time off with my kids is spent living. Really living. We try to do something fun everyday and not everything has a huge price associated with it. Picnics are a big thing for my kids, skipping stones at the beach, swimming, summer festivals, camping; that kind of stuff. Why would I ever want those sort of days to be over? I work part time so not everyday was full of time and freedom but we definitely made the most of the summer. To celebrate the fact that they're stuck back in a stuffy classroom, surrounded by expectation, social demands upon them, absorbing an overload of information all day everyday makes me sad for them in comparison to what we've just spent the summer doing ...Living. And learning as we go; it seems far more natural that way.

Burlington + Ribfest Shame On You

So once again it's time for the shameful annual RibFest Weekend in my hometown of Burlington Ontario. I drove past the site yesterday and before we were even close to Spencer Smith Park, the smell of murder hit me and I could feel myself well up. Tens of thousands of pigs are slaughtered for such an event and it saddens me that the place I grew up not only sponsors such a horrific scene but that they continue to support a slaughterhouse in the community. I go to as many Pig Save events as I can, I take my children to Fearmans to demonstrate the cruel truths behind what really happens to these animals but I cannot bring myself to represent at RibFest because it upsets me so much. I cannot pysically handle the smell and it's guaranteed I will throw up; not so pleasant for my fellow activists. One of these years I'll manage to be a part of it but hopefully it is shut down before that opportunity ever arises. Below is a fabulous article that was recently seen in in the Toronto Star with regards to Quality Meat Packers; similar to Fearmans (formally Maple Leaf) in Burlington. Finally people (meat eating humans) are starting to come to some realizations. It's worth the read. 

Walkom: Slaughtering pigs, a never-ending horror

Published in Toronto Star on Wednesday July 25, 2012

GABRIELA PANELA/AFP/GETTY IMAGESToronto Star columnist Thomas Walkom asks: Do humans have the moral right to truck and slaughter pigs just so they can eat bacon for breakfast instead of cereal?

By Thomas WalkomNational Affairs Columnist

 This is an old story. It is also a cruel story, which means it will continue.

The specific story is about pigs. The broader story is about humans and how, when it comes right down to it, we don’t care a lot.

Every day, along Lake Shore Boulevard in Toronto, a parade of tractor-trailer trucks passes by carrying pigs to slaughter.

These particular trucks have become relatively famous in the world of the Internet. That’s because, at certain times of day, traffic moves slowly enough to let anyone standing on the sidewalk see — and videotape — what goes on inside.

What goes on inside isn’t pretty. The latest video, apparently taken on July 17 and posted on the website of an animal rights group called Toronto Pig Save, shows animals jostling against one another in a mash of their own vomit and excrement (contrary to popular mythology, pigs — if left to their own devices — try to keep themselves fastidiously clean.)

The temperature in Toronto had hit 36 degrees centigrade that day and pig transport trailers aren’t air-conditioned.

So let’s just say it wasn’t a comfortable trip. In fact, under Canada’s rarely enforced animal welfare laws — which require animals to be transported humanely — it may well have been an illegal trip.

But it was a typical trip and, I suppose that’s the point. We care about dogs locked in parked cars during sweltering heat waves. Those stories, when they happen, are front-page news.

We don’t care much about the pigs being trundled day in and day out through unbearable heat along Lake Shore.

Toronto Pig Save focuses on Quality Meat Packers, the abattoir to which the Lake Shore Blvd. animals were headed. It’s the second-largest hog slaughtering plant in Ontario.

Is Quality Meat worse than any other slaughterhouse? There’s no evidence I know of that it is. Indeed, as an economic enterprise, it is a Canadian success story. A family-owned business that has been operating in Toronto since 1923, it now exports pork products around the world.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government is so impressed that it awarded Quality a $3-million loan in April to help it kill and process pigs more efficiently.

But economics is one thing and morality another. The question raised by the Lake Shore hog trailers is a moral one: Do humans have the moral right to truck and slaughter pigs just so they can eat bacon for breakfast instead of cereal?

I reckon most Canadians would answer yes to this — although I also think you’d get a different response, in this country at least, if the word “pigs” was replaced by “dogs.”

Pigs are notoriously smart animals. They also have an unsettling habit of looking you directly in the eye — as if to say: “I know what you have in mind for me and I’m disappointed by your lack of character.”

If more people looked pigs directly in the eye, there would be more vegetarians. But they don’t and there are not.

As a result, the tumbrels keep rolling along Lake Shore, transporting the condemned to their place of execution. Nothing much changes.

My colleague Catherine Porter wrote about the pig transports in May. I write about it this month. Maybe someone else will write next month.

If people wanted to end hog misery, they easily could — simply by not eating pork. But they do not.

As I type this, someone down the street is barbecuing ribs. They don’t smell as good as they once did.

Thomas Walkom’s column appears Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

NOT Everyone Loves Marineland

When our kids were really little, my husband bought passes for Marineland every year for three years. I never felt right about being there but it was a compromise. Chris has never challenged me on raising our boys on a vegetarian diet, he has no issues when I give them markers and bristol board to create signs for the protests and demonstrations I take them to and my carnivore husband eats tofu for dinner on a regular basis. Studying sea life is a passion of his; he uses his saltwater tanks for educational purposes and teaches our children all the fascinating things there are to know about the under water world. This doesn't mean I agree with it, but it does mean I know that every marriage has compromises to make and this is one of them. He knows and appreciates this. Marineland was his thing. I'd take the kids on my own while I did home daycare but we'd go just for the rides, have a picnic and call it a day. I could never bring myself to taking the children to the viewing tanks, or to visit the sickly deer living in an unnatural habitat, or to gawk at the sad looking bears living in concrete caves. It was heartbreaking and I knew I was contributing to this torment. After the second year of having passes, my husband noticed one of the baby Orcas who had been born the previous year was missing. He asked one of the female trainers who shrugged her shoulders and simply said "It died" The following year another Orca was missing, the mother. My husband circled the tanks, walked around the other viewing areas but she was no where to be found. When he asked, he was told that she had died. In 2004, Marineland had five Orcas. Today it has one. Sad. And so wrong.
The other day a story broke out on the torture that goes on at that place. Some former Marineland trainers have finally come forward and disclosed the reality of the facility. Read the article published in the Toronto Star and see why this place should be shut down. Not everyone loves Marineland.

This isn't the only facility in Canada that needs to go. As of March 2012, 38 dolphins have died at the Vancouver Aquarium; 9 Orcas, 7 Narwhals, 9 Belugas and 13Pacific White Sided Dolphins all lost their lives due to pro captivity in this money making business. Nottare

s50 years, the Vancouver Aquarium didn't have any successful breeding program. Three orca babies, four beluga babies and two Pacific white-sided dolphin babies have died. As of March 2012 at least 9 orcas, 7 narwhals, 9 Belugas, 

A Lifetime Of Misery For A Few Minutes Of Entertainment

The truck the elephants live in all year long, chained to the inside.

The circus is no fun for elephants or any of the animals who are tortured into learning the tricks they perform in order to provide humans with a few short minutes of entertainment. More is posted on PETA.org but one article states bears, elephants, tigers, and other animals do not voluntarily ride bicycles, stand on their heads, balance on balls, or jump through rings of fire. They don't perform these and other difficult tricks because they want to; they perform them because they're afraid of what will happen if they don't.

For animals in circuses, there is no such thing as "positive reinforcement"—only varying degrees of punishment and deprivation. To force them to perform these meaningless and physically uncomfortable tricks, trainers use whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks, and other painful tools of the trade.

Elephants are beaten, hit, poked, prodded, and jabbed with sharp hooks, sometimes until bloody. The trainers break the spirit of elephants when they're vulnerable babies who should still be with their mothers. Unsuspecting parents planning a family trip to the circus don't know about the violent training sessions with ropes, bullhooks, and electric shock prods that elephants endure. 

This year over seventy of us gathered in protest of the Shine Circus in Hamilton Ontario. There was some resistance from the misinformed who would yell out that we're ruining the fun for the children but for the most part we got very positive feedback. Some people left at intermission, saying they had never realized before what the animals suffer and the life they are forced to live. One father who left mid way brought his teenage daughters over to speak to us asking for more literature as our information had opened their eyes. A friend of mine didn't even get settled in her seat before deciding to leave with her four children because one of them asked what a bullhook is. Another woman I know posted on my Facebook page before the event even happened that my advocacy makes a difference because she has chosen to not use her tickets after all. All of this matters. My family has been at this five years in a row now; lets hope Hamilton simply bans the use of animals for entertainment purposes and the Circus will not be back in town again. But if it is, we'll be there. 

Happy Daddy's Day

My husband is so much more than just the 'father' of my children. He's a Daddy. He takes pride in his family and is a super Dad. He's hard working; he provides a very full and enriching lifestyle for us and doesn't often complain. He puts up with a lot but handles it all in a masculine laid back sort of way. I can't really describe him , he's like no one else I've ever met. He's the Dad who goes to every Swim Lesson, Soccer, Hockey, Basketball, Baseball Game and helps out with the team where needed. He knows all of the kids by name.
He cooks, he does laundry, empties the dishwasher and occasionally will even mop the floor. He is a mentor to our children and shares what fascinating facts on nature he knows. (and he knows a lot!) He's the Dad who does homework with the boys at the kitchen table while dinner is cooking and helps them to better understand the complexities of mathematics and science that I could never begin to teach them. His mind amazes me; he's a smart cookie.
He's creative too. He's the Dad who helps the boys to build castles out of cardboard boxes and paints them for school projects. He encourages them to add more detail in their drawings and gives them tips on learning to draw; again, something else I myself could not teach my children! He kicks my ass at Draw Something every time.
He takes us on family vacations, camping trips, bike rides, movies, batting cages, mini putting, waterparks, and so much more. He has dreams for what we'll do and where we'll go in the future.
He makes sure that we are all well taken care of. Today with it being Father's Day, you'd think he'd take the day off and sit back but so far thats not the case. He made my morning coffee, wants to take us out for breakfast and then is coming home to get dinner ready for his own father.
He's a good man, this Charlie Brown of mine! <3 Happy Daddy's Day, Christopher <3
"Anyone can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a Daddy" ~Proverb

Humane Society International