Life and death and Yuletide thoughts

There are some things you just don�t want to hear about in the check-out line at the Pr0vigo, where I returned my plastic pop bottles and replenished the pantry today. Just as I was maneuvering my cart to unload the contents onto the black rubber belt, I recognized a woman behind me whom I hadn�t seen in months, Claire, who used to sell me coffee before the store was sold and all the staff fired and the premises relocated to a trendier, more down-town spot. Of course I never got to know the people who worked there very well, but I had been going for years and years, and they had watched my babies grow up over time and we had chatted about this and that. Claire informed me that her husband is in a palliative care facility, a place where, in her words, people go when they are going to die. Oh, man, I did not want to hear that.

Just the other day I ran into one of my neighbours as I was coming out of our local Pr0vigo, and she told me that her husband�s sister-in-law was likely to die that day from lingering cancer. Again, another spot of news that doesn�t exactly brighten your day. It makes the coming holidays all that more poignant. The media would make us believe and aspire to the ideal of family rejoicing together, eating lavishly, exchanging thoughtful and appropriate gifts, all in an atmosphere of love and togetherness. What about all those people out there who are alone, are poor, are grieving the loss of a loved one, or who are recently divorced and separated from their kids? I do not mean to make this into a �bah, humbug� entry, but I can�t help wondering if there isn�t something terribly wrong with our society.

In other news, news which makes me proud to be a Canadian, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that marriage of same-sex couples is all right with it and should be upheld by the constitution, although it would grant churches the right to refuse. The prime minister has promised a vote on the issue very soon; and even though those pesky Conservatives think that they are so high and righteous and holier-than-thou and that this ain�t over yet, they will lose because they are the minority, I tell you. There was a time when gay marriage would have made me uncomfortable too, but I have grown up and broadened my horizons and accepted that people are people and entitled to the same rights and privileges as all people under the laws of the land. So there, nyah!

And, just to finish this off on a merry note, I could have saved my $10 yesterday for the pregnancy test because my monthly (or not so monthly anymore) has arrived with bells and whistles on. My son is actually a little disappointed that he won�t be a big brother, but hey, to quote a very famous British musician, you can�t always get what you want.

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