Sunday, March 29, 2009

What's your cause

I have always had strong opinions.

Really strong.

And, none of that has really changed much since I became a mother a little more than three years ago.

If anything, motherhood has helped me own my opinions even more, anchored them inside me and led me to feel pretty confident about some things (more than others).

Lately, I've realized I've been on a little advocacy kick.

I've had a few over the years. My first big thought was how my town NEEDED a cafe that was infant-friendly. You know, take out at the curb that wasn't McDonald's. Tables with lots of space for two car seat carriers, two high chairs and lots of room for bags of stuff. And, above all, open to families with crying babies. I had this place all picked out from the menu to the open play area that was age-divided so that parents could, ah, breathe and eat for just a few minutes.

Yes, I was dreaming a lot in my sleep-deprived days.

Lately, my kick has been something pretty expensive and dramatic and for the better of my community. A children's museum. A hands-on museum. Our city is pretty historic, but it's also faced with a plethora of issues, none of which I care to drone on about here but all of which are why we have been trying to sell our house and move to a less depressing neighborhood.

I tell everyone I meet in meetings, who is trying to better the city, that we need this museum, that it would help revitalize the downtown.

After all, I know plenty of moms who are, let's just say, EAGER to find things to do during the week and currently travel far and wide and pay $$ for these kinds of venues in other towns nearby.

I know, I have been one of those moms.

What's your cause? Anything you're working on either by word of mouth, or blogging or maybe even writing your State House of Representatives about??





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2 comments:

LauraC said...

Your post is timely! We were at the Durham Life Sciences Museum when you posted this. And my half marathon race took me past Raleigh's children's museum.... although we did drop out membership to Cary's children's museum this winter bc we wanted to avoid germs for one season. I love being able to take the kids places that are safe for them and teach them new things.

tovarena said...

I'm not exactly the activist type (though my husband is). But for about two years now, my causes have all centered around one thing - infertility. During our governor's race 2 years ago, we were in the midst of our treatments. The prices were breaking our bank and I was indignant at how quickly treatments can be out of reach for the average couple. So with a contact who was working on the then-attorney general's campaign for governor, I learned how to write a position paper. We pushed hard for months to get the campaign to endorse a mandate for fertility coverage. Unfortunately, it did not happen, but we tried.

And now, I have created a local chapter for a national infertility organization. We don't do much, yet. But at least when people reach the national organization, there's a local contact. Someone who knows the local doctors. Someone who can just hold the hand of a scared and desperate woman. It feels really good to be able to help. And when I get the call that one of "my girls" is pregnant, it MAKES my WEEK!