For a thousand reasons this past week, there have been many, if not all of our citizens who were squeezed to the near breaking point. Just when we thought that we had COVID-19 under control and backed into a corner, we heard of a neighbour across the street, a relative downtown, or our next door neighbour getting the fourth or maybe it was the sixth wave of COVID-19. Even though they were three times vaccinated and were . . .
not hospitalized, it still brings back fear of what might happen. Then there is the new Monkey Pox virus that has been detected in several provinces.
Everyone is talking about the sky high gas prices and escalating food prices. The price of housing has become unstable with house prices up and down ten percent in one week.
Many people are worrying about the interest rate rising another five percent. Then what will we do with that expensive home that we just bought?
Farmers are spending more on fuel, seed, fertilizer and chemicals by 300 or 400 per cent. What will the grain price have to be in the fall to just break even? The consumers are wondering what the price of bread, milk, meat, etc. will be in the fall when this expensive grain is processed into cereal, bread or fed to animals and then what will the price of meat and eggs be?
What about the grain farmers in Manitoba with their farms still four feet under water? What about the farmers in Ukraine still dodging shells and digging up unexploded bombs? Just this past weekend a devastating wind-rain-hurricane killed several and left a multi-million-dollar trail of destruction. One little vineyard winery just east of Ottawa could have well over a million dollar loss.
Then there are those of us who call Quebec our home and are sure that our majority provincial government can pass Bill 96 as soon as next month which could have life altering effects on all Quebec citizens. Our children might no longer be able to choose the language or school-CEGEP-university that they will attend. There could be only one official language in Quebec. All government correspondence oral or written might be only in French. All these decisions will be at the whim of the majority government.
Is there any reason that the number of cases of mental health and suicides has skyrocketed? Kids are watching their parent’s nerves become unraveled. How are the kids supposed to react? When I was a kid, my parents used to take peaceful Sunday drives through the country to decompress and enjoy some natural beauty and tranquility. Today, with the high gas prices, that drive may have to be replaced with a bike ride or a walk in the country.
A few years ago, a local young hockey star was asked, “How can you take time to go to church, when there are so many practices and games on the weekend?” He replied, “It’s the one place that everything is quiet and the next move is expected and not a surprise.”
In these hectic and pressured times, it is increasingly important to take time to sit and decompress and talk to a friend, a neighbour, or maybe take a few minutes to tell your kids a story about the old days before you forget. Our First Nations People didn’t write down much history but they spent many, many hours passing on their history to their next generation.
This high-speed world will soon be only a memory. Take a few moments to pass on some of the best memories to your kids and grandkids.
Most of what we worry about; we cannot change. Let it go.
Chris Judd is a farmer in Clarendon on land that has been in his family for generations.
gladcrest@gmail.com
