Who Else Sacrificed For Your Freedom?

Who else sacrificed for your freedom?

This week we will pause and remember the sacrifices that so many have made so that we could be free.

We live in a country where we are free to criticize the government. We live in a country where all people have access to important services regardless of gender or ethnicity. I am incredibly grateful to members of the Armed Forces and our veterans for everything they have sacrificed for my freedom and safety.

For those who have gone to fight and never come home, we remember.

For those of you who have gone to fight, and come home forever changed in body and spirit, we are grateful in ways that words can’t express.

Though, we can express our gratefulness and remembrance by stopping what we are doing on the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month and walking to a cenotaph.

I am proud to live in a country where the message of remembering the cost of the freedom we enjoy is taught in our schools and spoken about in our communities.

However, our gratefulness and acknowledgement of the sacrifices that people have made should not stop at the members of our Armed Forces and our Veterans.

To the wives, spouses, and significant others of our past and present Armed Forces, I am incredibly grateful and aware of the sacrifices YOU make for MY freedom.

Thank You to our veterans and their families
Thank You to our veterans and their families


You have lived in fear for the safety of someone you love. Our society is finally acknowledging  the effect that war has on our returning veterans. You are the person they come home to and I know that your sacrifices don’t stop when your hero returns home. For everything you have been through and everything you continue to go through, thank you.

Parenting is all consuming and very exhausting. Doing it alone because your partner is off fighting for my freedom is a sacrifice you make and I want you to know that it does not go unnoticed.
Continue reading “Who Else Sacrificed For Your Freedom?” →

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Welcome Class of 2015

vote

Today is the 42nd federal election in Canada. The winds of change are in the air so that means there will be a bunch of new spouses jumping in to the crazy club of Political Wife Life.

Regardless of your political affiliation I want to extend a very warm welcome and an open hand of friendship. Please send me an email. I would love to hear your stories, learn from your experiences and help you navigate this crazy life.

This blog is still in its infancy and my dream is to build a community, but I can’t do that without you. I need YOU, and if your introduction into Political Wife Life is anything like mine was, you could use a friend with a bit of experience.

So please click here  and send me an email. Share as much or as little as you feel comfortable doing.

Above anything else please know that you are not alone.

Ladies, whether tonight brings you joy or disappointment, know that you have someone in your corner.

Cheers,
Kate

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Closure on Textergate and the Beginning of Pumpkin Spice Lattes

Autumn. Fall. Autumnal Park. Autumn Trees and Leaves in sun rays. Beautiful Autumn scene
Autumn. There’s an upside to the end up summer, right?

I have a love/hate relationship with September. On one hand, it means a fresh start, but on the other, it means the end of laid-back routines and impromptu deck parties with my neighbours.

This summer was an extra-special summer because M and I really focussed on resting and rebuilding. We often say that we will do this but this is the first time we have actually slowed down, pared down our schedules and stayed home.

Another wonderful part of this summer is also due to you, my readers. Thank you for taking time out of your busy days and stopping by this blog. Thank you for the emails of ideas and encouragement. My goal for this summer was to start a blog and build a community, and slowly that is happening. Thank you for being part of that.

BUT I am a summer loving girl who loves sunshine and does’t gripe about the humidity (regardless of what it does to my hair) so I HATE to see it end.

Pumpkin spice latte with whipped cream cinnamon and decorative pumpkins
Pumpkin spice latte with whipped cream cinnamon and decorative pumpkins (aka gratuitous PSL photo for your viewing pleasure)

Though there is something refreshing about autumn. Pumpkin Spice Lattes and getting back in a routine are both things I look forward to about the fall (ok but really just PSL). Even though I am no longer starting a new grade in school (though I did just sign up for a course today—but more about that in a later post) September always fills me with the hopes and dreams that come with new beginnings.

Summer is officially over and tomorrow we head back to the capital for the start of the fall session.

Just as the universe would have it, one last sentence in the crappiest chapter of my life was written. Today I found out that the charges were dropped against the person who was originally arrested for sending the threatening text messages.

This is actually a good thing.

I never thought the person arrested was actually the person who had sent the creepy messages. My heart broke to see someone who was young, vulnerable and talented be wrongly accused. They can now move on with their life.

I know that we will never have the closure that comes with knowing who sent them. But the peace that comes with knowing that an innocent person has been released from the stigma of a criminal record and isn’t having their life ruined is enough for me.

So let’s raise our Pumpkin Spice Lattes and cheers to new beginnings!

Comment below and tell me what you are looking forward to accomplishing this fall!

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The Dark Side of Political Wife Life

I am unsure on how to share this experience. I have written and re-written this post many times. But it is really important to me that I tell this story. One of the reasons I started a blog was to give a voice to a role that is often silent (but seemingly smiling). 

I don’t want to get into many details as I believe the case is still ongoing, but I want to tell you about one of my more disturbing Political Wife Life experiences.

Two hands of a thief or a stalker opening closed window shutters at night.

Even before my husband ran for leader, I knew that leadership races were the nastiest level of politics. People think general elections are nasty, but in truth, leadership races present an entirely new level of betrayal and backstabbing.

The opponents are your friends; they came to your wedding. You cried with them when a family member passed away.

Even worse, because they are your friends, they know a lot of intimate details about your life. Details that someone in an opposing political party probably would not know.

As is usual during campaigns, my husband was travelling and had a schedule that kept him away for days/weeks at a time. As a result, I was home alone with a baby and without any family nearby. So I was quite shaken up when I started receiving threatening text messages.

Man with white mask spooky hooded figure silhouette. Black and white.

Continue reading “The Dark Side of Political Wife Life” →

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Political Wife Life: THEN

[huge_it_share]Political Wife Life: THEN

 

cocktailparty

 

When M was first elected, the work I did was flexible enough that I was able to go back and forth to the capital with him. I travelled a bit with my job but was mainly based out of our apartment in the capital.

M would go to work and I would be a stay-at-home dog mom/sub-contractor. I would do some computer work Hugh Hefner style (aka in my bathrobe—not with a mansion full of models) and usually have time to grab a coffee with a friend.

Then, Political Wife Life would start. At 4 p.m. I would shower, very professionally apply my makeup (I was young and carefree with ample time to primp), put in some hair extensions, and then do the event circuit with MM.

Usually, there were multiple fundraisers for M’s colleagues each evening, but charity events were also on the docket. All in all, 3 nights a week, I would meet interesting people and have the opportunity to chat with people who were at the top of their industries. Definitely one of the upsides of PWL.

I gained a bit of weight that year. It was one of my most sedentary phases of my life. A daily menu of free booze and appetizers can really sneak up on you.

And what is with those mini burgers (“sliders”)? They are everywhere!

 

minislider

 

Political Wife Hack: Don’t eat the top bun! Skip the “filler” part of the appetizers and just enjoy main substance.

 

You may think “Hey, I’ll just skip the mostly sub-par food on the fundraising circuit and just enjoy the complimentary liquid libations.” Sure, perhaps it sounds good, but you’ll end up being the annoying drunk person.

 

cocktails

 

Take my advice: don’t be the annoying drunk person. Oh yes, and don’t eat the top bun.

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