Sunday Thoughts

Here we are again on another Sunday. It’s been a bit of a week to say the least. The weather has been kind though, mainly dry, no snow, and even some sunshine. Today in Ireland and the UK is Mother’s Day, it’ll be a quiet enough day for me and I’m happy about that, I think of it as a Hallmark Day if I’m honest, although I did treat myself to a takeaway afternoon tea just for the craic, and because I haven’t had cake for a while.

My own mother died in 2019. It wasn’t an easy relationship, especially as she got older, there were a lot of traumas, and I kind of felt like I was carrying around a lot of issues. As the years have gone on, I’ve gradually felt them fall away from me, probably because I’ve spoken a lot about it. Anyway, I’m sure we were both to blame for some things, and you can’t turn back time. I hope she’s at peace now.

It was International Women’s Day on Friday. It’s a shame it’s usually only the celebrities who get recognition because I’ve met so many strong, inspirational ladies who have taught me so much, probably without them even knowing it. Some are fantastic at business and can cope with numerous balls in the air, all at one time, without so much as breaking into a sweat. They are also hugely encouraging to people they meet along the way.

Some have had to deal with illness for either themselves or family members and do this stoically. Some women have so much to deal with that I don’t even know how they cope, and that leads me on to the two referendums that took place in Ireland on Friday.

I’m not going to go into the ins and outs of the referendums, you can read all about it here. The government was calling for Yes votes, and most of the opposition backed them. In my opinion the wording of the Care Amendment was completely wrong. There was a lot of debate online, well I say debate, the majority of the organisations calling for a yes vote had their replies switched off, so therefore they weren’t going to listen to anyone. There was no thought for people who are carers, or for those with disabilities. In my mind if you are going to look for rights for women (and people) it must be for all women (and all people). It must be inclusive.

There were some very strong voices who were putting their points across so well for a No vote on the Care Referendum. Most of them were carers and people with disabilities (pwd), they were calm and measured and spoke so well online, I wish most of them could have been heard on a bigger platform. They were the voices of reason, and at the end of the day they were the people who would be affected. Sadly, the organisations representing them, such as Family Carers, were standing by the government. With a cynical hat on I wonder who is funding these organisations, but I probably know the answer to that.

Some of the voices were so dismissive of the carers and pwd, to the point of rudeness. I can’t abide name calling, I think you should be able to get your point across without resorting to insults, and the moment you start name calling you’ve lost. That was what happened, the name callers lost. The referendum was a resounding no.

I want to say a huge well done to the voices of reason, they know who they are. As a carer I know how tough things can be, and I know the enormous strength that it took these people to stand up and speak up. There was no budget for meetings, or posters, no fancy t-shirts, and no name calling. Hopefully in future the government might consider the voices of the people.

Thanks, as always, for reading, and take care.