I don’t know about you but the time has come for me to rewrite my list!
Earlier in the month me didn’t know what I know about how the month has unfolded so far and I need to make some adjustments to her plans.
Past me was much better at making lists than she once was.
Before medication and practice and developing more reasonable expectations, she would have planned to show up in superhero mode every day in December and by now she would have been exhausted.
This year’s planning was pretty reasonable but it obviously couldn’t fully account for bad weather, a few off days, and a little extra work that came my way so I had to adjust things on the fly.
Now, at a little over halfway through the month, I want to take a few minutes to adapt my list to my current reality so I can match my time, my priorities, and my expectations.
And I would like to invite you to do the same.
The key element here is to avoid judging ourselves for a) the size of our initial lists b) not getting everything done c) changing our plans.
Making a new list is not a sign of failure, it is a recalibration based on new information.
And while you are recalibration, please remember to include fun and rest on your to do list.
You don’t have to fill every waking moment with tasks – even if they are things you want to do.
And if anyone argues with you on that, send them to me – I’ll deal with ’em.
Anyway, Team, I am wishing you ease as you make space for yourselves today.
Go Team Us!
Here is our movement practice suggestion for today:
The still image for this ’10 Minute Chair Cardio Workout’ from Caroline Jordan there are two people exercising on chairs in the foreground, the title of the video is above, and, in the somewhat blurred background, you can see a couple of end tables with plants on them, some free weights, a exercise roller, and two exercise balls. Both people are smiling while doing a side extension with their left arms extended over their heads and to the right and their left legs extended outward to the left. The person in front has long blond hair (in a high ponytail), light skin, and she is wearing a black tanktop and blue leggings. The person slightly behind has long black hair, light skin, and is wearing a white tanktop and blue leggings.
And here’s our mindfulness practice suggestion for today:
The still image from this 10 Minute Guided Meditation – Just As You Are video from Great Meditation shows a drawing of a person sitting in a cross-legged meditation position with their hands on their knees, palms upwards, with their thumb and index fingers forming a circle on each hand. The person has brown skin and dark brown curly hair, their eyes are closed and they look peaceful and contemplative.
Today, I want to invite you to create some mental space by finding company for some of your tasks.
Note: This is often called body-doubling and many neurodivergent people find it helpful.
For you, having company for your task might look like asking a friend to run errands with you or to hang out while you do some housework.
It might look like asking someone to check in with you via text or in an online meeting as you both do work tasks. Or, if possible, you could meet in person to work simultaneously.
It might also look like trying an online body-doubling app or website – I haven’t tried these but many of my friends have and found them useful. If you search ‘body doubling online’ you can pick the one that matches your needs and your budget (many have free options!)
And it could look like working along with a video on YouTube. If you want to give that a whirl, search for ‘virtual body doubling’ and you’ll have a bunch of options.
I have also invited small groups of friends who all have an irritating task to finish to join me on Zoom for a specific period of time so we can work on our tasks together – with frequent breaks to chat.
Having company, even virtual company, tends to give my mind a break. It can help make the task feel more enjoyable, it reduces the feeling of tedium that some tasks induce, and it puts tasks into a time container that makes them feel more doable.
And all of that helps me to make more space in my brain and in the rest of my life – I hope it can do the same for you!
Wishing you ease and space, today and always.
Here’s today’s movement practice:
In the still image for this ’10 Minute Morning Stretch’ from Yoga With Nancy, the instructor is doing a deep squat on a white yoga mat with their hands in prayer position. They have their eyes closed and they look purposeful. They are wearing white clothing and the couch behind them and the curtain in the background are also different shades of white. Above them is text reading “Morning Stretch. Wake up & feel good.”
And here’s today’s mindfulness practice:
In the still image for this ‘Instant Calm’ video from Yoga with Adriene, Adriene is sitting cross-legged on a folded blanket on a yoga mat. She has her hands in prayer position, her eyes are closed and she is looking downward. She is wearing a green sleeveless shirt and pink loose pants with green cuffs. There is an end table with an candle and a vase of flowers on it behind on her left and a basket with a blanket in it behind on her right. There is a row of windows in the background and a sunbeam can be seen on the wooden floor behind her.The word calm is superimposed on the image and has been placed slightly behind her so part of the A and part of the L are obscured.
Today, I want to invite you to add something fun to your day or plan something fun for your week, and to prioritize it like it was a vital meeting with a key client. (’cause it is but just not in a business-y way.)
It doesn’t have to be something huge but it does have to involve something you enjoy.
For example, I really wanted to dry orange slices to add to some decorations so the first thing on my to-do list today was slicing oranges and putting them in the oven on low heat.
And, yeah, that was a task, really but it was an enjoyable process
I even followed the mindfulness recommendations of using all my senses in the process – noticing the smell of the oranges, enjoying the variations in the colour, noting the texture and taste differences. (Oranges don’t offer much of an listening experience but I paid attention all the same.)
I hardly ever remember to do all that kind of stuff when I have a task at hand but because I knew I wanted to mention it here, I really tuned in to what I was doing and, I can, indeed report that it felt good to pay attention in that moment.
Does this mean I will remember to pay attention like that more often? Probably not but hopefully I will remember every now and then.
I get that this still doesn’t necessarily sound like something fun but consider it like this: I had decided that I wanted to dry oranges for decorations (a result I will enjoy), I decided to prioritize the process of creating them (prioritizing something I wanted to do felt good), I followed my plan without getting stressed about it (which for someone with ADHD is a definite victory), I was successful in mindfully slicing the oranges and managed to create fairly even slices (a HUGE challenge!), and I will be very happy with the finished decorations.
So, it’s not the same as having tea with a friend or drawing or dancing but I have enjoyed the process so far and I will get to enjoy the process of making the decorations once the orange slices are ready. (They are drying in the oven even as I type this!)
So, that was a lot of words to explain something fairly simple but that’s how my brain works a lot of the time and I am just rolling with it.
Anyway!
I hope that you can create some space for fun in your very near future, no matter what that fun looks like. And you don’t have to answer to anyone about that fun, either. If you find it fun, it is fun!
No matter how you choose to create space for yourself, I wish you ease in the process.
Here is a suggested movement video for today:
In the still image for this 10-Minute Low-Impact Bodyweight Cardio video from PS Fit three people are standing in a peach-coloured room. They are all wearing grey leggings, sports bras, and white sneakers and are demonstrating the cross-body elbow to knee movement, bringing their left knees up to meet their right elbows. They are all smiling and appear to be enjoying their workout.
And here is a mindfulness practice for you to try:
Mindful Drawing Studio In the still image of this Mindful Drawing Draw Along video, there is large text reading “Grab a gift card and draw with me! With Stacey Peters” in black on the left and an image of a sketchbook with overlapping rectangles filled with spirals, and a marker on the right. Overlapping the sketchbook is a person’s right hand (with several gold rings on the fingers) holding a red card (that says Gift Card on it) between their index finger and thumb.
My morning got a little out of hand and I didn’t get this finished in time to post on my usual schedule.
I felt a bit stressed about that – and about the fact that I was drawing a bit of a blank on what to write here – when this important reminder popped into my head:
Done beats perfect every single time.
So, Team, here is my imperfect but complete post for today.
I hope that you can complete a few things imperfectly and get them out of your head and off of your to do list today.
Wishing you ease as you create a little more space for yourself in your own life.
Have fun out there!
Here’s today’s movement practice:
In the still photo for this 10-Minute Beginner Low-Impact Indoor Walk from Justin Agustin, the instructor is in their living room wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a blue tanktop and walking on a mat. Their left knee is raised very high midstep. Their L-shaped couch is behind them and to their left and there are lots of windows in the background.
Here is today’s mindfulness practice:
In the still image for this 5 Minute Mindful Boost: A Coffee Break and Guided Meditation from Headspace, there is a cartoon image of someone’s fingers wrapped around a white take-out coffee cup. The cup is smiling and its eyes are closed. The background of the image is dark green and there is one gold sort-of-diamond-shaped twinkle in the upper middle of the screen. White text reading ‘5 minute Mindful Coffee Break’ and ‘headspace’ are on the left side of the image.
Sometimes, especially when I am busy, I forget to simplify.
I’ll end up following an old plan, doing something in a complicated way, or making a task much bigger than it needs to be, just because it doesn’t feel like I have time to think it through and/or make new decisions about it.
This can result in me doing a lot of unnecessary work or being needlessly stressed and it definitely reduces the possibilities for enjoying the process.
So, for a while now, when things feel complicated, I have been going back to one quick reminder:
Do the easy thing!
And, sure, that could be interpreted in multiple ways but in this case it means to find the easiest way to accomplish what I am setting out to do and only add extra things if I know I will have time and energy.
So, for example, if I was hosting a dinner for a group of people, I might initially have the idea that I was going to cook a bunch of stuff.
But if that starts to feel too stressful, I would look for the easiest way to accomplish my task (which, in this case is finding a way to enjoy hanging out and feeding with those people – it’s not usually about the specific food.)
That might mean ordering a meal, or buying some precooked items at the grocery store, or making pancakes, or switching to a dessert party, or any other solution that reduces stress and scales the task to a manageable level.
And if I decide that I am making pancakes and then have the time/energy/inclination to make side dishes or dessert, it’s a bonus, not a commitment or an obligation.
So, Team, today I’m inviting you to consider what ‘Do the easy thing!’ might look like for you.
Is there something coming up – a task, a commitment, and event- that you could pare down to a simpler version?
Are you putting pressure on yourself to do something perfectly that you could challenge yourself to make as easy as possible instead?
And, yes, I know that you may get pushback from people who are counting on you to overexert yourself so they can enjoy something stress-free but they can just shut-up. Decide on a response in advance (“This is what I can do this year.” “I know you prefer it the other way but this is how I have to proceed this year.” “If you would like something different, feel free to take this on yourself.”) and stick with it. Try not to make excuses or waffle about it, that gives people the idea that you will give in if they push – just state it as plainly as possible and forge ahead.
You deserve to enjoy your December and to minimize your stress.
You deserve to have more space in your own life.
You deserve kindness, care, and consideration, just the same as everyone else.
And I wish you ease in the process of finding it.
In the spirit of doing the easy thing, here are our practices for today:
My favourite warm-up routine! It’s not fancy but it is pretty easy and I feel great when I’m done.
A five minute warm-up video from Fitness Blender. The still image shows a person with long light brown hair in exercise clothes standing in a white room. They are in the middle of one of the warmup exercises so they are standing on their right foot with the lower part of their left leg lifted up behind them.
And here’s an easy, short, visual mindfulness practice from SunFlow. It’s a YouTube Short so it can’t be embedded but it’s worth following the link and watching on repeat.
The image shows a pink ball moving back and forth through an open-ended spiral against a green background while directions to breathe in or out appear near the spiral. If you are just listening, there is a breath sound to follow – they begin by breathing out.
Today, I’m inviting you to take an extra moment to give yourself something you need.
Perhaps that’s a little extra movement or a few more minutes rest.
Maybe you need some time away from your email or a little time to chat with a friend.
You may need a warm cup of tea, a blanket, or some paper to make a list.
I’m sure we all have a lot of needs that are much bigger than any of those things (and I hope you can meet those needs, too!) but we definitely all have relatively small needs like this that we tend to delay meeting because they aren’t part of the big plan or because they feel a little inconvenient.
But imagine how much better the rest of your day would feel if you made space to meet one of those needs?
Personally, I am going to meet two of my current needs – putting slippers on my chilly feet and making a cup of tea – as soon as I finish typing this.
Whether you are meeting one of those small needs, following this yoga practice, giving progressive muscle relaxation a try, or doing something else entirely, I hope you can make a little extra space for yourself today.
And, as always, I wish you ease and kindness.
Here’s our movement practice for today:
In the still image for this 10 Min Neck & Shoulders Stretch from Yoga with Kassandra, the instructor is pictured on the right hand side. They are wearing a white tank top and blue leggings and sitting crossed legged with their left arm behind their back while stretching the left side of their neck by tilting their head to the right. Their eyes are closed and they look peaceful. There are a lot of windows in the background and snow on the ground outside.
And here’s our mindfulness practice for today:
In the still image for this 6 Minute Progressive Muscle Relaxation Guided Meditation from Beam Therapy & Training there is a circle on the left side that encloses a photo of a person with long hair, wearing a green sweater and blue jeans sitting crossed-legged with their eyes closed and their face turned upwards. Text listing the name of the video and the url http://www.beamtraining.co.uk is on the right side. The background is dark green and there are polka dots and other green shapes along the bottom edge.
I hope you have managed to plan, schedule, or squeeze a bit of extra space into this first week of December and I hope that a little extra fun made its way into your days as well.
Today, I’d like to remind you that there are lots of different ways to relax and have fun.
If you love getting dressed up and going to parties, that’s a great way to spend your time.
If you love watching movies at home in your pajamas, that’s also a great way to spend your time.
Please don’t feel pressured to do all of the social things and please make sure to respect your own needs, limits, and capacity when choosing how to spend your time.
Sure, we all can get a bit overscheduled this time of year – it can kind of go with the territory – but we probably have at least a little leeway in the what and the how and the when of participating in social events.
Speaking of choices, when you are making a little space for yourself today, feel free to choose these videos or to choose something else that serves you well.
Wishing you ease and fun, as always!
Here’s our movement practice for today:
The still image for this “10-Minute Vacation-Vibes Soca Workout” from PS Fit features three energetic and happy looking people in black workout clothes in the centre of the image. They are all slightly turned to the right and they have their arms slightly raised so their hands are in front of their right hips, palms down. The background is bright pink.
And here’s our mindfulness practice for today:
The still image for Michigan Medicine‘s “Mindfulness Breathing and Directed Doodling” video shows a person’s hands holding a green Sharpie marking and making lines in a figure 8 on a white sheet of paper that is resting on a wooden table. There are already blue lines in the same pattern on the paper.
The foot surgery I mentioned last month has come and gone. I didn’t meltdown or freak out, except in the moment when the physician’s assistant was trying to put in the IV port and I got so stressed out that my veins went into hiding and I started to lose consciousness. The poor PA was mopping sweat from my face, forearms and shins, as he tried to keep me awake. The surgery itself was a black box, after the anesthesiologist said the words, I’m just going to start with something to calm y ... I woke up in the operating room, while they were vigorously swaddling my foot in a dressing, thick wads of cotton batting and a tenser bandage.
At home that evening, I kept waiting for the pain to hit, mindful that I’d been instructed to, Get ahead of the pain. There was none. Nor the next day. Or any day. There was no swelling either. The only mild discomfort I’ve had is when a shoe causes pressure or friction against the stitches on the top of my foot. I had prepared myself for immobility. Instead, after Friday afternoon surgery, I could walk around normally by later that evening on my one bare foot and one swaddled foot. If my steps were tentative, it was out of anticipation of the pain that did not arrive. I was surprised. After all of the everything around my auto-immune situation, I lost quite a bit of faith in my body’s ability to heal. With each hour that passed post-surgery, then each day, then week, now 10 days, my cup of healing faith is refilling. I wonder how much of the healing is due to my restored faith in my body’s ability to heal.
I diligently forced myself to stay on the couch over that first weekend. With no pain to remind me of why I needed to be sedate, by Sunday night I was feeling confined and itchy to move. I rode a Monday morning loop of Central Park on Citibike. I wore a surgical boot, to be safe. On Tuesday, I wore a sturdy, regular boot when I rode the same loop. Wednesday was on the Peloton (in running shoes, not bike shoes). And Friday, a week post-surgery, yoga (with modifications to upward dog, so as not to aggravate my stitches).
To be clear, although my foot looks ugly with stitches and bruising top and bottom (be glad I’m not sharing a photo), all of this activity is pain and swelling free. I am not pushing limits. I carefully re-read the post op instructions, which clearly say, weight bearing as tolerated. I was told to expect 2 weeks in a surgical boot, followed by 2 weeks in super sturdy shoes. I was told that maybe I could think about running after 6 weeks. Was my foot doctor just setting low expectations? It hasn’t even been 2 weeks yet and the challenge now is to resist the siren call of running. I see the doc tomorrow (if you are reading this on the first Wednesday in December, when it posts). I’m guessing (please please) that he will take out the three stitches. He really adhered to the minimally invasive promise of the surgery with his tiny incisions, each of which only required one stitch. I’ve promised myself to do nothing over-exuberant until I see him.
Which is hard, because I am bursting with astonished gratitude at this moment. All I want to do is dance and run and jump up and down, to test how much better my foot feels. I can feel how much more mobility there is. How the pain that I had is gone. I can stand on my tippy toes, for the first time in several years.
I tell myself that I should moderate my hopes. After all, my toe also has a bunion and arthritis. Even as another part of me is jumping ahead, wondering, if my foot can heal like this, then what about my Addison’s Disease? Finding the balance of faith in my body’s ability to heal and being realistic about what’s possible is delicate. Some people say that faith is everything. While I believe that faith counts for a lot, I don’t think that my belief in my own healing is enough on its own.
Things I’m wondering:
Is faith a virtuous cycle, in which the faith in healing supports the healing?
Is it more than a virtuous cycle, as in, without the faith the healing cannot happen?
How far can faith go, as in, why does it seem to pertain to my foot and not my auto immune situation? I had a lot of faith I could be cured of the Addison’s. At first. Now, that faith has gotten complicated. How do I untangle the knotty question of whether my patience with a longer road to recovery is faith, or resignation to my fate?
And is this faith I’m talking about just another word for control? A veiled way of satisfying the human hunger for control over our lives?
One last wondering, can faith harm my healing? I have an answer to this one. Yes. If I use faith as an excuse to not actually follow medical protocols. I did that in the beginning with the Addison’s. Going off my medication. Against doctor’s orders. Believing that I could cure myself with infusions, supplements, meditation and a positive attitude. That didn’t work. Now I’m on my medication. Diligent and compliant. Mostly. Plus, meditation, faith, vitamins and supplements. That really works.
So, for my foot, weight bearing as tolerated. That’s working so far. I’ll see the doc tomorrow. A little girl part of me is bringing him my foot, as if it is a drawing from school, wanting him to be impressed by my healing. Pin it up on the fridge. Give my faith a boost. What if he just says, yup, this is what I expected? It changes nothing about my condition. Puts a question mark in the power of my faith.
Maybe the trick is to have faith and hold it lightly. Faith will intervene when appropriate and only it knows when that is.
I’m writing this on Monday, November 10 (a.k.a. My Birthday!) and I have been pondering* what to write to you about all day.
I knew that I wanted to write my favourite kind of post (a Go Team! post, of course) but I wasn’t sure what to focus on.
And then it struck me.
While I am generally comfortable asking for things I need, my ADHD can complicate the process of asking for some things that I want. I have trouble telling if I am asking for too much, if I am imposing, or if my request is annoying beyond measure.
Intellectually, I know that, as a fairly helpful, relatively reasonable person who will definitely go out of her way for people, I am probably not doing any of those things but my brain will still worry about inconveniencing people.
On my birthday, though, I give that part of my brain a break. Somehow, the fact that it is my birthday makes it a bit easier for me to ask for favours, for small indulgences, for things that would normally make me wonder if I am putting the other person through too much trouble.
And, even though it will be the day after my birthday by the time you read this, I am going to extend the brain break and ask you to do me a favour, to indulge me about something.
Today, would you consider giving yourself a little break?
You know, as a birthday present to me.
That break might look like taking a little extra time to rest.
Or it might look like changing the amount of time you spend exercising/meditating/colouring/chatting with a friend/lying on the floor so it fits your needs today.
It might involve asking your brain to stop churning up the same few mean thoughts over and over. (Try telling it that Christine asked you to shelve that list for now.)
It might mean looking in the mirror and nodding (as in, ‘Yeah, I’m alright’) instead of being hard on yourself about something.
It might mean recognizing, just for today, that slow progress is still progress.
It might mean considering the possibility that you can pick your own goals for fitness or wellness instead of being pushed around by the fitness industry.
It might mean choosing to say something kind to yourself.
It might mean saying no to something that doesn’t work for you right now.
It might mean choosing a fun workout, or a hard workout, or an easy workout without letting your brain try to tell you what you *should* (shudder) do instead.
Basically, I’d love to see you give yourself a bit of time away from any habit or behaviour or thought process that doesn’t help you be kinder to yourself AND/OR that makes it harder for you to head in the direction you want to go.
You know the kind of thing I mean – the stuff that is often described as ‘self-discipline’ but is really just the kind of crappy stuff that a mean person would say to you or would give you grief about planning to do.
Please, please, please, do me a birthday favour and take a break from that mean voice, that mean approach, that utterly unsupportive voice that keeps trying to boss you into an impossible place.
And, Team, I know this isn’t going to be an easy thing to do so I am not only offering you a gold star for your efforts, I’m offering you a heart in my favourite colour so you can know that I am sending a little extra love to help you with the hard work of thinking about things a little differently today.
Go Team Us!
Image description: a small drawing of a shiny gold star with black trim surrounded by small black polka dots. The card with the drawing on it is propped up against a black surface.Image description: a drawing of a green heart with black trim surrounded by small black dots. The drawing is propped up against a black surface
PS – If you want to have a nice snack (cake, maybe?) or take a good nap or read a fun book, I would also happily accept that as a birthday indulgence.
*That word always makes me think of Pinky and the Brain. You know the – “Pinky, are you pondering what I’m pondering?” “I think so, Brain, but what if the chicken won’t wear the nylons?” – kind of thing. So, for your amusement, here’s a list of all of Pinky’s ponderings from the show.
I have done a lot of overthinking about this post and that overthinking is a very familiar pattern for me.
As I have mentioned many, many times on the blog, I often get caught in thought loops that look like this
I understand that change needs to happen.
I start with good intentions.
I want to do something the ‘right’ way (or, at the very least, I don’t want to do it ‘wrong’)
I overthink and worry about it. (sometimes I seek certainty by doing a ridiculous amount of unstructured research that doesn’t help at all)
I don’t actually take the action because I am so concerned with doing it right that I can’t do anything at all.
I get upset with myself and start the loop again.
And when it comes to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, for decolonization, for reconciliation practices as a whole, I admit that I have gotten firmly stuck in this loop, over and over again.
I get so caught up in trying to do a good job, in trying to do reconciliation ‘right’, that I end up not taking any useful or sustained actions.
I often have an idea what NOT to do* but I sometimes get so tangled up in avoiding those wrong things that I don’t leave myself room to do anything at all.
I’m tired of this loop and I am getting out of it.
My shirt for National Truth and Reconciliation Day/Orange Shirt Day. The idea of someone asking me why I am wearing orange immediately makes me fear that I will give the ‘wrong’ answer but being willing to make mistakes is all part of the process. Image description: a close-up image of an orange tshirt with white text that reads ‘ask me why I am wearing orange.’
Recently, a friend of mine told me that she sees a lot of people in loops like this – good intentions, overwhelm, guilt, inaction – and she told me the cure:
EDUCATION.
It was both incredibly obvious and a great revelation. **
Obviously, education will help me to understand how to be useful, how to figure out what actions to take, how to do things ‘right enough.’
The revelation was that educating myself is very different than getting caught in a whole loop of researching for certainty.
Thank you, M-L, for helping me to take a step in the right direction.
Now, I want to be clear that I understand that this is not a checklist – I can’t “finish” reconciliation…I can’t even “finish” educating myself.
I understand that reconciliation is about learning new ways of thinking, about new ways of being in relationship with each other, with other species, and with the land.
I understand that there are so very many things that I don’t know, and that I have a lot to unlearn.
I recognize that reconciliation is a very long-term, ongoing project and that it will involve making mistakes and learning from them.
But I refuse to stay in the loop of good intentions with very little action any longer – almost anything I do will be better than that.
And, as recommended, I am starting with seeking education about the truth of Indigenous experiences.
This Living Acknowledgement from First Light is so moving that I wanted to ensure that you had the opportunity to watch it, too. Still image description: two young Indigenous women smile at the camera. They both have dark hair and they have their hair pinned up in braids. The one on the left is wearing a flowered top and the one on the right is wearing a green to and she has glasses.
(This post has been edited to add the two items below. The first one didn’t travel along with the copy and paste from my draft document. The second one was added for clarity after the post went live.)
*For example: I am currently wrestling with thoughts that writing this post this way is centering myself – I know not to do that but I’m not sure if this is an example of that or not. I hope not. I hope this is a loop-breaking way of starting to take the actions I want to take to educate myself properly.
**To clarify a little – It’s not that I thought I knew everything already, it’s that some part of my brain thinks that I don’t know what to do because I haven’t thought about it enough or because I haven’t asked the right questions yet. I forget that the path (and the questions) come from learning – I don’t need to know them before I start. Is this an ADHD thing? A Christine thing? A human thing? It’s probably a combination, right?
Update:
The rally was incredibly moving and incredibly hopeful.
Here are a couple of photos:
The representative from First Light gave a strong speech about how John Cabot didn’t ’discover’ this land and how Turtle Island was well-populated long before Cabot showed up. Image description: A bronze statue of John Cabot wrapped in orange shirts that say ‘ask me why I am wearing orange.’ The statue stands on the steps of the Confederation Bldg (the NL House of Assembly) and there are several people between me and the statue. There are happy children playing on the steps behind the statue – a hopeful contrast to the sombre reason for gathering today. The drummers played a steady beat as a long lineup of people laid tobacco ties at the feet of this statue of Demasduit’s family . Demasduit was a Beothuk woman who was captured by settlers who killed her husband (Nonosabasut) in the process. Her baby died two days after her capture. The speaker reminded us that the statue symbolizes all of the Indigenous families torn apart by colonization. Image description: a bronze statue of a Beothuk woman and her husband holding their baby. There are a lot of small red tobacco ties placed at their feet. Two Indigenous drummers (one in a ribbon skirt) are standing nearby. There are a crowd of people in orange shirts between me and the statues.
