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So, that was a year we’ll never forget, wasn’t it?
2020 was an unexpected rollercoaster and while I am not sorry to see the end of it and I’m eager to move forward and greet 2021 with hope for less chaos, I want to recognize some truly amazing things that 2020 brought us at DisabilityPride.net.
Firstly, Gerianne and I started 2020 off with a new adventure, participating in TeamWork Cooperative’s Self Employment Workshop where I learned just how much Gerianne hates market research and Gerianne and I both learned that there are many ways to go about building a successful business and we have to determine our own definition of successful. We enjoyed getting to know many other entrepreneurs and made a few friends while we were attending the workshops. Unsurprisingly, the workshop was cancelled in mid-March when everything was thrown into lockdown. While Gerianne did not “graduate” from the program we did gain valuable experience there and are incredibly grateful to TeamWork for giving us the opportunity to participate.
As we entered lockdown and people were required to isolate for a variety of reasons, our staffing pool became fairly shallow. Gerianne and I were together almost all day, almost every day for a fair chunk of March and April due to various isolation and quarantine requirements. This would have probably driven most working relationships into the ground but we managed to flourish as a team. The main part of the reason for this was our ability to get along and communicate very well. We both had bad days, we both had good days. They didn’t always coincide but we were able to work together through them and produce some amazing content and a wide variety of projects.
Gerianne was determined to not sit idle while the world was essentially shut down. She completed and excelled at several courses on online marketing and search engine optimization. We both participated in and completed ARCH Disability Law’s Community Champions stream on the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Optional Protocols and how those can be used by disability rights activists in Canada. It was an eye-opening experience that gave us insight into the various avenues for and challenges with defending inclusion and disabled people’s human rights within Canada and around the world.
DisabilityPride.net just finished our first newsletter (check it out if you haven’t seen it!) and we have started to explore video production. We have big ideas and big plans, many of which started forming during this complicated adventure in various stages of lockdown.
Gerianne also began the adventure of diversifying her income opportunities and has been incredibly successful selling vintage and second-hand furniture and décor. We have also collected a number of stories from Gerianne’s customers that we hope to turn into either posts on the blog or a collection of vignettes for the newsletter’s next edition.
Though this year was professionally a success, I would be remiss to not acknowledge the difficulties in the non-professional sphere. I spent a significant length of time away from my children as they were visiting family out-of-province when lockdown began. Gerianne and I spent almost every night I was here with my kids reading us bedtime stories. I am forever grateful to my family, who kept my kids safe, happy and healthy during a time their father and I couldn’t be there with them physically.
Gerianne has been diligent about maintaining the health and safety of herself and her attendants, which means adhering to all guidelines from the Department of Health. As a result, she has been home more often in the last 9 months than she probably has in the last 4 years. She has missed participating in her community, including church, immensely. She has also deeply missed seeing her family and friends.
We have had an unprecedented year. 2020 will be a forever bittersweet time but I am proud to have accomplished so much during a global crisis. If there had to be anyone by my side during such an event, I’m infinitely grateful I had Gerianne (and my family) with me for this adventure.
An announcement that’s long overdue, but I am still thrilled to make is that Mary Wilson has a new job title. She is now DisabilityPride.net’s Communications Manager and my Personal Administrative Assistant!
Today I became abundantly aware of how pernicious DOUBT is. – Doubt of self, Doubt of others, Doubt of the good that YOU KNOW TO BE TRUE!!! Lets confront doubt with everything we’ve got in us!!!!