Keeping it real in the suburbs
All right, I’ve been a shameless slacker. I have not provided any holiday updates, or even non-holiday photos, in a long time. I know full well that Hannah’s grandparents and great grandparents have been waiting eagerly, and I have failed. There’s no excuse. To placate you, I offer these:
Plus, you know, I’ve been busy with this.
And, Happy Boxing Day!
I just spent the last half-hour watching the end of It’s a Wonderful Life and crying. Because, you know, it really is.
As much as Christmas is sort of haphazard and disorganized around my house, there’s something about having a small child at this time of the year. Last year Hannah was only 10 months old and she had no understanding at all. This year, however, she knows something is up. She knows who Santa is, she can unwrap presents, and she likes to say “Ho Ho Ho.” There’s something magical about small children and Christmas, that I am only beginning to experience first-hand. And it makes me all sniffly to think about it.
What this means, is that I am a sitting duck for the Christmas specials. I only need to read a description on the Tivo guide and the waterworks to start flowing. 
At this time of year you hear a lot of people ask, “So, are you finished yet?” Of course, they are referring to your Christmas shopping.
In years past, I was very organized. I made a list, and I was generally finished by the second week of December. This year, though, I have to admit that I haven’t even started yet. Shopping with my kid these days is no fun, so I’ve been putting it off. Hannah just wants to run, but she doesn’t want to run in the direction that I’m going, and she doesn’t want to wait in line to pay. I’m actually hoping to leave her with Jon and do it all next week in a two-hour blitz on the mall.
In the interests of full disclosure, there is one person who I can tick off my list. I have spent a small fortune on gifts for Hannah. Toys and toddler clothes are fun to buy. I have no shortage of ideas as to what she would like. She likes almost everything, and the packaging it comes in, too. Who can blame me for spending more time at the natural toy fair than Sears?
I am a female engineer in Canada. I entered university in 1994 – less than 5 years after the Montreal Massacre. It is something that resonates with me, because I was there. I sat in classrooms filled with male students, and studied math and science. I soldered circuit boards together in labs filled with men. Today I work on a 17-member team, with only one other woman. As great as my company is, most of the women who work here are in non-technical roles – there are very few female engineers.
I don’t believe that I have encountered any more discrimination in my work life than any other woman. In fact, because my field is filled with younger workers, I may have encountered less. But still, I know. When I sit in a room with 12 people and I am the only woman, I know. I am swimming against the tide. Those women who were just living their lives, doing what so many others do, were also swimming against the tide. You may not think about it every day, but the very fact that you go to school or work every day is a statement. “I will not be pigeon-holed. I will do the work that I choose because I want to, because I can, and because it means something.” And on days like today, I cannot forget it.
I also cannot forget these 14 women:
Geneviève Bergeron, 21
Hélène Colgan, 23
Nathalie Croteau, 23
Barbara Daigneault, 22
Anne-Marie Edward, 21
Maud Haviernick, 29
Barbara Maria Klucznik, 31
Maryse Leclair, 23
Annie St.-Arneault, 23
Michèle Richard, 21
Maryse Laganière, 25
Anne-Marie Lemay, 22
Sonia Pelletier, 28
Annie Turcotte, 21
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