One of the great pleasures of being nestled within the family arm of the disability movement is enjoying a diverse group of people who have at least one thing in common – love for their family member who has a disability. We come in all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life, from multiple backgrounds with differing perspectives but one clear focus – the well being of our relative. And usually to our surprise and gratitude the consequence is personal transformation.
One particular group stands out – Moms. I’ve met oodles of them. And they are a powerful force. The family based disability movement would be nowhere without them. Mothers accomplish family, home, career, advocacy and movement nurturing activities without an executive assistant or team of paid advisors. Most CEO’s would flounder when faced with such daily challenges.
I was reminded of this phenomenon when two blog essays from friends arrived within hours.
Kathy Bromley new blog site – timeasweknowit and Donna Thomson’s latest post – The Time Has Come. They show up on time. Looking great. Organized. Full of passion. Clear thinking. Focused. Visionary and practical. While Donna and Kathy confront the same deluge of demands as the rest of us, they have like many many other Moms have a secret – time shifting.
Jacques Dufresne, reminds us there are two types of time- chronos and kairos. Chronos time is ‘clock time’ handcuffing us to the world where precision and measurement dominate, fragmenting our lives and breaking our natural ties. On the other hand, kairos time to quote Jacques, offers “moments in our lives when we are open to hearing the truth that will save us, the word of love that will disarm us. Kairos is the gift that allows us to seize each moment.”
While Donna and Kathy may sometimes feel they are struggling with the clock, their good humour and articulate savouring of each moment reveals their ability to ease into the natural flow of kairos time.
Something, I could definitely use help with. Perhaps changing time’s sex from father to mother would help. So will subscribing to Kathy and Donna’s regular essays on their blogs.
Photocredit Feliciano Guimarães via flickr creative commons
One Comment
Kathy Bromley
Thank you for the kind words Al and for encouraging me to start Blogging. As you can imagine I have a number of experiences to write about, I just need to find the time to put them in print. I will persist!