Erin's Journals

Just a thought… The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well. [Ralph Waldo Emerson]

We begin with heartfelt thoughts of sorrow and compassion for the people of Vancouver who lost family and are suffering today in light of Saturday night’s tragedy at a Filipino festival on an otherwise perfect spring evening. Our hearts are with you. Nagsisi kami ng husto. We are so sorry.

Today I am Switzerland. No pins or hats, no political chats; I’m setting it all aside as somebody helping my fellow countrywomen and men to vote.

After weeks of campaigning for the first time, and doing my small part to help our local candidate unseat a popular incumbent and give our area a stronger voice in Ottawa, I decided that rather than wait around all day for results, I’d do something else I’d never done before this year: sign up with Elections Canada.

The idea only occurred to me last Thursday. I did so online, not really thinking that at the last minute they’d have a cancellation. But they did, and I got a call Friday asking me to come to a three-and-a-half hour training session that very afternoon. I was up for a convertible ride, and free for a few hours, and said, “Sure!”

Of the ten men and women there, I was the oldest (and here I thought our riding was filled with young seniors like me, wanting to fill their hours). I surmised that some were students just adding a bit to their bank accounts, but others perhaps felt that, like me, they wanted to do their part in these days of national pride and unity.

I left the learning session feeling informed and ready for my job as an Information Officer today: basically I’ll be greeting voters as they come in out of the rain to cast their ballots, making sure they have their voter cards/ID/driver’s license or any other card issued by a Canadian government with photo, name and current address. If any of that is unclear to you reading this today, just go to Elections.ca and your answers will be there. Or bring whatever you have on hand and/or someone who knows you and is also voting at that site to vouch for you. We’ll have you covered.

I have to be there today for 6 am (ugh), as polls here open promptly one hour later. Then after they close at 7 pm in our area, I may be called upon to take part in witnessing or tallying votes as they are individually brought out of a heretofore sealed box, opened and announced. Check your local hours, as they differ across Canada.

There is so much I didn’t know about how election days work. We take it all for granted, don’t we? I came out of training Friday relieved that in our federal elections we use good ol’ fashioned paper ballots and pencils or pens (a voter’s choice) and tally them by hand in front of witnesses. No voting machines or computers that can be hacked; just humans doing their absolute best to uphold this sacred right and rite of a democratic country.

Today I’m putting aside my partisan hopes for the voting outcome. My job is to be neutral, including not wearing any major party’s colours of red, blue, orange, green or purple (yes, that’s a hard and fast rule), to be polite and helpful wherever I can, to answer questions, to pass people on to those folks who have the needed info, and probably to sit…a lot. Yes, I’m bringing my enVy Pillow but I don’t think they’d appreciate my Nespresso maker.

You see, our riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands saw Canada’s second-largest turnout in advance polls Easter weekend. First was in Poilievre’s riding of Carleton, where Liberal Bruce Fanjoy is hoping to fire the incumbent Conservative leader. But in that riding, the poor Elections Canada workers will truly be earning their $20 an hour: thanks to the Longest Ballot Committee, some 90 candidates are on the ticket. Who knows when those votes will all be tallied?

Personally, I’ll be glad not to have to be vigilant to keep trolls off my Facebook page when this week is over and the political temperature across the nation somewhat returns to normal. Hopefully we’ll ALL come out tomorrow ready to face whatever insanity floods towards us from the US, standing together for a strong and united Canada.

As for tomorrow…as Rob and I, along with thousands of other involved Canadians head out to gather up candidates’ signs from the sites they were placed or delivered (the rules say it has to be tomorrow), we’ll be thankful to have had a chance once again to make our voices heard, to have actively taken part in this precious process for the first time, and, most of all, to be Canadian.

Elbows Up, my friend – and may the best candidates win.

Just a thought… There’s no such thing as being too busy. If you really want something, you’ll make time for it. [author unknown]

I’m so glad to make myself sit down and write for a bit, my diet A&W root beer at my side, dogs asleep at my feet. It feels good.

My friend, the word “whirlwind” doesn’t do justice to what the past and coming days entail. It’s a combination of volunteering for the campaign with just two weeks until Election Day in Canada, and the rest is been prepping for a plane trip to Ottawa in just two days. So let’s do this – with a few observations thrown in along the way. Grab a cup of what you love, and here we go.

Talking beverages: I used to drink about four cups of one-third caffeine coffee daily (Rob mixes the beans in advance). I am now down to ONE, the least caffeine I’ve taken in daily since I was pregnant. One one-third caffeine a day. And I’m still running on overdrive! I think it’s the first time since I left radio that I have so much energy, so much adrenaline, that anything added to my system is sending me through the roof.

Found out yesterday that today I’m introducing an MP (and candidate) from North Vancouver, who’s here on the island to chat with constituents at a rally and then door-knock with our guy. Rob cancelled his second-to-last hockey of the season tomorrow so he can come and do the PA system. We’re doing what we can to help. We’ve already voted but now we’re free to volunteer and drive people to the polls two weeks today.

Funny side note: on a long walk last week, I complimented a woman on the sign on her lawn. She and I chatted (she’s moved here recently from the GTA as well) and it turns out I had some interaction with her daughter, who’s in PR, back in my radio days. The woman said her daughter never forgot (it was positive) and we were trying to get the three of us together for coffee but this week is shortened. Maybe on daughter Meaghan’s next visit!

One more walking note: I was trying to gauge whether wearing a party’s button on my chest while I do my daily power hour of getting off my butt made a difference in eye contact. At first I thought people were avoiding me so that I wouldn’t try to proselytize or talk politics – which I would NEVER do. But then I did the same walk without the button on, and measured about the same number of smiles or averted eyes. Some people just don’t want to say “hello” as they pass by – even in friendly Sidney, BC. Still, I always have a smile on my face and if they want to exchange greetings, I’m there for them. Especially the seniors and fellow dog-walkers.

Of course, nearly everyone has a smile when they see me walking (on the shorter go-rounds) with Dottie and Livi. Dottie tends to be lippy and shout “Hello! Hello!” whenever she sees anything four-legged within a block. I’d like to change that, but right now we’re working on “SIT!” so one thing at a time.

We’re also training them to get to like their travel bags, in which they’ll be zipped and placed beneath the seats ahead of us on this Wednesday’s two-legged journey to spend Easter Weekend with our grandkids and their folks in Ottawa. The dogs LOVE being together in one crate, but we didn’t want to put them in the hold. So they’ll be at our feet.

They have little doggie downer pills to take, and I’m going to make sure I take something to; it’s going to be nerve-wracking. And in case you weren’t aware, we are absolutely forbidden to take them out and cuddle them, no matter how stressed they get. Many folks have offered to take the girls while we’re away, but this trip is a trial run for maybe taking them away for the winter when driving is no longer an option (as it is not). Wish us all luck!

So, in a nutshell, that’s this nut’s life this week: just trying to get everything done here in terms of our responsibilities, and ready for the trip. In addition to the brand new Drift with Erin Davis sleep story tomorrow (I’m going to try to lull you to sleep this time with the details from the British Museum about the Rosetta Stone), of course there’s a new Gracefully and Frankly Episode 123 this Thursday, and the one next week will be from our Ottawa hotel room. Ah, the glamour! The excitement! The decaffeination of it all!

Once the stress subsides, I’m sure the excitement about seeing Colin and Jane will actually sink in. But for now, just one day, one hour at a time, right? May you and your family have a Happy Easter if you celebrate, and time with loved ones no matter what the days ahead hold.

Just a thought… Because life is a symphony it must have its C Minor. Days there be when we hear only a discord of sharps and flats, and we wonder whether harmony will ever be restored. [Thomas Hylland Eriksen]

Ah, and what a perfect symphony it was – times two!

A week that began last Sunday with a perfect evening ended Friday with another soul-stirring experience, and I couldn’t wait to share them with you.

Rob and I were watching a comic we love on YouTube and a little ad popped up for the Victoria Symphony accompanying the 1987 movie The Princess Bride at the Royal Theatre. On a whim I went online and found three tickets – among very few left – for Sunday night.

We took our niece Ava, whose mom, my sister Leslie, and family live in West Kelowna. Ava’s in Victoria, about a 40 minute drive from us, attending university there to become a music teacher, and is specializing in clarinet.

It was an incredible two hours: the symphony performed the stirring soundtrack to the film, giving us not only the inspiring feeling of hearing live music, but also enjoying a most entertaining film – with subtitles, thankfully – and one that neither Rob nor Ava had seen! “Inconceivable!” to quote a memorable character. (If you subscribe to Disney channel, I can’t recommend this Rob Reiner-directed joy highly enough!)

We left the theatre with spirits higher than we’d felt in a long time. Later the same week, I shook with nerves as I introduced our local Liberal candidate and the president of the Liberal Party of Canada at a local rally that was well-attended and successful and only proved how out of practice I am at standing up in front of people. (Boy, did I miss the podium as a shield, as I trembled holding my iPad!)

Sadly, my services weren’t needed for another local candidate’s rally, attended last night by Mark Carney himself. Waaaaaaah! And I’m not going to take it personally, LOL. Even though I would have found a way to answer what the internet wants to know this week: what is this cat’s name?

Fast forward, in an already highspeed week, to Friday. Ava and the rest of her course’s musicians were joined on stage at the university by the incredibly talented members of the Naden Band of the Royal Canadian Navy: 35 musicians whose sole purpose is to support Naval Operations, ceremonial events and public outreach operations. Here’s how they looked just before the conductors were introduced.

The theme was Fantasy, Myths & Legends and featured music from Holst’s The Planets, a piece by John Williams from the movie Hook, and my personal favourite piece of classical music of all time, the final minutes of the Suite from The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky. I closed my eyes and was transported outside my body. It was truly transcendent and so good for my soul.

I was reminded of how little music I listen to, except in the car, and don’t know why that is! It’s right there at our fingertips through YouTube (here’s the link to Peter Oundjian conducting the Toronto Symphony; you may want to go ahead to the last four minutes to be reminded of this exceptional piece). 

I warn you, you may get taken down the best internet rabbit hole there is!

The film and its exceptional accompaniment on Sunday, as well as this past Friday’s concert, which we decided to attend at the last minute, served as perfect bookends and a reminder that no matter how loud the voices outside (and the ones in our heads and on our devices) get, there is always – unless we’re hearing impaired, and I’m sorry for that – music. To feed our soul. To right our inner balance and remind us of the beauty that is at our fingertips at any time.

To bring us back to who we are.

Have a beautiful week and thanks for spending a few minutes here with me. I appreciate it.

Just a thought… It’s never too late to be what you might have been. [George Eliot]

So who the heck am I, anyway? Is 61 a little ripe to be discovering one’s voice?

Well, a loud HELL NO to that question.

See, here’s the thing. And I’m going to use the word “brand” – something most people can neither relate to, nor care about – when it comes to myself.

All those years on the radio, my job, or brand, was to be on the airwaves, but not to make any waves. My entire work and personal life existence was built around not losing a listener: don’t have an opinion on something one way or the other, don’t state anything that could be the least bit offensive, and whatever you do, don’t give them a reason to tune away.

For the most part, for almost 40 years, I did exactly that.

The “play nice” mantra carried on into my reWirement: I tried not to offend in any of my blog or video posts (although five years back, holding my tongue about anti-vaxxers was impossible – and I’m still okay with that). My freelance work in podcasting, whether for a big body like the Canadian Real Estate Association or our own podcast, Gracefully and Frankly with Lisa Brandt, were built on a foundation of a sparkly beige countertop. Be palatable, don’t offend, be sure people are happy and, whatever you do, don’t be controversial. And NO politics!

But these days, it’s too important in our country’s young history to be quiet, to be demure, to be a lady.

Now that I’m openly and actively campaigning for the Liberal candidate in a longtime Green riding here on southern Vancouver Island which is currently held by prominent Canadian Elizabeth May, I’m wearing a button, helping candidate David Beckham get some eyes and traction where he had none, and not wavering in my support for PM Mark Carney.

But what does this do to my “brand?” Does it open trolls to give me bad reviews on my book or my sleep podcast Drift with Erin Davis, to try to hurt me via back channels? Possibly; I refuse to check. But there’s more at stake here than what’s in it for – or even against – me.

Yes, I wimped out: Rob and I were too protective of my own mental health against the climate of meanness and lies for me to consider running when the suggestion was made (as tempted as I was to serve and *bonus*: spend part of my time nearer our grandkids in Ottawa), but I’m doing the next best thing.

Here’s a promise: because I respect you and your intelligence, I won’t try to change your mind, or even influence your vote (not that anyone on the internet should, no matter what you may think of them). All I can do is my part, so that when it’s over, if our grandkids Colin and Jane ask what we did in 2025, we will have an answer that will make them proud. It may even influence them to try to make a difference when they’re a bit older. We can hope.

For too long we’ve been afraid of what the neighbours might think; now as we look south of the border we see what many of them are doing, and we can’t care about anyone but ourselves and our country any longer.

It’s time for us to stand up for Canada, for our home, for our country. Less than one month of effort is worth a lifetime of freedom and comfort, don’t you think? When has Canada ever asked anything in return (except during tax season lol) for the endless bounty and opportunity she has offered to so many of us?

Call your campaign office. Order those signs. Wear those buttons. Make that donation! Don’t accept the status quo – change happens one vote at a time (either way).

And remember that nothing worth doing is easy. And Canada is definitely worth the effort. It’s just (less than) one month.

Just a thought…

There are moments that the words don’t reach
There is a grace too powerful to name
We push away what we can never understand
We push away the unimaginable.

(Lin-Manuel Miranda, playwright, Hamilton)

We’re marking this day in a positive way.

She should have turned 34 today.

I could not put our feelings into words better than the Pulitzer Prize-winning Mr. Miranda. We just push it away…while somehow holding her close.

Yes, here we are on March 24^th, not sure whether or how to celebrate a day that we remember clearly enough as one of the best ones of our lives, closely followed by her joyful wedding and the arrivals of our grandson and, as luck would have it, a granddaughter, too, four years after our daughter’s death.

How do you mark a day like this? You find your own way: sometimes cake, sometimes tears, sometimes a visit to a special place, or just carefully tucking yourself into the memories that aren’t sharp enough to cut.

For Rob and me there will be actual blood. We’ll be donating at a clinic that, fortunately enough, happens to be taking place in our little home town, coincidentally on Lauren’s birthday.

She loved to give blood and was proud of her record of donating as soon as she was eligible, again and again. We were proud to have raised a child who was aware of the importance of giving and sharing gifts with those she might never meet.

As you know if you live in loss, we do what we can to honour her memory. On our walk home today after the clinic we’ll pick up a slice of birthday cake and savour it together when we get home.

There’s not much more we can do – just hope somewhere she’s proud of how we’ve pushed through the unimaginable to live our lives with grace and strength, with vulnerability and compassion. A great loss opens the heart to the suffering of others and takes us out of ourselves. We give when we can, holding a reserve to protect our own hearts, and we go on. Because we are not in control of anything but how we react, accepting the lessons about what life gives us, and what life takes away.

And we find gratitude for Lauren having been the unimaginable gift she was, and still is.