My grandfather is in poor health. He is now in an ICU unit and he is not expected to be going home.
I went to visit him on Saturday and said my final goodbye.
As I cope with this during the next few weeks, I will need to take some time away from my work to ensure I properly give myself an opportunity to grieve. Grieving is healthy, burying myself in other activities to escape it is not.
I have all the supports I need to do this healthily and I will do so.
As I wrote, he’s enjoyed a full life and there is much comfort in that. He is well cared for, and I’m in frequent contact with his wife.
Breaking News and Complex Stories on Hold
Grief impacts judgement and I need to be mindful of this. I stopped covering breaking news last Tuesday and I started putting the publication of complex stories on hold until I’m sure my judgement is back to 100%.
Breaking news – crime, fire, and the like – is difficult. I get it right, but only after much thought and analysis, even if that is only in a matter of seconds that I do it.
Last week, I made two minor mistakes that were caught in my publication process. It was clear to me then that I was distracted.
Scaling back to 40 hours a week
I may need to scale back my coverage to 40 hours each week for the next few weeks. I slept most of Sunday, actually all of Sunday except for a few hours in the morning that I volunteered for United Way.
I believe I’ll need to rest a lot in the next few weeks.
Coverage this week
This week, I’m already livestreaming the School Board meeting.
I will livestream the Heritage Permit Review Committee’s meeting on James Street Baptist. (Wednesday 5pm)
I’m scheduled to speak in front of the Governance Sub-Committee asking the City to provide agendas to the public in a timely fashion. I will livestream this as well. (Tuesday 3pm)
I will review other agendas to determine what needs to be covered, with a special focus upon meetings that otherwise will not be covered.
Thankfully, there are few meetings next week and I’ll be able to take some time off.
Blogging
I’ll likely blog a bit more in the coming days. My blog is a healthy release. When I suffered a horrible breakup years ago, I took leave from Maclean’s (I had plenty of vacation time I hadn’t taken). During this time, I found blogging to be a very healthy release.
Expect a few more posts than usual, especially as I get find myself feeling better.
November
I will be asking people who’ve volunteered to stream in the past about their availability in early November to ensure that no meeting goes uncovered as I take any time off I need.
Boys and Girls Club and United Way Activities
I will be taking a partial leave from my volunteer activities with the Boys and Girls Clubs.
My involvement as a speaker for the United Way campaign will be on hold, I’m fulfiling speaking commitments I’ve made. I’m not taking any further ones at this time.
I will remain involved with the Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction and will attend all meetings.
My emails will be forwarded to others at the Club.
Other community involvements – Neighbourhood and Open Data associations
I will continue to attend these events as I find I gain so much from being out in the community with friends.
Thank you!
I want to thank each and every one for you for your thoughts and prayers during this time.
Sincerely,
Joey Coleman