Ensemble

11/27/2025

SEASONAL FAMILY TRADITIONS

As the days and weeks bring us closer to the month of December; CAREGIVING surrounds everything we see, hear, smell, and read. The kind of caregiving we are inundated with is definitely about GIVING, BUT unfortunately, most of the giving hinges on SPENDING!

Our world has become highly commercialized. All holidays are punctuated with dollar signs.

December is the month that is a merchant's dream! So many opportunities for them to anticipate a huge influx of money! It's all about profit-making.

December traditions in Canada can take many forms:

International Day of Persons with Disabilities – December 3rd;

Hanukkah – December 14th–22nd;

Winter Solstice – December 21st;

Christmas – December 25th; and

Kwanzaa – December 26th–January 1st.

I am going to shed light on the month of December from the "Christmas" vantage point as it is the celebration I am most familiar with.

As the mother of three adult daughters and an educator for 35 years, Christmas was an all-consuming holiday. From my early mothering days, I wanted to focus on CARING and GIVING, rather than GETTING.

While my daughters composed “wish lists,” I was amazed by how easily they became wrapped in the web of consumerism at such a young age. Even before they could speak, they were captured!

Once school days began, stories of other families’ celebrations were recounted by them. “There are kids who open gifts on Christmas Eve!” they exclaimed to me. Then and there I knew it was time to establish some Christmas traditions.

Christmas week we traveled to less fortunate families and delivered wrapped gifts purchased with collected donations. They saw the joy of giving. Christmas Eve my daughters anxiously waited to open one Christmas Eve book and one Christmas music box or musical decoration. The sparkle, sights, and sounds of the season were welcome announcements of the day to follow and became treasured memories.

Books! Books! Books!

Let me recommend my favourites:

1. A CHRISTMAS MEMORY by Truman Capote. That’s right! The Truman Capote! One of the most touching true stories featuring the very YOUNG and the very OLD — true caregivers loving every minute of caregiving. ❤️

2. THE POLAR EXPRESS by Chris Van Allsburg. Long before it was a movie I bought this book for my young daughters. This beautifully illustrated book captures the magic of Christmas through a child's untarnished eyes. The book is far more moving than the movie! (in my opinion)

3. Check out all of the beautifully illustrated books by Chris Van Allsburg — here’s another one!

So—now I’ve given you a peek into the Godard Family Christmas traditions and I mentioned my 35 years as an educator—well, guess what? There are classroom traditions you may be interested in. And they cost NOTHING! Wait! Not this week!

Stay tuned!

NEXT WEEK — How to bring back the tradition of CARING at holiday time that DOESN'T involve spending money!

Why don’t you send any holiday tradition ideas that reflect your family values to:

ensemble@communitylivingessex.org

Together — “ENSEMBLE” — we will build relationships that connect us, one caregiver to another!

Happy winter 🥶 days!

Marilyn,
Ensemble Family Consultant and the Advisory Committee

11/27/2025

Some days in this caregiving world, survival comes down to one thing: finding your humans.

The friends who don’t try to fix you. Who don’t rush in with opinions, judgments, or “have you tried…”. The ones who simply show up .. quietly, consistently .. and sit with you in the mud when life gets heavy.

Caregiving is not a journey meant to be walked alone. We need people who let us fall apart without trying to glue us back together .. who hold space for the exhaustion, the fears, the grief, and the small victories that only another caregiver understands.

If you’ve found those humans .. hold them close. And if you’re still searching, please know that this community is filled with people who get it, who won’t try to change your story, who will sit beside you through the hardest chapters.

Here’s to the ones who make this life survivable. Here’s to the ones who stay. We thank you.

Diane

11/26/2025

My son’s autism diagnosis changed me in ways I never expected.
I don’t know if it changed me for better or for worse…
I just know I’m no longer the person I once was.

There are days I’ve felt completely shattered broken into pieces I wasn’t sure I could put back together.
And then there are days I’ve found a strength, a courage, and a voice I never even knew existed inside me.

Sometimes I look in the mirror and hardly recognize the woman staring back.
Parenthood changes you, yes… but being an autism parent transforms you on a different level.
It shifts your identity, your worldview, your capacity, your heart.
It rebuilds you and unravels you all at the same time.

I’m still learning who this new version of me is
part broken, part brave, and somehow stronger than I ever imagined.

And maybe, in its own way… that’s a kind of beautiful. 💙

11/21/2025

Happy Friday to our incredible Ensemble community. 🌺

As we head into the weekend, I want to honour every caregiver who keeps showing up .. even when life behind the scenes feels overwhelming. So many of us are carrying worries, personal challenges, and the invisible weight of responsibility .. yet somehow, we still lean in, give what we can, and love-up the people who depend on us.

Your strength may not always feel like strength, but it is. Your efforts may go unseen, but they matter deeply. And if this week stretched you thin, please know that you’re not alone.

We all know that caregiving doesn’t pause on weekends, but I hope the next few days bring you a breath, a moment of ease, and the reminder that you are part of a community that understands and supports you.

You deserve rest.
You deserve gentleness.

Diane,
Ensemble Committee Member

11/21/2025

Caregiving Matters!

How to support unpaid caregivers and the caregiving movement has become one of Canada's newest undertakings.

Now, more than any other time, this is a topic of great importance. With focus, support, and resources, this population of unpaid workers is finally receiving careful attention.

The Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence (CCCE) is working tirelessly to shed light on one of Canada’s most valuable resources: CAREGIVERS — both paid and unpaid.

Through the work of the CCCE (canadiancaregiving.org), they have developed multiple resources. One of these is CAREGIVER RESOURCES, where you can connect directly through links to websites specific to each province. Click on Ontario to find an extensive list of useful resources, including ontariocaregiver.org.

Now is the time to become connected to your caregiving community. Your voice will shape the decisions that bring about meaningful change — change that has the potential to improve your life and the lives of those you care for.

Every decade, issues arise that prompt decision-makers to stop, listen, and respond.

2025/26 are years that promise significant developments in the caregiving world. Don’t let the opportunity for your voice to be heard pass you by.
Reach out! Speak out! Act now!

Ensemble is your partner in seeking change. We are caregivers, and we share similar realities. Together, “ENSEMBLE” — improved caregiver lives will mean improved lives for those we support who live with intellectual disabilities.

Take a moment to explore the available resources at canadiancaregiving.org and reach out to Ensemble with any questions or ideas you may have.

Together we CAN!

Best regards,

Marilyn
Ensemble Family Consultant and the Advisory Committee

11/18/2025

Dear families and caregivers,

As caregivers, we’re so quick to assume we’re not doing enough. We look around and see other parents we admire—parents who seem like superheroes—and even they feel like they’re falling short.

The truth is, it’s not that we’re not trying hard enough… it’s that the load is immense. The responsibilities on our plates are more than most people could even imagine, and that’s before we add careers, other children, relationships, and daily life into the mix.

So please, take a moment. Breathe. Offer yourself gratitude for everything you carry—seen and unseen. Your effort matters. YOU matter.

Diane,
Ensemble Committee Member

As parents, we tend to blame ourselves for not doing enough or not being on top of things. I know moms that are actual superhero’s that I look up to and even they feel like they’re not doing enough.

Maybe the problem isn’t actually that we’re not trying hard enough. Maybe the problem is actually that there’s too much on our plates. I could have easily made multiple slides of the responsibility’s involved in our parenting journeys. Consider your own daily responsibilities! This doesn’t even factor in careers, other children, marriage, relationships, etc etc.

Take a breath. Offer some gratitude to YOU for what you handle on a daily basis. And if you’re exhausted, know that what you’re doing matters even if much of it is unseen.

11/16/2025

A Letter to a Kindred Soul ❤️

Some relationships arrive quietly, without fanfare, and yet they end up carrying us through the hardest parts of our story. Over the last 26 years, I’ve learned that the connections we build .. especially with those who walk this caregiving path alongside us .. are the very threads that hold us together. Marilyn has been one of those rare, steady souls for me.

With her blessing, I’m sharing the letter she sent me. Her words speak to the heart of who she is, and to the legacy she continues to build for families like ours.

⸻

Dear Diane,

It is not often that I receive communication telling me the impact I’ve had on someone’s life and so after much thought I am writing to you.

Growing up in the Gilmour Family I was constantly reminded of the importance of caring for the less fortunate. My parents were outstanding role models.

Choosing teaching as a career was always a lifelong dream. Throughout my 35 years as an educator I was always drawn to those “special” students who needed more than academics. They needed understanding and acceptance. I have taught in Toronto, Guelph, inner city Windsor, Harrow, Kingsville and Leamington. In each location I can remember special students who touched my heart.

When I became a mother and Sarah came into our lives it was almost second nature for me to look beyond the disabilities and dream of what “could be.”
It was my deepest wish that her sisters would see the value of caring and learn the need for acceptance. They grew up knowing that anything is possible.

When I developed programs for Sarah “The Rainbow Connection” .. I dreamt of a future that would maximize her potential and her happiness. Disability would become “valued ability,” and her sisters would be proud of the full life Sarah was living.

I also knew that parents needed lives of hope and so along with another mother I created “Ensemble.”

I feel blessed that my life has given me so many opportunities to connect with others to create and build lives filled with positive experiences. If you as a mother have benefited from the dreams that I have made into realities I am deeply moved.

Each day we are confronted with situations that give us the chance to make a difference in someone’s life. Our special needs kids have given us a gift .. the gift of connecting to improve the lives of everyone. Ability takes many forms.

Please know that I value the connection I have with you. It’s a connection built on open communication, trust, and shared emotions.

Sincere thanks and much love,
Your friend,
Marilyn

Her words reminded me of what truly holds us together on this caregiving journey: connection, compassion, and the quiet ways we show up for one another. None of us walk this path alone .. we grow because someone before us dared to dream, to fight, and to believe in more. Marilyn has been that steady presence for me, and I’m endlessly grateful for the friendship we’ve built.

Enjoy this beautiful Sunday.

Diane,
Ensemble, Parent Consultant

11/14/2025

For every mama walking this path… ❤️

Caregiving has a way of reshaping us in ways we never expected. Not because we are lost, but because we are becoming. Day after day we show up .. tired, hopeful, determined, tender, and strong in the ways nobody sees.

If this season feels heavy, please hear this: You are not failing.
You are not falling behind.
You are growing into a version of yourself that only this journey could carve .. softer, wiser, braver, and more grounded in what truly matters.

Our circumstances don’t confine us .. they refine us. What you carry is not small. What you are becoming is extraordinary.

To every caregiver who feels unseen, stretched thin, or unsure of where she ends and the caregiving begins… keep going.
You’re doing sacred work, and you’re becoming someone remarkable along the way. ❤️

11/13/2025

Opening Doors for a Better World

If gaining knowledge leads to change-- big things will be coming our way soon!

On October 30th, I traveled to Stratford to provide the Ontario Caregiver Organization feedback on caregiving from the perspective of rural and/or remote Southwestern Ontario. Challenges and opportunities were shared from across the area: access to transportation, distances, availability of culturally specific resources, availability of healthcare services, need for central registry for qualified support staff and many interrelated subgroups.

A very valuable resource can be explored at ontariocaregiver.ca

Did you know that there is a National Caregiving Strategy in Canada?

On November 2nd and 3rd, I, along with two Ensemble committee members, travelled to Ottawa to participate in a national summit sponsored by the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence (CCCE), created and supported by the generous philanthropic support of the Azrieli Foundation.

The symposium was an outstanding combination of forward-thinking Canadians. It brought together leading experts to highlight the enormous interconnectedness that exists between caregivers. Participants represented all facets of the "caregiving movement": philanthropists, educators, frontline staff, self-advocates, families, healthcare professionals, government representatives and researchers.

The positive energy was contagious. Each person represented some aspect of caregiving and each and every one of us identified as active caregivers at the present time or as "emerging" caregivers in training. 😊 As the days, months and years evolve, everyone is well aware that we will all become caregivers or recipients of care, before our time on planet Earth ends.

In recognition of the immense responsibility and commitment families contribute to the task of caregiving, the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence was created. Together with the National Caregiving Strategy project, they are working on finding solutions to the biggest challenges in care today.

Caregivers no longer exist in isolation without recognition. Their contributions to the fabric of Canadian society are some of our country's most valuable assets. For too long caregivers have struggled to provide their loved ones with lives of dignity without much needed support and recognition.

Finally, caregiving is getting recognition and the support needed, in order to build a Canadian society that is resilient and prepared to build upon the foundation created in isolation by caregivers.

The summit in Ottawa let caregivers know that they are not alone. Our citizens value caregivers and with the help of the National Caregiving Strategy for Canada our voices are being heard, our contributions are noted and celebrated and with continued engagement, YOU as CAREGIVERS, will be rewarded with ALL the required supports needed for you to continue to thrive as you perform Canada's most critical occupation: CAREGIVING!

Bravo 🎉to each and every caregiver!

Best regards,
Marilyn
Ensemble Family Consultant and the Advisory Committee

11/13/2025

When considering the future for a child with a disability, many parents  struggle when thinking about the roles their other children may play. Parents encourage the siblings to live their own full lives and can be hesitant to share their future plans. But siblings may want to be involved in the pla...

11/13/2025

11/13/2025

Asking for help can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.

Check out Developmental Services Ontario - DSO for information on how to apply for services and supports for adults with a developmental disability.

To learn more, please visit: dsontario.ca