What to Do If Your Boss Might End Up Wearing A Diaper in Public

My boss may have to wear a diaper and suck a soother in public by the end of October and it won’t be his Halloween costume. Mighty humiliatin’, I might say. And mostly for me. I mean, here’s how polite conversation may go for me at this years Christmas parties:

“ Oh, Jennifer, where do you work?”
“ Um, First Foundation.” ( mumbled)
“ Oh, First Foundation, right. Your boss is a big baby.”

I should clarify here that my boss, Gord McCallum has graciously volunteered to wear a diaper in public should the Alberta Mortgage Brokers Association ( AMBA) lose to the REALTOR’S Association in the Baby Heroes Diaper Drive Challenge for Terra, the center for pregnant and parenting teens. It’s a great cause and I’m really proud of him for taking the chance that he might embarrass me but regardless, I have to do all I can to protect my image.

I’m a Mom of four kids, myself. I’m in my late 30’s and everyday, we barrel through the day at breakneck speed and at the end, I am grateful if we have avoided the ER and somebody ate a vegetable. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be a teenager, trying to negotiate life as a new parent. If you have kids yourself, hearken back to those early days of babyhood that were miraculous and devastating, all at the same time. Nobody really prepares you for living on 30 minutes of sleep each night and the uncertainty of whether you will be able to fit in a shower this month. And nobody really mentions that as a new Mom, the hormone roller coaster can make you feel horrible and not exactly the glowing picture of motherhood portrayed in the movies and there’s no joking about that. Now imagine yourself 15 years old with no emotional or financial support because your parents disowned you. Or maybe they are very supportive but can’t afford another mouth to feed or are struggling with the stress of a teen pregnancy. This is where Terra fits in and why they are such a vital organization and their diaper drive is so worthy of our support. In their own words:

“We focus on encouraging pregnant and parenting teens to gain confidence, develop the skills required for success and to raise healthy, happy children. Terra has a staff of approximately 75 employees on three sites. We offer 12 programs which include individual counseling, home visitation, parenting support, group activities, services for dads, clothing exchange, child development activities, a childcare center at Braemar School, prenatal classes and housing support. Our housing services include a 13 suite apartment building. Terra has a partnership with Edmonton Public Schools to support teen moms in completing their high school education. Through Terra, young parents graduate from school, make career plans, have healthier relationships and connect with community supports.”

Terra is a blessing for these teens, their young children and for our community and their current diaper drive is a terrific way for all of us to help them with their mission. And of course, there is my humiliation to consider. So here’s what I propose; the challenge is running October 6th to the 22nd. I do my grocery shopping weekly, so I am going to make room in my grocery budget each week, until the 22nd, to purchase a package of diapers, maybe even a box if I can manage it. That should total at least three bags of diapers before the 22nd of October.

I am challenging all of my readers who are Moms and Dads like me to do the same!

Now budgets are tight these days, believe you me, I know this to be true! And I remember the day I stopped having to buy diapers and could buy the fancy cuts of meat once and a while instead, but I’ve talked to the family and we’re all willing to go without some of those little extras to fit that bag or box of diapers into the budget for the next few weeks. We’re hoping you will too!

Check out the details in this article about where to bring your diapers and I want to hear your stories about taking up my challenge so please remember to keep us posted on your progress! Thank you in advance for your help with this worthy cause and for helping to keep my boss out of diapers…at least for another 40 years!