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Page 4— Halton Hills This Week, Wednesday, January 6, 1993 EDITORIA Readers’ writes A volunteer thank-you Dear Editor: - On behalf of the Georgetown & District Memorial Hospital Volunteer Association, I would like to thank everyone who helped to make our Christmas Dinner and Dance on December 5 such a suc- cess. To all who attended, thank you for giving us your support and we catered a lovely buffet dinner and Dave Smallwood, D.J., provided the music. Thanks also to the ladies who washed dishes and to Carlos Domingos for assisting with table setup at Holy Cross Auditorium. We are grateful to Dom Verto for the door prizes he donated and for being responsible for the rest from Zellers, Woolco, Bellamys, Appleview Farms and Art Effects - thank you all! We appreciate the stores who put up our advertising flyers, to Royal LePage Real Estate and the Hospital gift shop for stocking and | handling ticket sales, to the mem- bers and their spouses who helped out in so many ways. ial thanks to Valerie Caruso for handling ticket sales and reser- vations and to Jane and Boyd Hoddinott and family who, with Ann Kennedy, did such a terrific job of decorating the hall. Last, but not least, thank you, Jen Valois, for the superb advertising job in Halton Hills This Week. - Sincerely, fev Goss Hospital Volunteer Association Supermarket does super job Dear Editor: This letter is written in recogniti Supermarket Ltd. is making towards munity. ion of the contribution that Fortino’s the alleviation of hunger in this com- Since the middle of November, certain Fortino’s stores have eliminated their reduced category of produce and are instéad offering this food to the needy. The produce is picked up regularly by Feedback Canada and deliv- ered to local food banks, soup kitchens, * emergency shelters. school feeding programs, and _ A wide variety of fruits and vegetables are provided and the quality is often excellent. Fresh produce supplies a significant nutritional improve- ment for these relief agencies. Over thirty tonnes have been delivered to food banks throughout Southern Ontario. Four Fortino’s Supermarkets in Brampton and two in Burlington. Feedback Canada, an affiliated project of Feed The Children Canada, is extremely grateful to Fortino’s Supermarket Ltd. for their generous contri- butions. Sincerely, Murray Russell, Project Manager For Pete's Sake by Roe are now participating, two _ 4B [HIS WEEN Halton Hills This ig ‘and is printed in Oakville by Q.E. Web Printing. ipti St., Georgetown; Ont. L7G 481, not be sold. tising i PUBLISHER: Ken Bellamy EDITOR: REAL ESTATE MANAGER: Kathy Toth wi Marie Shadbolt PRODUCTION MANAGER: Kathleen Topolsek HALTON HILLS THIS WEEK IS INDEPENDENTLY OWNED & OPERATED. FAX: PHONE: 873-2254 873-3918 Taylor demonstrated the latest in doggie dancing with his buddy and at the Georgetown Fairgrounds on Saturday. owner, eleven-year-old Alan Gilmor, Photo by Laura Salverda Family Violence New Years’ resolutions What New Year’s resolutions are you making? T’ve finally learned not to set myself up for failure early in a new year so I’m not making any. And besides, I don’t need to lose 10 Ibs, J don’t need to quit smoking and I don’t have a drinking problem to work on. Those seem to be the big- gies, don’t they? I started taking stock at the beginning of 1992 and, I might add, I haven’t let a day pass without thinking about how I can change my life for the better. I guess I’d like to continue to work on being a better person and react- ing in more positive ways to some stressful circumstances but, by and large, I’m OK and growing. During the past year the time I've spent in therapy has been fantastic for my personal growth and devel- opment. I’m flourishing because I’ve changed habits, thoughts and beliefs. For many years, because I had low self-esteem, I'd been inca- pable of focusing on my own needs and desires and often concentrated on the needs of those around me. All parents have this problem to one degree or another, don’t we? But when women focus on their mate in an obsessive way because they believe they “need” that mate, there is a big problem. When this ‘occurs it does so, usually, because a woman does not believe she deserves the best - or even pass- able. Does she believe she deserves very little from life because she’s received very little? Perhaps her negative self-image was reinforced in childhood because of poor par- enting or poor role models. Although hit’s hard for many of us to believe and. understand, women are incredible in their desire to make a relationship work and will stick with their man despite extreme physically and emotionally abusive circumstances. Women HELP US HELP OURSELVES ‘often don’t have the courage to believe they deserve better. I guess that is where I was a year ago... . Although I had no mate, I believed I didn’t deserve much and would enter into less than satisfac- tory relationships and would remain in them for long periods of time. So much time wasted! But not any more! I look back and don’t have to wonder how I got there. I began pleasing others at a very early age and continued doing so throughout my adult life. Lately I find I can become aggressive because I’m still learning how to say “NO!” in an appropriate way. Add to that tactlessness, and I’m in big trouble! 3 Last week, during my therapy session, I-reviewed the year and I was amazed at, how far-I’ve come in such a short period. I seem to be back to my “normal” self - with normal responses to deal with everyday problems easily - finally. It’s been a lot of hard work! What is normal, anyway? : The biggest realization that I came to is the recognition that I had to become attracted to a particular man that I’d met. I couldn’t figure it out at first because I didn’t see him as fitting my usual stereotype (and I’m consciously trying to not relive past mistakes). Then it hit me, why wouldn’t I give him the once over - he’s been the only man with whom I’ve had contact in many years who was kind to me and gave something back without wanting anything in return. I’ve thought about how long it’s been since someone was kind to me without expecting something in return and I can’t come up with a time frame. Certainly it’s not with- in the last five years.-Of course, there would be an attraction! It’s taken me many months to put it all together as I’ve availed myself of opportunities to check him out, assessing his words and the tone of voice to be certain I was “on the mark” where he is concerned. If there was only one person who made a difference to my being dur- ing this past year, it was him. Someday I may tell him about the whey’s and wherefore’s but proba- bly not. It’s enough for me to know and, as a sensitive man, he’s proba- bly in tune with what's happened. T hope that if you’re into the res- olution thing, that you have your area of my life. Feel free to contact Jacie in confidence by directing letters to her attention at Halton Hills This Week. All correspondence will remain confidential. Jacle can be reached in person through the Distress Centre at 877-1211. Leave a message and Jacie will get back to you. If you are in cri- sis, call the Distress Centre or 911.