4 Friday,September 28, 2018brooklintowncrier.com Community Calendar Fri., Sept 28: 4:00 - 5:00 pm (4th Friday of each month) Teen Leadership Council at Brooklin Library Whitby Library's Brooklin Branch seeks Teen Leadership Council members to share ideas & assist with special events and programs. Grade 9-12 students earn community service hours. Snacks provided. No registration required. For information, email teenservices@whitbylibrary.ca. Sat., Sept. 29: 10 am - 2 pm: Open Streets Whitby Brock Street South in Downtown Whitby, from Mary Street to Burns Street A free, family-friendly event that will close a 1.2 kilometre stretch of Brock Street South to cars and open them to people. For activities schedule, visit whitby.ca/openstreets. Sat., Sept. 29: 11 am - Bid Euchre Fest Odd Fellows Hall, 42 Bagot St., Brooklin Progressive euchre. No partner required. $10 includes lunch and excellent prizes. Advance tickets only. Proceeds to Camp Trillium: camps for kids with cancer and their families. 905-655-4652 Sun., Sept. 30: 7:00 pm - Suburbanaires Men's Barbershop Chorus performance At Mt. Zion United Church. A fun and entertaining evening with these wonderful singers! Refreshments will be served. Free will offering. Mt. Zion is at 3000 Concession 8, just east of Salem Rd. Wed., Oct. 3: Brooklin United Church 41st Community Roast Beef Dinner Sittings at 5:15 & 7:00 p.m. Adults: $20 - Children under 12: $5 Preschoolers FREE (but must have a ticket) A portion of each ticket sold will support St. Vincent Pallotti's Kitchen New Building Fund. For Tickets, call the church office (905) 655-4141 Wed., Oct. 24: 7:30 pm: Brooklin Hor- ticultural Society meeting at Brooklin United Church Guest speaker Sean James. The presentation "It Doesn't End in August: Extending Interest in the Garden": a study, month by month, from September to December and beyond combinations, individual plants breaking down the belief that the spring garden is the climax, and the rest of the year is the denouement Also our Pumpkins, Pies and Pictures Show. Guests are always welcome. French Family Storytime: Children and their caregivers can join Madame Sue for weekly French Family Storytime! A half hour of French stories and songs, with a dash of English! Drop in at Central Library's Children's Program Room Tuesdays: 7:25 pm: Brooklin Toastmasters Club Practice public speaking at Brooklin Community Centre & Library. Contact John Johnstone at jajhj@sympatico.ca or phone 905-683-4439 or Patricia Romano at promano257@outlook.com or phone 905-626-7055. 1st & 3rd Tuesdays Community Care Durham (CCD) Basic Foot Care at St. Thomas' Anglican Church. 905-668-6779 Mon.-Fri. CCD delivers hot or frozen meals. To order: Karen Andrews 905-668-6779 If you have a community not-for-profit event you would like included in the calendar, please email it to editorofBTC@gmail.com with the subject line "calendar." Priority will be given to Brooklin events. Some editing may occur. Is your commute hurting your family? Our Brooklin Kids By Leanne Brown Contemptuously, I recently pondered the 15 hours a week I spend commuting to work with rude individuals (like the one next to me clipping her toenails). It made me wonder how commuting affects both my health and my family's. Commuting to work is a necessity as there aren't an abundance of good-paying jobs in Durham region with only 67 for every 100 people. Of those, many aren't high-paying enough to support a family, leaving few choices. But at what cost? Stressed and fatigued A 2010 Statcan survey showed it's not unusual to feel stressed and fa- tigued at the end of the day after a long commute from work. Inactive commuting can be det- rimental to your health. A longer commute means long sitting hours which can hurt your health, increase your w a i s t l i n e , cause joint stiffness and back pain. It can also increase blood sugar levels leading to diabetes and sudden spikes in blood pressure when rushing for a train or navigating traffic. If you frequently experience extreme fatigue along with symptoms of insomnia, difficulty in waking up, anxiety, low energy levels, stubborn weight gain and brain fog, then you may have Adrenal Fatigue Syn- drome (AFS). When your body detects stressful situations, the stress response system signals your adrenal glands to secrete the anti-stress hormone cortisol. Repeated stress overburdens your adrenals, reducing the level of cortisol secretion. As a result, your body gradually starts losing its stress fighting ability, leaving you fatigued. More time? It can all take a toll on relationships. I sometimes feel as though I'm spending my life in transit rather than living it. I know I'm not alone thinking that if I didn't have to spend 90 mins in transit each way, I'd have so much more time. I bet commuters know exactly how they'd use those hours. My family feels it, too. They miss my cooking and look forward to hearty weekend home-cooked meals in- stead of the quick fix weekday din- ners. We have less time to play together since, once I get home, there are a lot of chores to do, leaving little free time before bedtime. This often means I let my daughter's bedtime slide a little so we can spend a few moments together. Tight schedules Long commutes also allow for less physical activity time. My sports team suffers poor numbers for late games as many players have early wake-ups. A 2016 report indicated that 29.1% of Durham region com- muters reported leaving for work between 6:00 and 7:00 am, spending 45 minutes daily on the commute. Many families struggle to make the early activity start times work, some as early as 4 pm, which means their kids miss out. Even 7 pm can be a challenge if you don't catch the train till 5:30pm. As our bedroom community grows, the jobs will come here. Until then, if your work allows it, it might be worth looking into telecommuting options. Even one day a week working from home could have a positive impact.