By GEEARS
It was almost one pm on February 22nd and GEEARS’ seventh annual Strolling Thunder at the Georgia Freight Depot was trickling to its end. The trash bins were full of chocolate milk cartons, spent Bingo cards, and crumpled maps of the Georgia Capitol. The babies and young children who’d come to help their parents advocate for family-centered policies like child care subsidies and paid family leave were making their last sleepy swims through the play area’s ballpit. All of the 100+ attendees were tired, especially the GEEARS staffers who’d arrived at six a.m. to set up our elaborate tableau, complete with display tables for our 16 partners, a diaper-changing area, an inclusive play space, a costume rack for playing dress-up, and tables for convening and lunching. And yet. . .
When the DJ (oh yes, we also had a DJ!) cued up Beyonce’s rendition of Before I Let Go, a quartet of GEEARS staffers launched themselves into the Electric Slide. They were quickly joined by one of the day’s most intrepid parent advocates, Meilin Ruiz.
Ruiz and her husband had traveled all the way from Augusta with their children, baby Mikayla, eight-year-old Elijah, and three-year old David, who has Angelman Syndrome.
“When he was born, he needed therapy right away,” Ruiz shared about David’s experience. “But ironically, there was a six-month waiting list for Babies Can’t Wait . . . We were blessed in that we could afford to private pay after we reached out to insurance, but then I realized there are so many other families who don’t have that option. So, we came out here to represent those voices that can’t speak for themselves.”
That juxtaposition—Ruiz joining in on a lighthearted line dance after spending the day talking about her parental “hoops and hurdles”—pretty much says all you need to know about Strolling Thunder and really about parenting. Raising young children is joyful. It’s also a lot of hard work….
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