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. And it’s important to show both of those things—the joys and the challenges—to our lawmakers.
This is why, every year, GEEARS gathers parents, caregivers, educators, early childhood professionals, and allies at Strolling Thunder.
It’s why all these advocates prepare by attending a virtual training and writing a letter with an “ask” like this one: “Balancing work and child care responsibilities on my own is a daily struggle. Please consider the grey areas of income when it comes to income requirements for child care assistance.”
It’s why, on event day, we wait in line at security at both the Coverdell Legislative Office Building and the Capitol. Then we wait some more at “the ropes” for a moment with our representatives and senators. We manage meltdowns and diaper blowouts.
Daphne Gordon, for instance, took the day off her job as Education Coordinator at Whitefoord Early Learning Academy and the after-hours job she’s taken at Amazon to afford her daughter’s child care and other needs.
“I came because I want our officials to advocate for parents with programs like CAPS,” she said during the walk from the Freight Depot to the Capitol with two-year-old Mackenzie. “I’m not eligible because I make too much money. But with inflation and things like that, child care is really a burden so I’m asking that they increase the income threshold.”
Like many of the little ones who joined us for the morning, Mackenzie ended Strolling Thunder a bit bleary-eyed after getting only a brief stroller nap and a lot of stimulation. But her mom, who’d shlepped her daughter’s stroller up and down countless Capitol staircases as she sought out her lawmakers, was still smiling.
Gordon and Ruiz—along with so many of the attendees who moved mountains to make it to the Capitol with their kids—embody the push and pull of raising young children in Georgia. And at Strolling Thunder, they demonstrated this dichotomy to their legislators. On one hand, they told the stories of the hardships families face. They’re still paying state sales tax on diapers, for instance, and struggling to keep their children continuously covered by Medicaid.
On the other hand, the fun at the Freight Room reminded us that raising young children is also a joy. It’s a celebration of their exuberance, their sass, their blossoming minds, and of course, their potential as students and future members of our society and workforce.
And that’s certainly something to dance about.
Click here for our Strolling Thunder 2024 video and photos!
If you’d like to support GEEARS programs like Strolling Thunder, please register for our April 13th fundraiser, GEEARS’ Amazing Race.
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