Below are the comments from Rep. Tana Senn’s floor speech during the debate on Paid Sick Leave, which passed in the House yesterday.
“Mr. Speaker,
I’m one of those people in the sandwich generation.
Two years ago, my mom passed away.
It was, it is, so hard. But I have no regrets about the last year of her life.
Because I was able to be there in the hospital—to rub her aching limbs, double check the dosage of her medicine, hold her hand when she was scared.
What I do regret is that we didn’t pass paid sick leave sooner.
The patient next to my mom was clearly loved. But she was alone every day but Sunday, when 6 members of her family came to visit. It was the only time they had off from work.
So that parent, that grandparent, only had their body…their soul…rocked, held, protected…one day a week.
Mr. Speaker, as all our parents age—the ones who have lead us, guided us, taught us, loved us, been there for us, let’s be there for them.
Let’s be sure all Washingtonians have access to paid sick leave so they don’t have to choose between putting milk on their tables for their kids or planting a kiss on their parent’s forehead in their dying hours.
Let’s have no regrets, Mr. Speaker.”