It started with food, as it often does. I spent most of my life institutionalized: 28 years of school, 31 years of work, sports teams, summer camps, faith organizations. As a result, I almost never ate lunch at home. As a little girl, my parents worked so I ate lunch at school. Then I became a commuter and throughout high school and my career, I packed lunches. As my career progressed and time became scarce, lunch became more compressed.
Then, in 2025 I experienced the unexpected: lunch at home.
Lunch with Edel
One wintery day in February a former colleague, Edel invited me for lunch in her home. I felt so cared for - she set the table with matching plates, she served steeped tea in a real tea pot and offered me homemade baking. It felt so human!
That inspired me to host lunches for my friends who were busy running big and complex organizations. Just like Edel I pulled out my best China, steeped fancy tea and did my best to create a space of beauty and care.
In Toronto many downtown restaurants feature Power Lunches. Healthy, appropriately-portioned meals in 45 minutes for under $30.
I claimed I was offering a Northern version of a Power Lunch until I noticed a trend: our lunches weren’t 45 minutes - they were lasting two hours. One was four hours! We lingered as we exchanged stories about toxic workplaces and the challenges of resource-stretched organizations in the North. Once we moved beyond the frustration, we began to see new ideas emerge, different ways to approach our work. I started to joke, these weren’t Power Lunches, they were Anti-Power Lunches.
Not Anti-Power, but Aunty Power!
Then, a friend corrected me, “Amelia,” she said, “these aren’t anti-power lunches, They are better – they are Aunty Power Lunches.” We come together with hope and support.
Aunty Power captures my hope for my work. I want to support workplaces be more human, more relational, more beautiful and joyful. I believe that when we are able to be fully human at work we have greater power.