For anyone who has ever carped about "kids these days," CTV News brings you the story of Lisa Armstrong, who very much works with kids, of the teenager variety—and just gave birth to one, of the premature variety. Where the rubber meets the road: Armstrong works at the A&W restaurant in Mill Bay, British Columbia, where she says both the "guests and staff are like family." So when she got pregnant, her teenage co-workers were pretty happy for the woman they consider "like a mom." Armstrong was stressed by the impending arrival, because she could only afford two weeks of maternity leave. “[Employment Insurance] only gives you 55% of your income and I can’t go without my full income,” she says. “So I’m going to use my two weeks paid vacation and then come back to work after that," is what she thought.
That plan derailed when baby Declan came three and a half weeks early, weighing in at just under 5 pounds and needing an incubator. So Armstrong's manager invited her out for a meal, but had to drop by the shop for "renovation issues." "Renovation issues" translated to surprise baby shower, and Armstrong's teenage co-workers—eight of them, ranging in age from 15 to 17—gave her an envelope with a pretty big gift. Stuffed with cash, meant to extend her maternity leave an extra two weeks, and from the kids' own earnings. "It was $1,011.50 in there. It was almost my full paycheck in there,” Armstrong says. “They didn’t want me to worry. They wanted me take more time off.” She continues: “You can’t say thank you enough. I was blown away by the love I got from them.” (More uplifting news stories.)
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