Climbing

Last Wednesday I took the kids to Verticle Endeavors in the cities. It was a wonderful experience for the kids and I really enjoyed watching them climbing walls while hooked up to safety harness and pulleys that slowly lowers them to the ground if they slip. My mom asked me a couple weeks later if I allowed them to climb the outsides of buildings. ummmm?? In case the need even remotely exisits, I would like to clarify and confirm that no, they do not climb the outsides of buildings. Kyle is petrified of heights, but knowing he was safe helped him and even he hooked up to climb.


I of course, took many, many pictures. Collin was thrilled to start climbing during their safety lesson. It was wonderful to watch his excitement. It was nice for him to burn some of his energy off in a such a positive way. Alex hesitated going up, but climbed up pretty far on the "easy" (her words, *not* mine) wall. I snapped a picture when she was climbing. I was glad I did, because she hadn't realized how far she went up.




I think it made them--and me more comfortable knowing that they were safe. They even have an area upstairs where the kids can try climbing without a harness. I knew Collin was safe because of the thick matting at the base if they did fall. It allowed them to try boost their confidence in themselves. When Collin went up the wall at the Renaissance festival, the other two wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. I love watching them--scrapbooking the pictures will be fun too.

Inauguration of President Obama...a new beginning

I was so incredibly moved by Obama's inauguration and speech. It was wonderful--for the past eight year's we have listened to divisive rhetoric. It has been disheartening to hear people talk about "rights" only to have it obvious that those same people are referring to rights of people that happen to agree with them. "When only some of us have rights, none of us have rights."

I was happy to see my children watch with understanding what this day means. That we can all work for the things that make us happy. I got a call from my dear friend Valerie shortly after the conclusion of the ceremony; it is so nice to be able to things with her. Her family struggled so much during the civil rights marches. It is interesting to discuss things with her. As happy I am that we, as a nation, are turning the pages in this war, this economy and in race relations-I can never be as happy as she is. I am so, so happy for her and our country.

My husband and I have discussed people who are not happy because of the ancient views that they hold, but I am thrilled in the belief that most of our nation has managed to move past that. As Obama stated today, we look forward with hope, not fear.

Honoring Martin Luther King

I enjoy Martin Luther King Jr day. It isn't so much a day that we do anything special, but reflecting on how we can strive to change things. So often society and people themselves get sucked into the past and find themselves unable to move on. An entire generation was able to say no more to the impositions placed on them. What is more impressive is that they managed to not resort to violence, no matter how nasty others were to them. I am amazed and love thinking about how we can emulate their behavior in our own lives.


My children and I discussed all of this today. We are also looking forward to watching the inauguration tomorrow! I would like to bring the kids to Washington to see some of the things that we have been discussing, but I'm not sure when we will be able to come.