Day 343 - Play

Thought of the day: Our chiropractor is a pretty amazing person. She has not only a reservoir of knowledge of her field, but also of other related fields as well. She is well connected to the local homeopathic community and is often able to introduce families to a variety of practitioners ranged from doulas to massage therapists. She is a go-to person you can trust. Today I found out that she has a good heart as well. There is a very unfortunate local family that lost their house in the Fourmile Canyon Fire last year and then suffered an even worse blow this summer - a drunk driver hit them, left the father dead and his toddler girl severely injured. Our chiropractor went to the memorial service of the father and was so moved by the desperate situation of the family that she and her colleagues decided to do something for them. They donated an entire day of their work for the benefit of the little girl. I am glad to be part of it and I am grateful to belong to a community that's so generous in heart.

Photo of the day:

Izzy playing with blocks on the floor of a theater. The injured girl is even younger than her. I hope the little girl will be able to fully recover and enjoy a normal life soon.

Day 313 - Happy Face

Thought of the day: Tonight we went to a small event in Boulder where Nancy Pelosi gave a speech.  It was the first time we heard her speak in person.  The first part of her speech really surprised me as I was not expecting her to say what she said, at least not in tonight’s event.  She said that science is going to drive the future of this country and that “Science is the answer to our prayers!” How true, and how refreshing to hear it from a sitting politician. Beyond the muddy water of partisan politics, beyond the cycles of boom and bust, beyond everything, it’s science that will drive our future and it’s science that will save our world from the brink of a collapse. This morning, I read that only 35% of Iowa Republicans believe in evolution and only 21% in the same demographics believe that there is a man-made global warming. Over the general population, recent Gallup polls show that fewer than 40% of all Americans believe in evolution and fewer than 50% of Americans believe that global warming has a human cause. According to the same Gallup polls, the belief in global warming is becoming increasingly partisan. In the meantime, 99% of US earth and life scientists believe in evolution and 97% of climate scientists believe in man-made climate change. These dismaying disconnect between the public and the science is not only ludicrous, it’s outright dangerous as when we lose sight of science, we lose sight of our means of improving or even maintaining our collective standard of living and we lose sight of our future. As a nation, we are walking on a treacherous path. Pelosi’s speech tonight gave me hope that there are still people in our law-making chamber with a clear head. Only the future will tell whether they will prevail and whether we will prevail as a nation.

Photo of the day:

Izzy and Lila took the Tebo Mini Train on Pearl St this morning.  The train had been there all summer offering free rides to kiddos and their parents.  This is the last week for the train to be running.  Yes, summer is ending as the campaign season is  heating up.

Day 310 - Soccer

Thought of the day: Today was a sport tryout day for Lila. In the morning we checked out Boulder Indoor Soccer. Other than Lila and her friend, the rest of the group were all boys. Lila ran around wildly and had fun until she ran head-on into a boy.  Both cried hard and Lila refused to get back into the field on her own. Needless to say, the second half of the lesson was as much of a drag as the first half was fun. In the afternoon, she tried out a gymnastics class. She didn't ever look back the moment she stepped onto the mat.  I had the unexpected pleasure of watching a group of 7-9 year old girls doing some pretty amazing routines right in front of my eyes - apparently it was the team practice time in the gym as well. I was excited that Lila was enjoying the sport and I was also seeing her potential in the flexibility and athleticism of these young girls. The decision came easily at the end of the day: gymnastics it is!

Photo of the day:

Izzy playing soccer.  The instructors at Boulder Indoor Soccer were very engaging and really got the kids to run around and play.  It's too bad that Lila was not quite ready for contact sports yet otherwise she would really enjoy these soccer lessons.