The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat

What do Pikes Peak, guns, altitude chambers, sunshine and freestyle swimming have in common?

It is the Olympic dream, baby! 

My husband and I had an extra hour before our conference started in Colorado Springs. We heard that the Olympic Training Center was nearby, and being fans of everything sports we headed out for a peek. 

This is the place where real Olympic Athletes live and train. It is remarkable to see the weights and conditioning room. Athletes were jogging indoors and we could see the daily work that it takes to truly be great! People were in amazing shape. Clearly, they could pop out and jog to the top of Pikes Peak on a whim. For me? Only in my dreams!

That is inspiring!

One of the distinctions of the facility was a workout room where coaches and athletes could control humidity, temperature, and altitude. The HATC is the only simulated training room like this in the United States and it prepares athletes for competitions around the world by mimicking their conditions at future competitions.

Having a place for athletes to see PTs, Sports Psychologists, and Nutritionists is another plus of the Training Center. In addition to coaches, it takes a team to support these athletes. I was surprised to hear that the facility doesn’t receive any government funding. The many companies and organizations that sponsor the US Olympic Team pay for this. Those ads bragging about the proud sponsors of the Olympic Team are real. Without those sponsors there would be no Training Center.

When we were walking around we saw some boxing hopefuls take some remarkable upper cuts in the boxing gym. We saw a mannequin holding a gun in the shooting area. Then we realized that this mannequin was a live and practicing human. He was so still! These athletes have to really calm their bodies down so that they don’t move. There were track and field athletes at work and there were Paralympians in the pool swimming. There is room for 150 athletes over the age of 17 to live there year-round, and many more come for shorter stints (training or competitions) throughout the year. 

It was exciting to walk the grounds and brush elbows with dreamers fighting for their goals. Also, it was great to see the shooters, wrestlers, swimmers, and runners (and athletes from many other sports whom we didn’t Community is one thing that makes Team USA so great.They support one another. 
see) all in the same place. Although they are doing different sports they work out, eat, and sleep all in the same Training Center. 

It takes a whole lot to raise an athlete to GOLD! 

Go Team USA! We Are Proud of You!

#2019

Whoot! Here we go, 2019. I don’t have any idea what 2019 will bring but this year, I hope that it is bubblier than a sprite with ice on a hot day.  I dream that it will bring clarity, adventure, and wonder. This year let us set our hearts to…

#Notice2019

What are we seeing? The other day I was driving down a dark city road in the black of rush hour. There was a large owl sitting on the sidewalk watching the cars drive by. It looked as if it was mesmerized by the lights, sounds, and effects of our lives. It noticed us. I am hoping that this year will be one of simply noticing like the owl. With curiosity may I notice movement, life, and experience everywhere!

#Care2019

What are we caring for? This fall I gave a number of my friends succulent plants. Giving a succulent to someone is dangerous. Overwatering is bad stuff and sometimes is uncontrollable because of an intense desire to help. I find this with people, too. Effective help is needed. This year I want to grow intentionally with ever meaningful acts of love.

#Sparkle2019

Where do we shine? Recently, on my way to a bright and beautiful event, I saw the most insane car. It was pink with the super-intense sparkle everywhere. With bright living we break through the mundane and brighten the world, which is really cool. I wonder, maybe some of the best sparkle is projected outward from the inside? Could the best be invisible? I don’t know, I liked the car, I really did; but it made me think of inner beauty. This year is a good one to sparkle inside and out!

#Press2019

How will we get there? My faithful car (it does NOT have sparkles!) has 215K miles. It is long past being the “cool car” (if it ever was) and only a couple of the doors are working, yet it does one thing. It still runs -

and seats 7 people so the crew and friends can come along. Sometimes, I notice that the mileage of our lives comes from maintenance and perseverance. I have learned to fight the flaws, too, when necessary. Yet, through it all, I have also learned simplicity as I have sought to go the extra mile in an old rig. This year let’s continue in grace, perseverance, and simplicity, pressing forward!

#Fill2019

Eat. Pray. Worship. Feel awe. Live! This past year I have discovered a love for modern art (SF Modern Art Museum) and a new fave coffee shop. Sometimes sources of inspiration can change like modern art and my favorite drink; sometimes they just can’t like faith. For me, I find Jesus to be really awesome, at filling me up. My church reminds me of that. The most important thing is that our 2019 tank is running at full.

Oh, what a dream it would be for 2019 to be all that we dream that it will be. Whatever is on your list I hope that it is “just right.” That there would be an elegance from an inner sparkle and an outer shine. That we would be successful and adequate in caring and our hearts would overflow for the world around us. So, let’s pursue 2019 with the audacity of a sparkly pink car and let’s watch 2019 like an owl to gather all that it has to offer us, one day at a time. 

Happy New Year!

A San Francisco Cable Car Ride

Feeling nostalgic this fall? Why don’t you ease on down the road in a SF Cable Car? On a recent trip to San Fran I rode the cable cars. It was a great way to see the city. To say the least, San Francisco is all hill. The Nebraska corn fields are nowhere in sight. Having a historic cable car to ride added to the over-all adventure.

The cable cars opened for business in the ripe year of 1873. A gentleman named Andrew Hallidie saw horses slipping down the steep cobblestone streets of San Fran. He even saw some horses die because of the danger of wet streets while pulling carts. Hallidie wondered if a car could get pulled by something safer and more efficient. 

Progress. 

The cable cars have a hearty cable that pulls them along from under the street. These cables are really long, spanning the length of the street. The car is controlled by a driver that decides when it should grab onto the cable and when to brake. Thus, it is a “cable car.”

It was fun to take the different cable car lines and explore the city. Using the cable cars, we were able to get to Fisherman’s Wharf, Union Square, and Chinatown, among other places. Driving down Lombard Street was pretty awesome, too. 

All in all, the cable cars do a great job of moving people around. San Francisco is such a fun city to see the sights,

experience the arts, get outside, and become more fashionable (the shopping is great!). The whole city was inspiring! I especially enjoyed the Modern Art Museum. The Golden Gate Bridge is an obvious must-see. 

Overall, being a tourist in San Francisco was awesome, and the Cable Cars were a really unique part of the experience.

Are We Saving the Puget Sound or Are We Rearranging Deck Chairs on the Titanic?

It used to be that my family could catch cod at our favorite fishing spot in the Puget Sound and I remember seeing swarms of orcas fly through the water in their pods in the mid-sound as well. It used to be that I would see starfish and geoduck flourishing on the beaches of the sound. Now the starfish are gone and the geoduck have been over-harvested. These days things are different in the Sound; Something must be done. 

I have had to call the poachers hotline about boats with fishermen and harvesting behavior that concern me. Like so many, this summer I grieved after the loss of the Orca Talequah’s (J35) baby. She carried it over 1,000 miles in 17 days. My entire view of grief was challenged and I ached along with her. I could see that deep grief takes time and effort. It was like she was screaming at the top of her lungs. She was crying out for her family and the future of her endangered species. She clung to her lifeless baby and wouldn’t let go until it disintegrated into the sea.

Then this past week I grieved again the loss of Scarlett (J50) a rambunctious 3 ½ year old who starved to death. I felt hopeless. Yet, after attending the NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Association) Fisheries Public Meeting today at the University of Washington, my concern turns to the greater realities as I learned from others and I reflect upon the information presented.

There is an entire ecosystem at risk!

I watch with a careful eye on my favorite coastline for signs

that things are going to be okay, but a feeling lingers within me that things aren’t. Nature itself seems weak. The tides seem red. Too often the water seems filmy and murky. To be honest, I am concerned for the entire community of the grand Salish Sea and the sweet Puget Sound.

What can be done?

+Pollutants are a real problem. Stop polluting.

+The damming of rivers has to stop. Breech the Snake River Dam.

+Orcas need foraging areas for harvesting. Increase the distance that boats need to stay away from Orcas. Implement forage areas.

+We need increased regulations for Native American fishing, sport fishing, and commercial fishing. People don’t need chinook salmon to live but Orcas do. To speak for all of the Sound, there just isn’t enough food and resources for many of the fish and wildlife in the Sound. More Fishing Regulation.

At the meeting today, I was asked this question: “Are we rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic?” My answer is yes. After reflection I feel that we need to take action. Let’s call out to NOAA, Pacific Fisheries Management/Pacific Fisheries Council, and the Inslee Administration to make change. 

(Side Note: Locally, I ask, does the city of Seattle really need to release their treated sewage into the Sound? The Seattle West Point water plant sends it 240 feet under water.)

Let’s really see things for what they are. By restricting harvest, cutting pollutants, breeching dams, making good thought-out choices, and creating foraging areas the ecosystem will return. The Black Fish (Duwamish term for orca), cod, salmon, and the geoduck population will recover. What are we waiting for? Let’s start in a new direction and push ahead for sake for the Puget Sound of tomorrow. Rearranging deck chairs is not a good plan for the environment in this dire time.

Ocra J35 and Her Mother Love

An Orca named J35 is my hero. You’ve probably heard about her. She’s a hero to me because her mother’s heart goes beyond my wildest imaginations. 

My heart goes out to the Orca as she grieves the loss of her sweet baby. This morning I rushed to my computer for an update. I have been counting the days that J35 has been carrying her 400 lb. deceased baby Orca.  She pushes it through the water, unwilling to part with her baby. If the body of her baby sinks she dives down or drifts in the current under water and she pushes her baby up to the surface. She has carried it now for 5 days as I write this. 

All this said, we mothers know what it means that she has been carrying this baby for her 17 months (!) of gestation. This is unity of being. A life of total dependency and real intimacy. Being pregnant, I imagine, gave her hope for her species because one whale in her pod is starving to death, and their numbers have shrunk over the years. She already has one son that she gave birth to in 2010 and he lives with her in the J pod. She knew what was supposed to happen after her little one's birth. So sad.

Orcas struggle with the loss of food in the waters and other environmental risks. Truly we need to do all that we can to preserve animal life. Every baby brings hope for the future, every life matters, and there is nothing more precious than a newborn. 

Two years ago I wrote a blog about a Juvenile Humpback whale, which died in the Puget Sound and was washed up on shore. I was there when it was breathing its last. I was there that day wanting and praying for a miracle. My love for the wild of Puget Sound runs so deep. This week my prayers have been turned to the sweet grieving heart of J35. While at the same time my own mother’s heart and values have been awakened as I have watched her struggle to let go.

J35 your passion for your baby truly touches my heart. Oh that we would all share your passion for our infants, children, and community. Our babies matter. Nature matters. Would the mother’s heart in us rise up and can we cherish our young in life and death? 

Clearly, this grief is raw and real in the animal world. 

Tomorrow morning I will wake up to check on J35 and to see if she is still pushing her baby in the water. Whether she has let go or not I will forever admire her for her indescribable love and unwillingness to not harden her heart toward her dead baby and grieve with such unrestrained passion.

Kate Spade - Lived Color Fully

What makes you smile? For many people the Kate Spade brand has made the list. Although, the company has been sold it still is going in the direction that it was set by its name-sake. Her purses are inspiring. I, for one, love the upbeat look of Kate Spade. It is nice having a purse for all of life - just about everything from the sidelines as a basketball mom to rushing off to work. Walking into the store is a bright and energy-giving experience.The brand doesn’t tip-toe around and shyly express it’s thoughts. Its look is bold and airy. Its polka dots and stripes are whimsical. This is truly a happy brand for me and many others. So many wait with anticipation to see what the Spade's new brand, Frances Valentine, will reveal about life and style.

I walked through the Kate Spade store this past Sunday while my kids participated in a mall scavenger hunt birthday party. It was fun to look and see bits and pieces of style, like visiting an art gallery. I tried on purses and was especially happy with their bright pink cross-body (hello wish list)! Then, a few days later, I was at the mall again. (I am not usually there that often, I promise!) From a store called White House Black Market, my eyes looked across the walkway at the Kate Spade store on the day of her death. 

I couldn’t go that day. 

My happy vibes faded to grief. Joy to Pain. It is a puzzle to me how these things happen. She had such great success and beauty. She had great wealth and industry impact. Her death is such a tragedy. As I looked at her news stories I thought, she looks like she could be the mom next door.

Suicide can happen to anyone; it even happened last month to a senior at my son’s school. This precious boy was accepted to a top University and had meaningful friendships. We are frail, prone to pain, suffer and lose our way. Some warning signs include: talking about wanting to die, buying a gun or hoarding medicines, insomnia, and losing interest in things and becoming withdrawn with family and friends (American Foundation of Suicide Prevention). Calling the hotline, 800-273-8255, is one way to get help. 

Suicide is an evil villain.

May beauty rise in the midst of this tragedy! May new colors be embraced as we live color fully. I am going to continue admiring the legacy of art and visual happiness that the Kate Spade brand portrays. I will continue to keep Kate Spade bits and pieces on my wish list. 

Yet, as I do, I will be more aware of the threat of suicide. As I wear this brand I will keep in mind that all people are vulnerable. May grace surround those that love her as well as other suicide victims and may Comfort truly reside with all of us in times of grief and loss.

“Bear one another’s burdens.” Galatians 6:2

Smith Tower Frappuccino

I was in pursuit of a Starbucks Frappuccino on a hot day, during my jury duty break. Walking down the sidewalk I strolled into the Smith Tower near Pioneer Square in Seattle. Clearly, I didn’t look up before I entered! 

I had wanted to visit the tower for many years as it sits peculiarly cute as a part of the Seattle Skyline. It has the look of an old building with its own particular tale to tell. Finally, I was afforded the opportunity to go, quite out of the blue. So I bought a ticket for $12 and started towards the elevator.

After going inside I discovered that the historic building still has an elevator operator. After I commented on how fast the elevator went she mentioned to me that she rides the elevator five hours a day and has done so for two years. That is quite a job!

Back in 1914, the Smith Tower was completed with 38 floors. When it was built it was the tallest building in the west. It was thought-provoking to reflect upon a Seattle without the skyscrapers that it now has and without even the iconic Space Needle.

The neoclassical architecture from which it springs has particular windows that are similar to that of the White House. The Tower is not overly ornate but is functional and practical with linear and planar simplicity. I like the way that some of the building is a shorter height while the other portion is very tall. Clearly, building this was quite a feat to build way back then. I would have not wanted to be on the scaffolding.

From the observatory it was easy to see many of Seattle’s sites: the Great Wheel, a ferry coming into town in Elliott Bay, the Space Needle, and the Seahawks’ and Mariners’ Stadiums. To top it all off: Mt. Rainier was out that day as well. After seeing the awe-inspiring views I was indeed a happy tourist. 

Then, I remembered my mission at hand: 

Off to find my Frappuccino!