Thanksgiving, the un-demanding Holiday

I love teaching. I recently asked a class of kiddos what their favorite holiday was, and one child excitedly responded, “Black Friday.” But what about Thanksgiving, I thought? No one said it. But then I thought: Thanksgiving is so generous that it gives way to everything around it, even Black Friday. With this un-demanding Thanksgiving holiday ahead, I went to Target this week for a table cloth. There were aisles and aisles of Christmas decorations but I couldn’t find the Thanksgiving stuff anywhere and got lost in my shopping for everything else: Neosporin, hairclips, binders, extra hot Cheetos, and socks.

I realized at the checkout that I had not seen the Thanksgiving decor in the store and went back to the tablecloth aisle and found a little something, thankfully. Thanksgiving doesn’t demand our attention on aisle 9; it just quietly slips on in. I would like to propose that maybe Thanksgiving is more of a way of life and the holiday is just an extension of living. It is serving, giving,

writing, enjoying, and remembering.

Thanksgiving, the un-demanding holiday, is something that I have to strive for all-year round. Sometimes I feel too busy or self-preoccupied to share but when I do life is so much better. We can serve others and distribute the goodness all around us. We can help others to give as well. Sharing without knowing it is normal when I live it.  

Write down the things that you are grateful for: make lists and lists or just say them. Our family shares what we are thankful for at the dinner table every time we gather. We go around and share what we are thankful for from that particular day: seeing someone, a ride home, kayaking, getting a car fixed, funny things, or playing a particular song. This is a way of celebrating

the everyday grace that surrounds us. 

Our very food sustains us. Relationships transform us. Wisdom leads us. Faith guides us.

Traditions of thanks proceed us in this un-demanding holiday. One harvest celebration of thanks lasted for three days in the Colonies in 1621. Edward Winslow, who came to the New World on the Mayflower, wrote about this celebration. The celebration sprung from the protestant tradition of celebrating thanksgivings which was also

like a day of prayer to thank God. It is good to take time out for this tradition of prayer and service. The Native Americans also had a history of gathering so this naturally flowed from their lives as well. Truly, I love to gather with friends and family. This year there will be 21 loved ones around my table.

Sure, Black Friday is exciting and the stores were oddly in full-boat Christmas mode in October; but more than a simple day thanksgiving is life. It is celebrated each day and opens our eyes to so much more in life? Maybe we actually don’t need a Thanksgiving section of a store? It is an existence, after all. Why not live a life that fully mirrors the grace that we have been given? Sounds like a life worth living.

Happy Thanksgiving all of you "out there" in cyberland, and to the beGwen blog groupies!

#BringOnTheAloha

My love for Hawaii is a running joke in our family. When my kids whine about not getting something they want, my stock reply has been for well over a decade, “Well, I want to go to Hawaii!” They’re pretty sick of me saying it. 

Well, finally, it happened: I went! When I started the beGwen blog years ago I began with two blogs about Hawaii. The first line of my first blog said, “I want to start my blog with one word, ‘Hawaii.’” That word – or all that it represents – pretty much embodies perfection for me (along with my husband*). After 21 years of dreaming, my hubby and I went to Waikiki this summer and it was perfect. It was such a treat to go back!

There is something amazing about getting away to Aloha. Being truly warm and wearing a swimsuit and cover up all day with flip-flops is so nice. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect getaway vacation. So here is why Hawaii is the ultimate dream vacation:

-The color of the water is a perfect warm blue. 

-The water temperature won’t let you stop swimming.

-The palm trees are big and beautiful. 

-The ocean waves are a blast to play in (Surfing, however, is harder than you can ever believe, so don’t do that).

-The smooth sand is warm and light. 

-“Aloha” is great.

-From a mainlander perspective, you really feel like you are a long way from home which makes mowing the lawn on vacation even harder to do.

-Sea turtles!

-Starbucks is there waiting. 

If you go here are some #traveltips: #1 Get the Alaska Airlines credit card so you can nearly fly 2 for the price of one. #2 If you really have to try surfing get a lesson. #3 Buy snorkel gear and boogie board at the ABC store. #4 Take the local bus and go hiking up Diamond Head. #5 The hotels don't own the ocean and the lower beach (tidelands). You can enjoy the beach in front of almost any hotel just walk there. You don't have to pay the extra to stay at at waterfront hotel. Just walk there and use the beach if you stay inland. We stayed at the Courtyard Marriott Waikiki and it was only 5 blocks to the beach.

As I write this sitting at home, I can smell my coconut scented candle. Having a touch of tropical vibe here back home is fresh. All in all, going to Hawaii is about taking time away from busy life and relaxing – even in the busy Waikiki, it’s simply delightful. It is like cranking up the fire in the winter – peaceful and comfortable. It is spending time with dear ones and accessing their world. Worshipping the Creator. It is intentionally living and loving and relaxing. Moving away from materialistic striving and moving toward flip-flop beach-life simplicity. All of this surrounds us as we play in the waves, relax on the beach, and enjoy all that Hawaii has to offer. Remembering the turtles helps us to forget so much and focus on the grace that surrounds us each and every day. 

Oh, Dearest Hawaii. I hope that it won’t be another 20+ years before I see you again. Although, even if it isn’t too soon, the memories are good enough for 15 years of happy – though I’d gladly go back sooner than that! But when my kids complain about not getting something, I’ll probably still say, “Well, I’d like to go to Hawaii!” Hang loose forever!

*My husband is my editor and he inserted this statement. Though, to be fair, the statement in the blog is true.

Here is a picture of my previous Hawaii trip 21 years ago:

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.