Lesson Learned

A word to the wise: Lasange takes forever, is a TON of work, and by the time you get to eat it, you're less interested in it than you were to begin with!

I think this is why everyone swears that it tastes better the second day.

I agree.

How to Get Fat Without Really Trying

This news report from Peter Jennings says a lot about what we have heard so much of already: That government subsidizes corn, which in turn contributes to most of the processed foods on the market; Obesity levels have never been so high in Americans; Type II Diabetes has never before been seen in children at such a young age...

But here are things I learned for the first time:

• Food Styling is an actual job title (and a huge industry), focused on making food look irresistible by using non-food products to whet the appetite.
• Other countries around the world have banned advertising directed at children under a certain age, or advertising for children at all!
  

Yet another reason America is so far behind the power curve. Why does it always seem to take us as a nation so many years to understand the validation behind arguments that people all over the world have been supporting for years? I just can't help but feel bad for children who are so young and already going downhill toward being overweight. Adults can make bad choices for themselves, but children cannot. One of the interviewees in this movie had the audacity to say that beginning at age 6, children are more mature and are capable of making decisions, since they are out of the house and experiencing the world. (Paraphrasing, of course, but that's pretty darn close!)

And of course health care issues are a hot topic with the presidential candidates right now. Sure, a lot of it is based on the lack of funds to support medicare and medicaid to meet the growing need, and the government will also be slammed when the baby boomers hit their declining and ailing years en mass. But instead of only having to worry about the poor, the sick, and the elderly, we will soon have to support the growing numbers of children, young people, and middle-aged adults who make poor food choices and will face rising risks for disease, injury, and chronic illness.

Peter Jennings compared the obesity & food issue to the way Americans had to rethink the view on cigarettes and smoking. You would think we could learn from our mistakes...

On moving forward

So my husband has finally decided to pursuit a career we can both agree on: being an officer (and maybe even a pilot!) in the Coast Guard. I am excited for him because he has been struggling for two years with the big picture of who he wants to be, and how it will reflect on us as a couple. Having grown up in an Army family, I am excited to follow his dreams and represent the country in a branch I know very little about. Of course, this all begs the question for me of what I will do when we move. I love kids, but I cannot imagine having a family this early in our lives. If I can make the most of these changes that are coming about at St. George's, then maybe I will have a good foothold to move up in the business end of something really inspiring in the non-profit sector. I have no problems with the business world in general, but I am learning more and more that I have a heart to help people who need an extra hand, and I think I am certainly capable of providing what they need to thrive.

What inspires me?

• The earth, and talking/encouraging others/learning about small differences everyone can make to make a big impact for ours and future generations.
• Reading books about people living in parts of the world that have managed to retain their cultural values, where people actually eat dinners together, grow their own food, and share in very special family traditions.
• Helping teenagers experience parts of society for the first time - watching the wheels turn, their world grow, and their hearts grow in new ways.
• People who seem unaffected by the pressures and preconceived notions the world has on their lives, what they're supposed to be and do, and what they will be able to contribute to make the world a better place.
• Music. Not from the audience, although that is a special experience. I am most inspired from sitting in the oboe section, creating music from a piece of paper that looks like gibberish to so many people. If you know what it's like to feel touched by a scene in a movie accompanied by great music, then you know only a tiny fraction of what it actually feels like to create music's magic moments and send that emotion moving out into the world.

I am also inspired by living my small life with my husband and our puppy. I have a small impact by working at a church nearby, and I try to take pleasure by living minimally, enjoying the tiny joys of everyday life. My life is nothing to be ashamed of, but I hope I can have the courage to take opportunities to do bigger things.

Okay, enough with this philosophical nonsense!

What happens now?

Well, I learned yesterday that my fabulous boss is leaving for another job. This is a little sad because we will all miss her, but it's the right decision for her to make at this point in her life.

I am going to be interested to see what happens now, because there is no way they will be able to find someone who can effectively do all that she does. It's like being the CEO, CFO, and HR manager for a growing company all at once! And the drama continues....

So now what?

Is this enough?

The only problem I have with Facebook and blogging is that you spend so much time reading other people's amazing stories that you wonder what YOU are doing with your life.

Am I actually changing the world? Because I want to be...

If there were nothing to hold me down, what would I be doing with my life right now?

And how do I get there from here?

All this thinking made reminded me of something I wrote my freshmen year in high school:

Experience is the greatest teacher of all, and some of life's most valuable lessons are learned from it. Over the past year, I have learned that straight-A students can fail, and that failures can change the world. I've learned that from winning you can gain the most amazing feeling of success, but that from making mistakes, you can learn what success really means. I've learned that children are much smarter than the world gives them credit for, but that true intelligence is hard to find. Mostly importantly, however, I've learned that life is about passion, and that achievement is worth a lifetime. Everything is possible. Anything can be achieved. The sky is no longer the limit.

Reality

You know what? I get tired of hearing people talk about these debates and this election. But when they finally got around to health care tonight, I just can't stay quiet anymore. I see people everyday who need health care. We are practically the only industrialized nation that does not have some kind of government program to offer health care to people who would not otherwise have it. I'm talking about the single mothers with children whose 1st job only negates the cost of daycare required for her to be able to go to work in the first place. What about seniors who don't work and don't qualify for medicare or get the amount of help they truly need? Businesses pay an average of $12,000 each year for employees to have health care, and then there are still co-pays, medicines, visits and procedures not covered by insurance, and deductibles to meet. Five thousand extra bucks will only help the people who already have health care. It will not provide adequate health care for the people that cannot get health care otherwise.

I know we send a lot of money to other nations, but can we start investing in the lives of Americans who have been waiting for this country to pay them some attention?

Grrr.