Equality

There has been a lot of talk in the news lately about equality.

Growing up I had the privilege of knowing my Uncle Mike. Mike had a very tough life. I won't get into all of the details, but just know it was a rough life. A life that most people would complain about. Most people would go into a depression and use these awful events as a crutch: not Mike. I never remember hearing Mike complain. If we went to eat somewhere, we always got to pick. I'm certain he had preferences, we all do, but he let us choose. We normally picked Pizza King so he was probably cool with that! :) Mike had Schizophrenia and lived in a group home for the time that I can remember of his life. (He didn't always live in a home, but he often did.) He seemed to like his group homes because there was always something going on. He liked playing cards and watching t.v. with everyone. I'll never forget him telling my mom and I once that he felt bad for us because we had to deal with everyday stress and he didn't! Can you imagine? He felt bad for us! Isn't it interesting to see another person's point of view? Now, equality. People were not nice to Mike. He was "different" so he didn't deserve their respect. Where are the groups fighting for handicapped people's rights to respect and equality? I know they've made leaps and bounds, but there is still work to be done.

Monday I had the chance to speak with Jason, an employee at my local King Soopers (Kroger with a weird name). Jason was a little slow, but he was a super nice guy. He was wearing a Nuggets jersey and I was wearing an IU shirt (what's new?!) so we talked sports. The Nuggets are doing well in the playoffs and he was excited. We talked the Colts, etc. It was a nice conversation. I love to talk sports. As I exited the store a manager approached me and told me that he watched my interaction with Jason and wanted to thank me for being nice. I told him I wouldn't know why anyone wouldn't love to talk with Jason. He said that I'd be shocked at how many people complain that they allow handicapped people to be baggers. I wanted to throw-up. How dare people complain about that?! How dare they? I quickly told the manager that I applauded them employing Jason and that he was top-notch. Where is our equality there, folks? Jason is handicapped it is ok to treat him as less than human?! That's not ok. 

I do not tell you any of this to pat myself on the back for having a soft-spot for those with mental or physical handicaps. I do not need any pats on the back. What I do need is for people to see equality for all people really does mean all people.

End of rant. Thank you.

Birds

We ate at a famous fish stand in Seattle called "Ivar's" where they have the best clam chowder ever. You order at a little shack and then eat outside by the water. The birds all congregate near where they people eat to beg. As many of you may know, birds really freak me out. They're dirty. They're creepy. They're scary. I just do not love birds. That being said these birds were basically tame and knew what to do to get food. It was really fun feeding them. You can see in the video that the 3-year-old girl was way more into the birds than I was. I kept my distance. Who knew birds loved french fries?! I'm going to count feeding the birds as another fear that I have overcome.

SEATTLE!

It wouldn't be a trip to Seattle without seeing the first Starbucks!

I didn't get a drink because it was FAR too crowded! I hope they pay those baristas well.

This is a photo that Jackson took from the top of the Space Needle's exterior observation deck. The wind was whipping at 50 mph. I stayed inside.

This was the view of the city from the ferry that we took to Bainbridge Island. What a quaint little place Bainbridge is!

I never knew just how big of a city Seattle is: HUGE!

I tried to make Jackson appear to hold up the Space Needle. He wouldn't do it. He is always so happy when he's on the water!

The market! What a fun place. It was SUPER crowded, but totally fun and worth seeing.

We LOVED Seattle. It was rainy some and wonderfully sunny some so I feel like I got a good taste of the weather. The town is very clean and people are somewhat friendly i.e. not NYC-type but it still is clearly not the Midwest!

We met up with my cousins Cortny and Mike who live in Seattle (it pays to have relatives in cool places) and they took us to the Space Needle. My fear of heights was somewhat tamed by this adventure and I was proud of myself. We met them for breakfast on Sunday and explored their part of the city called Ballard. It is a lovely little place and we totally see why they love it there. The farmers market was so neat!

Jackson and I did a little more sight-seeing on Sunday and then it was time to head to Portland to catch our flight. We lingered in Seattle a little too long and nearly missed the cutoff time for checking in for our flight. We like a good challenge. We made it, though and slept like babies last night! What a fun trip we had to the Pacific Northwest!

Tunnel- again!

The was a tunnel on our drive from Portland to Seattle. Everytime that Jackson and I go through a tunnel we think of his mother. Susie is terribly afraid of tunnels and begins to sweat as soon as a sign reading "tunnel" is visible. Enjoy, S. Petefish. :) (You can thank Jackson for the sweet sound effects!)

Aren't we just the sweetest children?! ;):)

Oregon

I had to take a picture of the Duck Store for my Mom and Guy. Everyone calls Guy "Duck" so I thought he'd appreciate having a store named for him all the way in Portland! :)

We really enjoyed seeing Portland and its surrounding areas. Oregon is really a beautiful state. I always thought it would be full of hippies. It was not! :) We went to see the water falls outside of town. They were pretty awesome. We could have hiked around there for hours if we had the time. We'll probably go back one day!

Jackson actually climbed up and stood on that bridge. I waited for him at the bottom with all of the other people who had not LOST THEIR MIND! :)

This was another waterfall we saw. Not nearly as big, but still pretty cool!

We stayed with Jackson's cousins DeDe and Dub (nicknames). They have a great house with 3 big Labradors right outside of Portland. We enjoyed a dinner out with them one night. Yum, salmon. The next night we picked up oysters in the shell and more salmon and had a cook-out. It was really fun! It is awesome to be so close to the ocean that you have all of this fresh seafood. Delicious!

My dinner was so pretty that I had to snap a photo. (After I tasted to Salmon to make sure that it was cooked all of the way through!)

Thankful

All of us have quite a few things to be thankful for, I'm certain. I got a thank you note in the mail today from Heidi and Andrew (thanks guys!) and I got to thinking about how I've never really written a thank you note for blessings in my life. The following are things that I'd send God thank you notes for:

1. Jackson and I both have families that love us dearly. We're so blessed.

2. Today is the anniversary of Charlie's (Jackson's dad) passing. I'm not thankful that he passed, of course, but I am thankful for the son (and daughter, Kathi- I love you, too) that he raised. Jackson is a wonderful man and I know Charlie would be so proud of Jackson. And Charlie, I know Jackson is proud of you. He misses you dearly, everyday. I'm so thankful that Jackson had the chance to have such a wonderful father.

3. MacKenzie is completely healthy and back to her old self. The ladies at Camp Bow Wow said they would have never known she'd been attacked if we didn't ask them to keep an eye on her. YAY!

4. Both of our rental homes have been re-rented by our current tenants. What a blessing not to have to find renters from 1,100 miles away. Thank you, Lord!

5. I fell down the stairs today. Again, not so thankful for that. It did, however, remind me how lucky I am to normally be able to walk, move and live pain-free. A lot of people are not blessed with these abilities and I am thankful everyday for them. (By the way, I am totally fine. I just knocked my bad knee around a bit and hurt my back. I'm moving a little slow, but I think I'll be fine in a few days.)

6. I am thankful for God's creation. A little hokey, but still. The forests of Oregon were breath-taking. The coast was magnificent. Seattle is a true sight to see with mountains and water everywhere. I just really enjoy seeing God's diversity!

7. Finally, I am thankful for God bringing Jackson and I together. Things are not always easy, but I wouldn't want to go through life with anyone else by my side. Tomorrow, Cinco de Mayo, is our 3 year engaged anniversary. (Yes, I do get to have 2 anniversaries, leave me alone.) Time flies when you're having fun and having fun is what Jackson and I do best! :)

Perhaps my list is a little near and dear to me and not that exciting to others, but I hope I do inspire you to remember to be thankful.

Happy Monday!

Space Needle

I will certainly post about our trip this evening, but I had to get this photo up. Jackson is holding what is supposed to be a huge Starbucks cup, but he did not have the label out. I did not put him up to this, Kathi! He wanted a silly photo and silly photo he got!! :)