Olympics

Aren't the Olympics amazing? It's cool that the five rings represent the five major continents/land masses of the countries who compete and the colors are those that are present on every participating country's flag. I remember being a little girl watching the Olympic games in Montreal and Lake placid. My idols were gymnasts Nadia Comaneci and Nelly Kim. Every four years the Olympics come around and we get a chance to see the best of the best compete against each other for world titles.

It's cool to watch the opening ceremonies. The host countries share their culture with the world, and athletes from all over the world parade in amidst fans cheering and flags waving. Of course, my favorites are the US athletes since the USA is my home land, but I do love how the Olympics being the world together.

I can't help but laugh about a recent conversation I heard on the radio. One of the female DJs said she thought Mexico wasn't in North America. She said we are America, so how can Mexico be in America too? She didn't realize the difference between the United States of America and The continent of North America. At least she was humble and said she has always been bad at geography, but it's pretty sad that a popular radio personality doesn't know such basic facts.

My favorite olympic sports to watch are gymnastics and swimming. But I'm humbled by all the sports and all the athletes. I wish I was so good at something that I could be the best in the world. What an incredible idea and goal these people train for their entire lives. I enjoy the sports and the competition. I'm inspired to be better.

Allergy Update

"I've never seen your mom order the pizza before. I even brought lemons for her salad dressing" a familiar waiter at one of my favorite restaurants said to my daughter the other day. I guess that means I am a regular: he is used to my order (appetizer-caprese salad hold the vinegar, fresh basil instead of basil sauce, dinner-Mediterranean salad add grilled chicken no feta no olives no dressing, olive oil and lemons instead). I love eating at this restaurant because they actually have a few items I can eat on my no wheat, corn, eggs, and sugar diet. The problem is they also have brick oven pizzas that are really hot, fresh, thin crusts, homemade sauce, and have delectable toppings. I know this because someone in my family always orders one, and I almost always sneak a bite or two. This time was different. This time I decided to get the 'Super Mario' the equivalent of a meat lover's pizza. I used to eschew such foods because of the belly ache and rash that ensued.

It's been a while since I've written about eczema, my nemesis. The first allergist I saw was on Virginia, and he explained that allergies show themselves three ways: hay fever, asthma, and eczema/hives. Our immune systems are like buckets, and allergens full up the bucket until it overflows, and we have symptoms.

Up until a few months ago I was getting allergy care from my ENT (shots and antihistamines) and dermatologist (ointments for rashes). I've been diagnosed with multiple allergies, to environmental stuff like dust, dust mites, mold, cats, trees and grasses. Shots and nasal sprays helped and continue to help with the hay fever, but I kept getting eczema and hives. I got patch tested and was diagnosed with allergies to nickel, fragrance, and several other chemicals omnipresent in our society. I gave my house a makeover for dust mites and chemicals. I got my eyes tattooed for eye liner and switched to chemical free makeup, shampoo and conditioner (which are all very hard to find). Still I got eczema and hives.

I was tested for food allergies then told the tests are not reliable, and that elimination diets are the only way to know for certain. So I went on a major elimination diet starting in 2009 and discovered reactions (both digestive and rashes) to wheat, corn, sugar, and eggs. My skin clears up when I eat clean, but boy is it hard to eat that clean!

In April I started seeing a new allergist. I told her I wanted a tenth opinion because it's so frustrating to be me. I explained my long history with allergies and treatments, and vented my frustrations about not being able to eat like a normal person. Her philosophy is to help people like me learn to live 'out of the bubble' by identifying intolerances vs allergies and by managing symptoms. Since I don't swell up and drop to the floor with anaphylaxis, I think mine are intolerances, not true allergies. This is a good thing. Although the fear of the face rash keeps me from eating whatever I want.

Friends who suffer from eczema-listen up, this is the best advice I've received so far. It's called the 'seal and heal' technique. Take several baths a day. She said her worst cases take three baths a day. She told me to take two a day (I had blisters and cracking skin). Then apply ointments while the skin is still wet. I use proactiv on my face and triamcinilone on my body. Bathing (vs showering) allows your body to absorb water at a deep level. Think about it, drowning victims are bloated when they are pulled from the water. Ourbbodies absorb water through our pores. Applying moisture and ointments with wet skin seals in the moisture from the bath. I only use a towel on my hair now, and the result is that my eczema has basically cleared up. The dishydrotic eczema on my hands and feet comes back periodically, and I revert to bathing and medicating.

While I've been able to eat 'out of the bubble' and not have any eczema erupt on my face, the digestive issues remain. Because of my intolerances, when I eat gluten and sugar I get really bloated. Since April, I've put on a solid ten pounds. It's bad news but I'm also happy to have enjoyed some normal food. Whenever I feel uncomfortable with the extra pounds, I remember how good those cheeseburgers tasted, how cheesy the pizza was, and how much I hated eating 'in a bubble.'

The jury is still out, but I think I might prefer the frustration of not eating like a normal person to the bloated heavy feeling I have after eating what everybody else eats. Let's face it, the American diet is terrible!

Daybook

http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

FOR TODAY: July 25, 2012

Outside my window... Powder blue sky, a few lonely clouds, green grass, oak trees, manicured lawns and big brick houses.  It's still hot although it's 7pm.  I'm nestled in my comfy neighborhood back in Texas after a week in Florida. 

I am thinking...about so many things...the kids..the bills...my schedule...  I'm thinking about Brent at boot camp and wondering how he is handling all the challenges in his training.  We heard from him about a week ago, and he sounded good. He said he is learning a ton.  The Colorado theater shooting happened while we were on vacation, and I've been thinking about that a lot too.  The shooter...the victims...guns...going out in public etc..

I am thankful...Sierra made it safely on her first solo drive to Lubbock.  She and I are so different with highway driving.  I learned how to drive in Washington DC and have always been a confident driver.  She is scared of driving on the highways and has never made the trip by herself.  She looked up an alternate route that kept her on major highways without a lot of interchanges.  She went back to school early to get a job before rush starts and found a job waiting table right away! 
     I'm thankful Zoe and Sierra are getting along better now and have come a long way in developing their sisterly relationship.  I've always wanted to have a sister.  They are lucky to have each other.  They are seven years apart, so it's been kind of rough sometimes with both of them in different stages most of the time.  I think this summer they both realized what it's like to be in the other one's shoes and are starting to understand how lucky they are to have sisters even though there is a big age gap.
     I'm thankful for getting to spend today with Thomas (since Sierra left for college and Zoe is sleeping over at Joe's mom's).  He is such a good sport when I want to drag him around for girl stuff like getting my nails done today and registering Zoe for dance classes.  We had some lunch and went to the pool.  He said, "hey mommy - win/win - you can swim laps and I can go down the waterslides!"  He joined me in the lap lane for a while and then we played in the family swim area too.  He is working on going all the way across the pool and today asked if I thought he might be able to become an Olympic swimmer one day.  I told him he can be anything he wants. It just takes work and practice.  He seems turned onto the idea of exercising today.  That's awesome. 
     I'm thankful for Joe.  He is my rock, my soft place to land, and my person.  He is the strong husband and father in the family.  He takes care of all of us. He works really hard to support us and the lifestyle we have.  He loves me just they way I am and supports me in whatever I want to do.

I am learning... to develop my blogging habit.  I've been working on it off and on over the years and now that I'm home full time again, it's fun to get back to writing down some of the many thoughts that run through my complicated mind.  It gives me a way to structure my thinking and to share my thoughts with my friends. 
     I'm still learning guitar.  I downloaded the Ultimate Guitar app on my iPhone and I love looking up songs that I hear to play.  I'm getting better, but I still have a long way to go.  I would still love to get better on my electric guitar, just need to carve out more time to practice.
     I'm also learning Trigonometry.  I need to write a blog about my love affair with math to explain my history, but suffice it to say I didn't know I liked math or was good at it until I became a teacher.  I want to go back and keep taking classes as time allows.  I've downloaded the Trignometry class from Khan Academy on my iPhone too, and I watch the online lessons and do the practice problems.

In the kitchen...grass fed beef is thawing.  Thomas wants Hamburger Helper Stroganoff tonight (yuck!), so I will probably stir fry some veggies with the meat separately and then make the stroganoff with the rest of it. 

I am wearing... my bikini (we just got home from the pool), black nike shorts, and a lime green tank top that says LIVE LOVE SURF Pensacola <3

I am creating... this blog!  Working on writing about my life and my thoughts without fear of who reads it. 

I am going... to PT tomorrow.  Still having lots of back pain, working on core stabilization and spinal strengthening. 

I am reading...can you believe I'm still on Hunger Games? I think I started it months ago. I'm almost at the end, but I hate reading fiction!  HAHA.  I like to read, but I gravitate to non-fiction.  I have to work on my fictional reading habit just like I have to work on my writing habit.  I'm so much more of a math and science person.  I read a ton of news articles and non-fictional stuff every day, but I admit reading fiction is like pulling teeth.  I saw Hunger Games, and I liked it and heard the books are better, so I'm trying.  I'm toward the end where Katniss and Peeta are still in the cave. She has the extra supplies and his leg is healing, but they are still there.  I've seen the movie, so I don't really care to finish the book, but I heard the book is different, so I do still want to finish it sometime.

I am wondering... how to handle a situation with my mom.  We've had a long history together, and although I know she loves me, I am not able to have a relationship with her.  We haven't spoken since Thanksgiving. She came here and got really upset and changed her ticket and left early then blamed everything on me.  It's very complicated. I hate that we don't have a relationship but I don't know how to fix it.

I am hoping... to lose about ten pounds.  I will write a separate post about diet and my allergies.

I am pondering... what makes some people so into facebook and others not.  The other day, Joe and I were talking about facebook like we often do.  I'm a big fan and am an active user.  I have lived in many places and experienced many things, and I know people all over the world whom I communicate with via facebook.  I've always been an extrovert, so it makes sense that I love social media.  I connect with people in real life too, but seriously I have many friends who live in facebook land, and without facebook I wouldn't be able to keep in touch, see pictures of their kids, or hear about their lives.  I frequently tell Joe about things I post and ask him if he has seen them.  His usual answer is no.  If something's important, I'll ask him to go and look at it and tell me what he thinks about it.  Since I've been blogging again recently, I decided to also create a facebook 'fan' page for my blog...not so much to amass fans (although that would be great) but to have one place for all my blog posts instead of having them mixed throughout my timeline obscured by other posts about what I'm doing or what I'm listening to or links to other interesting sites or pictures I've posted.  When you create a page, you invite people to 'like' it so they will get your posts in their news feeds.  I invited all my facebook friends to like my page, and I noticed my husband, my most important person in the world didn't like it yet, so I asked him if he got the invitation or if he had read any of my recent posts.  His response was, "I never think to check facebook."  I was speechless.  The words echoed in my head again as I struggled to understand them.  We don't live on the same planet.  I have to try NOT to check facebook too much.  How can people never think to check facebook?  My first impulse is to explain it by saying he has both his parents and had his needs met as a child, so that must be why he doesn't reach out to others as much as I do.  (I didn't have both parents, I didn't have my needs met as a child, and I've always reached out to friends for connection and validation to compensate).  I've always been a "friends" person.  These days many of my friends live in the computer, so I'm always thinking about connecting and learning things and sharing ideas and expressing myself.  If you're reading this, you are probably like me. You're online on facebook or have arrived at my blog through twitter or the daybook or what have you.  I truly ponder what makes people so different on a basic level like that.  Why is it so easy for Joe to never think of facebook?  His answer is that he is too busy in the real world to care about the virtual world.  He reached over, poked my leg, and said, "I like you Susanne and I like Susanne's World.  I just like Susanne's real world."  That meant a lot.  It's real, and it counted way more than getting 100 likes on facebook.  I'm sure there is a happy medium between never checking facebook and checking it all the time.

I am hearing... Alaine, "Sacrifice"  I still remember the first time I heard this song, on the way down the mountain on our last day in St. John, USVI in 2007.  I thought it was Madonna!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ll1VxrFARU

A favorite quote for today..."Be yourself. The world worships the original."  Ingrid Bergman

One of my favorite things... got a mani/pedi today!  Thomas was happy to come along with me because the ladies let him sit in a massage chair. He loved it!

A few plans for the rest of the week: PT and allergy shots tomorrow, allergy shots for Thomas on Friday, a little shopping to get the kids ready for soccer camp next week. Grocery shopping at Sprouts!

A peek into my day

I'm Sorry

Words have power. Sometimes less is more. Two simple words, I'm sorry, can mend fences and heal wounds.

Kids learn to apologize at a young age, and even into adulthood, saying sorry can be a difficult thing to do. It's hard to take responsibility and be truly sorry for something without expecting something in return or following an apology with "but" and then continuing with blaming and making excuses.

Do you owe someone an apology? Say, "I'm sorry for ________." A sincere apology comes from the heart. Two words can speak volumes.

Guns

http://cnsnews.com/blog/ron-meyer/auroras-strict-gun-laws-didnt-prevent-shooting-if-one-law-abiding-person-theater-had

Yesterday's shooting is bringing up the issue of gun control. This article says we shouldn't let this massacre deter us from having guns to defend ourselves. The shooter was dressed in protective gear head to foot, so I'm not sure that he could've been stopped if someone in the theater had a legally concealed weapon. It's an interesting idea, but is that really the answer-arming more and more people in public places? Accidents happen all the time with guns. Kids accidentally get shot or shoot other people. My little brother in law told me last night he is strapped in public places but not when he is drinking. How can we trust that people packing guns for self defense will use the same judgement? It seems like a recipe for more disaster to me to put more guns in more people's hands, especially in public places. Take the movie theater shooting specifically, with tear gas in the air and mass hysteria all around, wouldn't it have been tough for people to tell who was the bad guy? I can just picture my little brother in there shooting at the bad guy trying to protect himself but accidentally hitting someone trying to run to safety. The more people you have shooting bullets, the higher the chances of innocent people getting hit. It's math.

What is the answer? First let me say outright that I don't have the definitive answer. If you asked me, I would say everybody should just love everybody and then we wouldn't have a need for guns, but I get it; that's naive and idealistic. But it's true.

The second amendment gave us the right to bear arms (for self defense, hunting etc.), but should it give us the right to buy automatic and semi-automatic weapons whose sole purpose is to kill many people in a small amount of time? Guns are already regulated somewhat. We can't go to 7-11 and pick up a rocket launcher or a bushel of grenades. But the question is where is the line drawn? How is it that people like this Colorado shooter and other like him can arm themselves with an arsenal and set out to attack innocent people? I get it that he planned it and pulled the trigger, but he probably would've been less effective without that AR-15. He could've still killed people with the shotgun and the handgun, but why was he able to secure so many firearms and ammunition legally and without raising any suspicion? Was he planning a major hunting trip where he needed to fire at a herd of hippos or something? Did he need to stockpile all those weapons and ammunition to defend himself against a home invader? Nobody thought twice about why he was buying the goods. He was able to secure all those deadly tools, and look at what happened.

Every time there is a tragedy like this, we tighten up security in hindsight. Airport security has been shaped by the 9/11 attacks as well as the underwear and shoe bomber. What's next? Do we increase gun control? Do we have metal detectors at movie theaters, grocery stores, schools, and every other public place?

http://m.nydailynews.com/1.1119173

This article says he is acting irrationally in jail and thinks he is acting in a movie. The underlying problem in my opinion is mental illness. What are we as a society going to do about the mentally ill? And how can we keep mentally deranged people from getting guns and other deadly weapons? How do we curb the desire to kill?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2176911/Dark-Knight-Rises-Colorado-Shooting-A-hero-died-saving-girlfriend-man-birthday-party--tragic-stories-victims-killed-Dark-Knight-massacre.html

These are the people whose lives were cut short. Each person has a story and a family. Each person walked into that theater for fun not knowing what violence would ensue. We don't think that way when we go out to movies or the mall. We trust that other people will act right and abide by the rules.

We can't go back and fix it. The shooter also cut short his own life by taking these actions. He will either be killed in jail, put to death, or live the rest of his life in a mental hospital. It's too bad he didn't get to a mental hospital sooner. I wonder what went so wrong in his life.

Regardless of where you stand on the gun control debate, I think it's easy to agree that guns shouldn't be used for acts of pure evil. I respect your right to have a gun, but do I have the right to be safe?

If Today Was Your Last Day

     Life is so short. We don't know when we will die. We come into the world alone, and we leave the world alone. Our births and deaths happen when they will. We don't remember what it was like before we were born, and we don't know what will happen after we die, but we do contemplate our deaths. If today was your last day, what would you do? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrXIQQ8PeRs

"My best friend gave me the best advice

He said each day's a gift and not a given right

Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind

And try to take the path less traveled by

That first step you take is the longest stride

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late

Could you say goodbye to yesterday?

Would you live each moment like your last

Leave old pictures in the past?

Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?

What if, what if, if today was your last day?" Nickelback

     We should all live our lives like today is our last day because it might be. Sometimes it takes tragedies like today's massacre in Colorado or the deaths of friends and loved ones to make us stop long enough to think about it.  I was especially moved by the story of Jessica Ghawi, an aspiring sports journalist who lost her life in the shooting. She had an intuitive feeling to leave a food court in a mall just a few minutes before a gunman open fired there. That was just a few weeks ago, and she wrote an article about the shooting and the effects it had on her. It made her realize the fragility of life and the truth that we never really know when we might take our last breaths. Seeing her pictures and hearing her stories, I got goosebumps. It made me think of those Final Destination movies (where there may be forewarning of an impending unavoidable death). It makes me wonder if our 'time' is predestined or if it is all a matter of coincidence or free will.  All we really have is this moment, today.  Tomorrow is never promised.  We have big ideas like bucket lists of wonderful trips to take before we die, but do we take the time to mend minor fences and to love people unconditionally each and every day? If today was your last day, would you be ready to venture into the great beyond? Would you feel at peace with your life? Would you have any unfinished business?



President Obama said today is a day for prayer and reflection. This is my reflection:

Why do people kill people?

Why do bad things happen to innocent people?

Am I living today like it's my last day?

What unfinished business do I have?

And this is my prayer:

Dear universe,

Thank you for another day of life on this precious earth with my family.  Please bring peace and strength to all the people suffering today and every day because of the loss of their loved ones. Be with the souls of the victims and bring healing to the world.

Amen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLgYAHHkPFs

"Imagine all the people living life in peace."  John Lennon

Which Rules Are Made To Be Broken?

     Is your kid on social media yet? Did you know the minimum age to be on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram is thirteen? I know so many people who allow their kids to fudge their ages to get on these sites. So many in fact that it makes my daughter stand out among her peers for abiding by the rules. I talk to other parents about it and the pressure it puts on my kid, and the common response is that they are 'almost' thirteen so it's ok. One parent even put the onus on me to keep an eye on his kid since I'm on and he's not.

     I'm a math person, and numbers are absolute. Maybe I take things too literally, but twelve is not equal to thirteen. It's like saying well my kid is almost sixteen so he can go ahead and drive or my kid is almost eighteen so she should be able to vote and join the armed services or hey my kid is almost twenty-one so he can go ahead and drink. Some rules are made to be broken, and rules are broken all the time. It makes me wonder which ones are worth fighting to keep and which ones are ok to bend. It's a personal decision for every parent, and it's a tough one in my house because I have two tween daughters. One is twelve wishing she was an older teenager, and the other is nineteen thinking she's a full fledged adult. I empathize with both of them. I've been their ages once, and I sure broke a lot of rules. The drinking age in DC was only eighteen when I grew up and thanks to a lookalike at high school, I had a fake ID and was able to get into bars and clubs to see shows on the weekends. Now that it's my turn to be the mom, I find it hard to teach kids how to follow rules when they see their friends breaking them all over the place.



     In Texas, there's this thing affectionately called the "bubba law" which says if bubba wants to have a drink with his underage kid he is allowed to. If underage kids are with their parents, they are allowed to drink alcohol. I swear it's true. I heard about it straight from a police officer when we moved to town. In Virginia there were specific guidelines about at what age and how long can you leave your kids at home alone. So when we moved to Texas I asked the police what their guidelines were. The answer was they have none...except for the aforementioned bubba law. It's interesting how things are so different in different places.

     When I was growing up, we didn't have the Internet or smart phones. These days elementary aged kids have cell phones and are hooked up to the Internet faster than you can say beware of the sexual predators. Kids are sharing their lives and locations online and communicating with as many people possible without really considering the dangers. It bugs me to see kids post screen shots of how many followers they have. Who cares? And do you even know half of them? Does it matter? I am getting off on a tangent now, but it's this kind of social media mania that makes my kid feel like she is left out if she too doesn't have a bunch of sites and followers. To try to pick my battles and meet her halfway, I created a second site with my information that I'm letting her use until she is thirteen. Only Joe and I have the password, and I've changed my iTunes password too so she can download any old app she feels like. I want to be aware of whatever she's downloading and who she is talking to. I think the people at Facebook etc thought long and hard about the minimum age and arrived at thirteen for a reason. At thirteen kids are still very immature and impulsive. They still need to be monitored and supervised. It's not like at thirteen you are all of the sudden responsible and able to handle your own Internet safety like we adults think we are. On that note, I keep mine private and am only connected with a few strangers for reasons I've decided with my adult mind are productive and positive. While she uses the temporary account, I'm trying to teach her how to use it safely and responsibly. If she blows it, she might not even get on social media when she is thirteen.

How many 'likes' do you have? And does it really matter?

How about dress code? Having raised an older teen and raising a younger almost teen, the length of shorts is a big issue at my house. The rule at school is to wear fingertip length shorts. It just figures that what's popular are super short shorts. Sierra and I went around and around about this topic when she was in school. She hated all the longer shorts and would decide to wear jeans instead. So that was that. She wore jeans all the time. Zoe doesn't like the longer shorts either, and I know both girls have taken short shorts to change into once they are out of the house. It makes me wonder why do the schools have a dress code if the parents are the only ones enforcing it? Why should my kid feel so much pressure to change into booty shorts because everybody else is wearing them? I'm pretty sure short shorts are an issue because it's been scientifically proven that the more skin you show, the more of a sexual appearance you give off. Schools don't want the boys distracted by the girls showing so much skin. Then you go to the pool or the beach and women are dressed in the equivalent of a bra and underwear and it's ok (except for those Muslim women who have to be covered head to toe-saw some of them here at the beach and I wondered how hot they must be?) To meet her halfway again, I allow her to wear the short shorts anywhere she would also wear a swimsuit. But it's already a topic of conversation - will we let her wear them to school in the fall? My answer is would you wear your bathing suit to school? Nope. So I'm dreading another school year of apparently being the only parent who wants my kid to follow the rules.



These shorts are cute, but they are way shorter than fingertip length.



Who wears short shorts?

      Don't even get me started on the use of cell phones in school. Well ok, just this-the rules say bring your own technology for academic purposes. Teachers are supposed to take up phones that are out for non-academic reasons. So why are kids checking in during math class and posting to instagram with pictures taken in class and even skyping during the day? Why have rules if you're not going to enforce them?



What do you think about cell phones in school?

     Because of the bubba law, we allow Sierra to have drinks sometimes. Apparently it's our decision as the parents, and I look to the European model where wine is usually a part of life and kids are not raised to see it as an evil. She said because we are like that, she felt less of a need to go crazy drinking at college like some of the other students. But if there wasn't a bubba law, I'd be siding with waiting until the legal drinking age although I know that rule gets broken all the time.

Would you like some wine with your meal?

     I even lost my job being a rule follower. I was the only teacher on my team reporting accurate grades (not giving credit for missing work), yet I was forced out because of it. I enforced the school's rules and used the school's discipline system and somehow it was twisted around that since I used it, I obviously couldn't discipline. Dress code? That school had a uniform. Kids could wear black pants but not denim. Every day kids showed up in black denim, and I noticed it. One parent was so frustrated with me he asked to talk to me about it. He said he had three girls at that school and they have six classes a day so that's eighteen times a day they faced their teachers collectively. They all wore the same pants, yet out of eighteen teachers I was the ONLY one noticing it. He was offended that I was personally picking on his kid. I felt horrible for him because I could understand his frustrations. I couldn't speak for the other teachers. It was the same for the missing work problem. I don't make up the news; I just report it. But apparently following rules waves a flag that you're a problem for some reason. I don't get it. Why have the rules if we aren't supposed to follow them? Should teachers model rule breaking to their students?  Do I need to do a better job of letting things slide?  Then you run into a consistency problem.  If you let some things slide but not others, kids don't learn what to expect.  They don't learn that when you choose the behavior, you choose the consequence. 

It's funny that I struggle with this topic because I've been kind of a rebel for most of my life. I've broken lots of rules. I was even arrested for trespassing when I hung off the Triboro Bridge in NYC (with twelve other climbers and many support people) to protest ocean dumping of toxic sludge. I worked for Greenpeace at the time, and they are still famous today for breaking rules or 'bearing witness' in the name of protecting the environment. I don't work for them anymore, but I support them financially and participate in online activism and do volunteer work from time to time. I guess as I've aged and become a parent and a teacher, I have more respect for rules now. But there is a lot of gray area between the black and whites. Sometimes we should follow rules to the letter (like traffic signals) and other times it's ok to break them (like activism). As with many aspects of life, it's hard to strike the balance.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.

Triboro Bridge, NYC, NY 1988

Stop Ocean Dumping (Greenpeace Action)