regaining hope

a huge chunk of my life--until my early twenties--was spent raising funds for project concern through their event the walk for mankind which later became the walk for children. i walked, did mailings, served on the youth action committee and eventually ended up during my college years working with media relations, leading the youth committee, and doing presentations about the walk and what the funds raised meant to the people that project concern served. i spoke to elementary school kids, middle and high school kids, church groups and civic communities--anybody who'd ask us to send a speaker and talk about poverty and how a difference could be made. eventually the walks were phased out. and with it a lot of my activism died. i don't think i even fully realized that until this spring when we (ys) published 'be the change' by zach hunter. every so often i'd read something or hear someone say something to the effect of 'it's great he's got that youthful energy, but he'll grow out of it'. everytime i heard that, i'd have such a strong, deep reaction. "dream stealers" i called them. when it was appropriate, i'd share how they should keep that opinion to themselves. or question why they felt the need to seemingly hope or flat out expect that zach would or should 'grow out of it'.

about a month ago, this came up at my women's group. i melted down. i started down the questioning road but realized this wasn't about zach. it was about me. somehow, when the walks ended, i lost hope about being able to really change the world. i needed to find a way to regain that hope. about the same time i learned about walk their walk, a walk-a-thon put together by my friends jody and kathryn. the proceeds benefit the community of twachiyanda, zambia. kathryn and jody visited this community to see the impact that our middle school kids had there through one life revolution & world vision. they came back truly changed by their experience and this walk is an expression of that.

so as part of me regaining hope, i'm participating in the walk. walking 12 miles--the same distance the kids in twachiyanda walk each day to go to school. and instead of presents for my birthday, i'm asking friends & family to sponsor me in the walk. you can check out my sponsorship page and donate online at http://www.firstgiving.com/mindig. i'm nervous and excited--walking 12 miles is lot for me these days. but through jody and kathryn's trip and stories, i know that the funds raised by walk their walk will have a huge impact on a community the other side of the world. and in turn, that gives me hope.

oh the 0's

so tomorrow i turn 40. august 28. the big 4-0. i'm trying to figure out what 40 means for me and here are a couple thoughts:

forty is fabulous! i won't be having any of the 'over the hill at 40' business going on. my dad and stepmom did an over the hill party for my stepsister. she's apparently more polite than i am. i'd walk out on that! here's my theory as to why 40 is fab--my thirties were better than my twenties and i liked my twenties better than my teens, so based on my personal story i have every reason to believe that my forties will be better than my thirties. i think i do keep getting better with age.

forty means your doctor likes to run tests. at my last doctor's appt., he scheduled me for a bunch of blood work, a mammogram--a baseline is required for women at 40 if not before, and an mri for my knee that my orthopaedic surgeon in ok had said would likely need surgery again around 40. both appointments landed on the actually big day. yippee! aren't i lucky? oh and just to add to this kind of fun, a ginormous pimple showed up on the end of my nose today! thank goodness for benefit 02 coverup!

regaining some lost hope! i'm going to participate in walk their walk to benefit aids orphans in zambia. i'll write more about this in my next post.

i'm sure i'll have a few more thoughts as time goes on, but for now, here's to fabulous 40!

recommended

i realized this evening that i have developed a new, must-visit-daily, web habit. allow me to highly recommend the bbc's "in pictures" page(s).

this page is updated with a "day in pictures" monday-friday with highlights being posted on the weekend. photos come from all over the world. in the thursday, aug. 15 edition, photos from india, japan, kenya, bulgaria, and germany among several others are featured and cover everything from a horse jumping competition to the commeration of japan's wwii surrender. it's also interesting to read the news from a non-american perspective.

so, there you have it, my recommendation of a spot on the internet not to be missed.

i probably shouldn't admit this

but one of my all-time favorite movies is son-in-law with pauly shore. it feels wrong to admit that, but it always makes me laugh. it's on tonite...and once again, i'm just amused. i love the grandpa, the little brother, the goofy clothes. and my other favorite movies are just so unlike it.

the other movies i love, sort of an informal top 10:

• gone with the wind--"frankly my dear... & fiddle-dee-dee"
• love actually--hugh grant falls for the girl with "sizeable thighs" & an excellent soundtrack (uk version better than us--bought it in london)
• indiscreet--cary grant & ingrid bergman in london, so fabulously elegant
• chocolat--something a little mystical and magical about this one
• bridget jones's diary--a tragic spinster, urban family, smug marrieds, poufs, & the best fight scene ever
• pillow talk--doris day & rock hudson, a classic
• philadelphia story--cary grant again...what can i say?
• beauty & the beast--my all-time favorite animated flick
• french kiss--i think it's highly underrated
• and, as previously mentioned, son-in-law, which just doesn't make sense...

so what about you? what are your faves?