Month: July 2011

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Be The Best.

Water, Rachel, Africa and Life

Ok.

It’s time to get going.

That’s more a statement to me than to anyone else.

I heard this story on the news last night and it’s a story that must be told and retold.

It’s an awesome BE THE BEST story.

Rachel, a nine year old girl from the Seattle area, wanted to make a difference.

Instead of birthday presents she wanted people to give the gift of water to others.

With the help of her Mom, she  launched a donation page.

These are her own words from the page:

On June 12th 2011, I’m turning 9. I found out that millions of people don’t live to see their 5th birthday. And why? Because they didn’t have access to clean, safe water so I’m celebrating my birthday like never before. I’m asking from everyone I know to donate to my campaign instead of gifts for my birthday. Every penny of the money raised will go directly to fund freshwater projects in developing nations. Even better, every dollar is “proved” when the projects are complete, and photos and GPS coordinates are posted using Google Earth. My goal is to raise $300 by my birthday, June 12, 2011. Please consider helping me.

Thank you so much!!!

Shockingly, sadly, unexplainedly, and without warning her life on earth ended in a terrible car crash just last week.

Our hearts are with her family and knowing some of what their journey will be like, we have an invisible bond with these people and stand by them as they march forward.

Social media can be a brutal place.

It can also be an amazing place.

I think you can guess what happened.  Rachel had got within $80 of her $300 goal on her birthday.  She was determined to raise more money this coming year.

Know what the total is tonight?

$685,110….and growing every minute!!!

Now that is amazing.

I know this.

That money is saving countless lives by providing clean water in Africa.

The act of giving is not only helping African families, but it is providing Rachel’s family with an unbelievable boost of support and love as people across the globe stand with them.

I LOVE IT!

Here’s the link to her donation page if you want to check it out.  Great vid about the water situation which was an eye opener for me as well.  http://www.mycharitywater.org/p/campaign?campaign_id=16396

Seattle Times story.

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Be The Best.

Blog Block/Summer Break

Blog Block (aka Summer Break) will be removed next week.

Blog Block occurs when you have lots to say but can’t/won’t/didn’t write it down.

Interesting really.

See/Talk/Write to you next week!

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Be The Best.

Wat-er u doing?

There is something about the sound of water.

Water is life.

Maybe that’s a part of it.

We were given an amazing gift card for a landscaping centre months and months ago from caring anonymous souls! (thank you!!!)

This week that gift came to life as the seed capital for a water feature and landscape project we’ve added to our home.

To hear the water flowing is amazing.

Tonight Max and I enjoyed a little conversation by the outdoor fireplace with the stream flowing in the background.  Loved it.  We always had great conversations around that fireplace.  In fact, the boys would bug me that ‘let’s go sit by the fire’, would be code for ‘let’s have a little father/son chat’.  We had a great many of those in the past and tonight was good too.

Now…we just need some real summer to go along with it!

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Be The Best.

Ice Cream Cake

Ice cream cake.  Chris loved it.

It was his one food indulgence, but only then it was reserved for birthdays.

I heard the term the other day and it stopped me in my tracks with the clicker frozen on the TV news.

Surrey parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kaulius, were helping out the RCMP on a road check campaign specifically targeting drinking and driving.

Their own daughter was killed in May of 2011 by a drunk driver (suspected and in the courts).

That is a sad enough story and one that should cause us all pause in this summer season.

The fact that these parents were out there trying to raise awareness just months into their journey was amazing enough.

I felt the pain however when the Dad mentioned that they still had their daughter Kassandra’s ice cream birthday cake in the freezer, these months later.  His voice broke as he told how they just couldn’t part with it yet.  They had planned to celebrate but instead had a funeral.

It is something that you must know to know if that makes any sense.

I felt the pain instantly for this family as they are just at the beginning of the journey.  I salute all they are doing in memory of their daughter and the impact of her legacy.

As I reflect on our journey it is now been almost 16 months.

This past June has been one of the toughest so far.

The knowledge of a high-school graduation that didn’t happen.

The knowledge of a college education and lacrosse scholarships that we were not able to see finalized.

All of that was extremely painful.

However…I love the article written in the Langley times about Kassandra Kaulius and her family.  Turning Grief into Action.  THAT is what it’s all about.  Action for your loved one of course.  But I believe, action for yourself as well.  Where are you going to go?  What are you going to do?  How are you going to keep on living a life that will positively affect others?

Giving is a part of Grieving.  Remember that one?

There have been many days where I’ve add to sip some of my own medicine from blogs of the past year and more.

That’s a good tonic.

Have a great week!

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Be The Best.

Father’s Day – the lighter side

Watch as I totally dominate Max in both cycling and then basketball.

(and if you believe that…)

Finally pieced a few bits of vid together from a great afternoon with the kid.

Of course we reminisced and laughed about the times Chris would join us on the bball court at home.  Chris played basketball like he was playing lacrosse, complete with full-on body checks and intense (if not mostly illegal) defence.

After that I showed Max a thing or two about shooting and took him to the hoop a few more times before we biked home.  (cough)

Although not on the vid, I had the chance to play ping pong with my Dad just a few days after Father’s Day itself.

We had a great time.  I’m trying to remember the score, but I just can’t right now….

(When you’re 80 year old Dad beats you in ping pong after recovering from a 2 month hospital stay and 4 surgeries…you’d try to forget the score too…!)

Hey, this sports blog post ain’t going too well for me today.