Happy birthday to Jonathan, who turns one year old today! It still amazes me how much he has changed in just a year. He went from a cute little lump to a happy, very active, sweet boy who has brought tremendous joy to our lives. We are so thankful for him.
To celebrate his birthday, we took him to the pediatrician for a checkup. =) I also started a new webpage to chronicle his second year of life.
OK, it’s not a full remodel (yet), but we finally pulled out the remaining 80s brass fixtures from the boys’ bathub. Now the only remaining brass bathroom fixtures are two bathroom faucets, and we plan to replace them whenever we replace the corresponding countertops.
As usual, I ran into a couple of minor hiccups, including a sheared-off screw. It had been stuck in place for so long that it preferred to snap in two rather than leave its home. But I found a workaround.
Before:
We plan to resurface the bathtub and tile at some point, making them pure white rather than chipped and speckled and finished with sloppy grout. But at least those beaten-up fixtures are gone.
After:
When I was a kid, I often complained that my parents were overprotective. I couldn’t go here or there, I couldn’t do this or that, typical kid stuff. They worried about many things, including my getting kidnapped. Since I was invincible, I didn’t like being restricted for my own protection. Neither did I want to view every stranger as potentially evil and worthy of distrust.
Time and parenthood tend to change things. After tonight, I find myself wanting to buy a shotgun and post 24-hour watch around my sons.
Tonight I attended a benefit screening of Playground, a documentary about child sex trafficking. While certainly not a pleasant way to spend my Friday evening, seeing this film opened my eyes to a very dark world that is all around us but rarely mentioned.
Using a mixture of expert commentary, statistics, personal stories, and haunting artwork, Playground introduced me to a world where children are regularly kidnapped, abused, and forced into prostitution and pornography. It’s easy to assume that such things only happen in Thailand or Cambodia, but they are just as real in America. The market for this industry in America is huge. The forces fighting back are understaffed, underfunded, and undersupported.
Why don’t we talk more about this topic? Many of us simply don’t know it’s such a problem. Many would prefer to discuss happier topics like football or American Idol. Sadly, many of us have been victims ourselves or know someone who has, and we don’t want to dredge up painful memories. After the film ended, one of the speakers said that one in four girls and one in six boys are abused in some way by age 18. In a class of 30 high school seniors, that’s roughly six of them. Let that sink in for a minute.
How can you help? I’m struggling with the same question. My first step is to spread the word via this blog and other means, shining a bit of light into this horrid darkness. You can also learn more and possibly even get involved through the following websites:
Child sex trafficking is a complex problem with many facets and no single solution. Knowing the enemy is the first step toward fighting back.
This is the prayer that they do at Brenden’s preschool before lunch. The lyrics are:
Thank you, Jesus
Once again
For our many blessings
Amen
Love this kid!
Imagine you’re a junior in college with a year left until graduation. You’ve met lots of friends, studied hard, and excelled in your major. School has been great, and the end is in sight. You also happen to be a college athlete. But not just any athlete – the kind that NFL analysts and scouts praise as one of the best prospects ever, the kind that get offered ten-figure contracts. What are you going to do next year?
This was the question for Stanford quarterback and 2010 Heisman Trophy runner-up Andrew Luck after winning the final game of his junior year: spend his senior year at Stanford and graduate, or drop out and enter the NFL. The NFL team that will have the number one pick in the 2011 draft, Carolina, had already said they would pick him. His contract would have give him more than enough money to sustain him and his family for a lifetime, as high as $80 million by some estimates.
But Luck said no. He chose to return to Stanford this fall and finish his degree in architectural design, presumably entering the NFL draft next spring.
As some critics have pointed out, Luck is taking a big chance by postponing the NFL to finish his degree:
Obviously, all three of those arguments ride on money. Luck apparently values other things more highly. Surely he understands that one day his football career will end and the rest of his life will begin. Perhaps he really enjoys his major or the college atmosphere. Perhaps he wants to work in architecture someday and understands how difficult it could be to return to Stanford later to finish his degree if he takes a break now. Sure, the extra millions Luck would make by going pro this year would eliminate the need to work ever again, but he decided it was worth it to stay in school. Or perhaps he simply wants the satisfaction of completing his degree and thinks a Stanford diploma would look good on his wall.
Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith, who left the University of Florida for the NFL in 1990 after his junior year, returned to Florida during the offseasons to finish. It took him six years. One of the main reasons he even went back was a promise he made to his mother that he wouldn’t buy a house until he finished his degree.
Do you agree with Luck’s choice? Is finishing college that important, even for someone who could make tens of millions guaranteed in the NFL? Or is Luck making a bad decision? What would you do in his situation?
Although I definitely respect Luck’s decision and dedication, I would probably take the money and run to the pros, promising my parents that I would go back and finish like Emmitt did. Sorry, Mom!
Apparently these lists are a hit, so I’ll dig up some more random facts about myself. Let’s see…