Fifty Dollars

If you had asked me about a month ago, I would have said it was a lot.

Fifty dollars.

As an unemployed college student who lives in one of the most expensive areas of the country, fifty dollars is hard to part with. In fact, it’s damn near priceless.

In America, fifty bucks doesn’t buy much. A full tank of gas, a meager bag or two of groceries, a pair of no-name jeans, a haircut, a night out at the movies…

At the Faustina Akua Dufie Preparatory School in Sayerano, Ghana, however, fifty bucks buys a lot.

Education. Hope. And a future.

The tuition for one student to attend the school for one full year is fifty dollars. That’s it. Unfortunately, it’s a price that most children in the area can’t easily afford. If they can afford it at all.

Education is something that I’m extremely passionate about. It’s something that I think all people – regardless of what country they live in – should have the right to pursue. For a child to not even have the option to attend school is absolutely heartbreaking.

If, a mere month ago, someone had asked me for fifty dollars, I would have – in the politest way possible – refused. On the grounds that I needed it way more than they did.

However, after talking to my brother and learning about the school and its story (he’s friends with the school’s director), my opinion has changed. Suddenly fifty bucks doesn’t seem like much at all.

I just sent off a check. And because of that, a little girl named Abena Sandra will get to go to school tomorrow. Beautiful, isn't it, how such a small amount can make such a big difference? :)

** There are, at the moment, approximately twenty or so hardship cases at Faustina Akua Dufie Preparatory School. If you’d like to help, please contact me and I'd be happy to pass some info your way. The donations go directly to the school for the kids - there's no middleman or company or spokesperson to pay. Also, I'm currently putting together a book list for the school (as they have none) and am looking for used/new book donations as well. I do have to specify that the shipping costs to Ghana from the US are pricey, so any donations toward postal fees are much appreciated as well!

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"An effort made for the happiness of others lifts us above ourselves."
-- Lydia M. Child

Smooth Sailing

Life isn’t always smooth sailing.

But I’ve learned that it’s possible to navigate through even the most treacherous storms if you just learn to forgive the wind and befriend the fickle tides.

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"When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it."
-- Henry Ford

Photo of the Day: Just Laugh

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"I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose."
-- Woody Allen

Beachy Keen

Cloudy with a chance of... marshmellows.

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“My life is like a stroll on the beach...as near to the edge as I can go.”
-- Thoreau

The Gemmer Family: Sneak Peek

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"Any man can be a father. It takes someone special to be a dad."
-- Author Unknown

An Apple a Day...

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"Why not upset the apple cart? If you don't the apples will rot anyway."
-- Frank A. Clark

Crazy-Slow

Life is crazy. In fact, there are a million ways in which life can dish out craziness. Crazy-busy, crazy-scary, crazy-amazing/wonderful/thrilling...

But all crazy, nonetheless.

Sometimes you just need to slow down. Slow down so you can catch up.

This is where Chris and I go to slow down. From our crazy life. It's where we sit and catch up. With our day, with each other. With ourselves.

Over the clank and clatter of silverware, we share our thoughts, discuss our dreams, and plan our future. The surrounding patrons' humming voices slowly buzz down to nothing, and before long, it's just us. Alone together. Slowing down and catching up.

Crazy-slow.

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"There is more to life than increasing its speed."
-- Mohandas K. Gandhi

Wish List

Summer's over. The leaves are burning crimson on the trees and, on our nightly walks, the chill in the air forces us to pull our jackets tighter around our bodies just to stay warm.

Oh, and school is starting again.

Lately I've been thinking. A lot. Wondering what the heck I'm doing going back to college. I'm 34 years old. Technically, I'm a grown up. By society's standards, I should already be situated comfortably in my job, in the career field of my choice. Chris and I should have already popped out one kid - if not two - and, because said children need to spend time with family, we should be spending our one free week a year vacationing back in Iowa, where we grew up. I should be making decent money (as opposed to no money at all) and we should be busy planning for our kids' futures, our retirement and our next big purchase. Like a boat, or something.

That, however, is not our life.

I'm going back to school because I couldn't bear the thought of working one more job that ripped apart my soul. I couldn't spend one more day doing something that I hated; refused to spend one more night dreading the morning.

Chris and I have pushed society's wish list aside so that we can create our own.

And what's on our wish list?

Happiness.

That's a pretty small list, huh?

Our wish list doesn't contain expensive trips, a five bedroom McMansion, or even a white picket fence encompassing the 'perfect American family'. It doesn't list the newest electronic gizmo (I still don't have an active cell phone) or a vehicle straight from the 2012 production line.

Now, I'm not going to be so Buddha-like and pretend that I wouldn't accept any of those things if they were offered to me. Because I probably would. A few of them, at least. (After all, the 2012 Jeep Wrangler Call of Duty MW3 Edition is soooo choice!) And some days we'd love nothing more than to be parents to two adorable kiddos. (Mia Lisette and Samuel Dean, respectively.) :)

But let's face it. If we couldn't be happy until we got those things?? Well, let's just say we'd be living in an unfulfilled state of depression and lack for a long, long, loooong time.

Happiness, however - that's something we can have. Right now. Happy is something that we can be. At this very moment.

The sky is gray. Night closes in earlier these days. The air is crisp and cold.

And we're... happy.

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"If you want to be happy, be."
-- Leo Tolstoy

Birthdays Past

My birthdays are quieter now.

Way back when, before the axis of my life shifted so abruptly, my birthdays were loud, colorful, rowdy, and full. Full of people, food, music, laughter, presents, and hugs. Because I was born as summer was dying, there was usually still enough heat and humidity left in Iowa to celebrate by throwing a grand pool party. (My mom always knew how to throw the best pool parties.) When I was really little, the attendees were mostly my parents' friends. Fun and wild, they'd park their cars in the street and flip-flop their way up our drive, around the side of the house, and through the back gate leading to our little oasis - the Wickey Family's tiny piece of heaven on earth. Truth be told, I loved those people. Always smiling, always laughing, they made my young life exciting. When my parents' friends were around, the air buzzed - literally pulsed - with excitement.

After my dad died, however, most of my parents' friends stopped coming around. Now, I'm not going to start blaming anyone or pointing fingers. I'm sure they were probably uncomfortable around Mom and I right after Dad passed, and maybe that was why they drifted away. Whatever the reason, the people that I used to see almost every day up until I turned fourteen suddenly vanished.

But that was okay. By then I had my own group of friends - both from high school and softball - and a better group of girls you'd be hard pressed to find. In fact, when my dad died, they were my lifeline. The only people who could really make me forget the pain of losing not only my dad, but my life as I'd known it. Because after my dad died, things got dark. I don't think my friends back then knew how much they helped, or even suspected how wrong things were in my life, but they were all - every single one of them - lifesavers to me. We celebrated our birthdays together, usually circled around a phone, spooning cookie dough shamelessly into our mouths and laughing big belly laughs while making prank phone calls to complete strangers. (Poor, poor Phu Van.)

Today is my birthday. There's no pool party waiting for me. No loud and rambunctious friends to celebrate with, for all of my lifesavers have gone on their separate ways. My family - what's left of it - are far away, on the other side of the country. My parents' friends have evaporated as completely as the water has in our old pool. (From what I hear it's now nothing but a dilapidated concrete hole in the ground.)

I'm not writing this post to invoke sympathy. I'm writing this post for myself. To honor birthdays past and to remember that joy and celebration can come in a multitude of ways. Whether it's twenty people laughing and lounging around a pool or a group of girls snacking on cookie dough, sharing jokes, and making - gasp - a few prank phone calls, there's no right or wrong way to celebrate a birthday.

It's whatever fits.

Tonight will be a quiet night. Chris and I will settle down for the evening like we always do - read a book, watch a movie, get lost in an episode of Supernatural. And then tomorrow we'll wake early, drive up into the mountains, and hike to our hearts' content. I'll take in the views, feel his hand in mine, and appreciate where I am in my life.

And that, just that, will be enough.

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"A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip."
-- Author Unknown

A Day at the Lake

Photographs help us remember. They tell a story.

This is Ayla, Jeff, Kimbo and Mac's.

A picture really is worth a thousand words. :)

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"I think the best pictures are often on the edges of any situation, I don't find photographing the situation nearly as interesting as photographing the edges."
-- William Albert Allard, "The Photographic Essay"

Picture Taking and Great Company

Summer finally hit the Seattle area yesterday - just in time for fall. Bright and buttery, the late morning sun spilled over Bothell Landing and infused everything it touched with a warm, shimmering glow.

Including Chena.

(Although, I think it's safe to say that Chena glows even on the cloudiest of days!)

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"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is light from within."
-- Elisabeth Kübler-Ross