Mid-week review: molars, march and meditative spot
I am so far behind on my blogging. I have several entries in my head. But they are long detailed entries that involve uploading videos, creating links and making sure names are correct. So they just continue to accumulate in my head.
First of all, the top picture of Lucy crying with Grams was a preview of the week. That big fat lower right molar is finally going to break all the way through. I can see points on each of the other teeth. But we finally came to the real deal teething with a cold and everything. So there has been lots of crying, lots of holding and a timely purchase of Boogie Wipes.
Right, Leah?
Ahem, not just for Lucy, but for someone on the street. Afterwards, I asked Leah if she ever thought of that woman, with the buzz cut, who used to scream “Stop the Insanity.”
I essentially begged my parents to visit this weekend. Thursday was my mom’s birthday and Lucy and I were going to our first March on Monday. I couldn’t make it down to NC and back on time. And I had already printed matching t-shirts. I could not let them go to waste.
As for my lack of blogging, it is partially due to my complete obsession with coal ash over the last three weeks. Coal ash is a toxic by-product of burning coal. It is unregulated by the EPA. There is A LOT of coal ash in my hometown. (Over 300,000 tons just blowing around in dry landfills or seeping into local water from unlined ponds.) And I know a lot of people with cancer, which is why I began looking into coal ash in the first place. A report linking coal ash to cancer came out last week.
At first I thought I was going to have to take on the EPA all by myself. I was willing, of course. But good news. I am not. This is a national movement and all I have to do is find people to tell the EPA they want coal ash strictly regulated as a hazardous material. Whew. That is totally doable. And a whole separate blog entry as to why you should is coming soon. But just in case you are eager to go ahead and tell Lisa Jackson, the head of the EPA, go right ahead. I promise not to be offended. This issue doesn’t just impact my hometown, but maybe yours, too.
Once coal ash is on your radar screen, it is everywhere. And information about the Appalachian Rising March popped up in an email from Greater Washington Interfaith Power and Light. So we went. Dan joined us and took our picture outside of the EPA. But only after reminding me several times that we could easily leave whenever I was ready. The march was primarily focused on mountain top removal, where tops of mountains are leveled as an alternative to traditional mining of coal.
Coincidentally a recent UNC grad emailed this week and she has an excellent infographic regarding mountain top removal in her portfolio. If you are hiring, Gwen would love to work in the DC area.
When I heard a singer at the rally prior to the march say that they were ready to lay down and get arrested, I thought there is no way I’m missing lunch and nap time. I was already starving and i thought the march started an hour earlier. But we marched from Freedom Plaza down around the EPA.
From his Penn Ave office, Henry had a bird’s eye view of us holding up the march by getting out our rain gear. At one point, we were next to the Uncle Sam on stilts. Then we were at the front banner. Then we just walked ahead of everyone and left. I zipped up my rain jacket and that was that. I felt a bit like Keyser Söze from The Usual Suspects. I’m not one for crowds. We never made it to the White House, where 100 were arrested.
With Monday over, we decided yesterday’s adventure would take place after nap time. I thought I had to salvage the day somehow, even if we never pick up the toys. I decided that Lucy and I would walk to the doctor’s office, which is half a block away, to pay a bill, and then on to the Post Office to buy stamps. When I say walk, I mean with no stroller. It was 3 and we had no plans. So we both walked holding hands down the street. I carried her as we crossed the street. We made it home around 4:20.
The trip was long, but a success. I should have left the leaky sippy cup at home. The baby shower invitations I mailed may be a little damp or wilted in the corners.
On the way back, I noticed Gathering, my favorite sukkah from my trip to NYC. I took several pictures to blog about my Sukkah City experience in Union Square. But that entry is in the back log behind the coal ash plea. So I was ecstatic to find that 6th & I has Gathering on display this week just outside my door.
