Watch the video below and feel free to participate. It would mean a lot to me. The company is donating one dollar to Beyond Type 1 https://beyondtype1.org/ for every post on Instagram or Facebook that includes BOTH the tag @Dexcom and the hashtag #NoMoreFingerpricks
Basically, we don’t have to do anything other than take pictures and post to raise money! Many of us do this weekly (and the students do it daily!)I would love for anyone interested to participate. Feel free to tag myself @heathdudley for both or my wife (Facebook- Jessica Leann Insta- jessicadudley36) if you would like too.
In 2014, Sports Illustrated released an issue that stated the 2017 World Series Champions would be the Houston Astros. Not only did they correctly identify the team, but the player featured on the cover was George Springer, who also was the 2017 World Series MVP. Can you think of a time something like this has happened? They have already recreated the cover with the 2017 champions and Springer featured again!
This is going to be a little too deep of thinking for some, and I even catch myself falling into this mindset on occasion. I do not consider myself a liberal or a conservative; rather a human that makes up my own mind on every situation or issue rather than allowing a label to dictate the position I will choose. Therefore, when I rarely post items like this, I’m not looking to debate or devalue others ideals and values. I generally try to use Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, etc for “good” and occasionally try to post items that makes us think and reflect on ourselves. I will certainly like to hear anyone’s thoughts, but I’m not taking a position on this to declare “for or against”. I just found it to be a thought provoking read that I wanted to share. I think most of us walk a fine line with this stuff…..we tend to think we need to “prepare” our kids to be “tough” and that life overall just isn’t “nice” and/or is a “competition”.
I catch myself on occasion wondering why we don’t make our situation (community/world) better/”nicer” rather than teaching our children to adapt and be “tough/cut throat”. Other times, I catch myself thinking or saying, “how are you going to make it in the real world?” and feeding into the hardening, “toughening up” of our youth. The world might be a little better off if we taught a little more compassion as opposed to “whatever is best for you to get to the top” or insinuating that “grown up” life is never enjoyable. Is there a difference between “being tough”, “learning the hard way”, “rewarded for accomplishment” vs. grit, determination, failure, success….happiness? It is a slippery slope that has evolved over the recent decades with athletics, the workplace, and life in general. So much has changed with regards to self-esteem, even since we were children, and I have no answer if it is better or not. Do we put too much emphasis on the “object” i.e. trophy, ribbon, grade, car, home, etc? The bottom line, in my opinion, is your child needs to know that you care/approve regardless of the “end results”. Whether or not one agrees with the “trophy” or not, they should reflect more on personal reactions and “messages sent” towards your children receiving “second place” or “participation” vs. “the championship”. If children feel comfort with the reaction to these types of scenarios it will, hopefully, eventually produce a feeling of being at peace with themselves later in life, which I am confident will allow them to function just fine as adults. This is all we are after to begin with! Enjoy the article.
The Road Ahead or The Road Behind
by George Joseph Moriarty
Sometimes I think the Fates must
Grin as we denounce and insist
The only reason we can’t win
Is the Fates themselves that miss
Yet there lives on an ancient claim
We win or lose within ourselves
The shining trophies on our shelves
Can never win tomorrow’s game
You and I know deeper down
There’s always a chance to win the crown
But when we fail to give our best
We simply haven’t met the test
Of giving all, and saving none
Until the game is really won
Of showing what is meant by grit
Of fighting on when others quit
Of playing through, not letting up
It’s bearing down that wins the cup
Of taking it and taking more
Until we gain the winning score
Of dreaming there’s a goal ahead
Of hoping when our dreams are dead
Of praying when our hopes have fled
Yet losing, not afraid to fall
If bravely, we have given all
For who can ask more of a man
Than giving all within his span
Giving all, it seems to me
Is not so far from victory
And so the Fates are seldom wrong
No matter how they twist and wind
It is you and I who make our fates
We open up or close the gates
On the road ahead or the road behind.
