Dear Friends,
(Sorta) Happy Fourth of July
I want to share that my family went to the Marin County Fair today and we let the girls feast on ridiculously expensive cotton candy and lemonade. I want to share that we've reached a golden age where both the girls are tall enough to go on most of the carnival rides WITHOUT my husband and I!!! (Seriously this is amazing because we honestly cannot handle the carnival-level-motion-sickness anymore!). I want to share that we were fortunate to see a few teeny-tiny firework shows from our deck!
I wish that I could genuinely wish all of you a Happy Fourth of July.
A Happy Independence Day.
A Happy America Day.
The Land of the Free!
The Home of the Brave
Absolutely I am appreciative and grateful to be an American and to have many freedoms that people around the world could only dream of.
However... is it just me, or does our country feel less, "the land of the free," and more so, "the home of the brave?"
Anyone who is NOT an older, white male, does not have equal freedom. Instead, minorities have to be brave. Women have to brave. LGBTQ individuals have to be brave. People with disabilities have to be brave. And now, children have to be brave!
While our girls were on a ride this morning, my heart sank as my husband checked his phone and read about the Highland Park shooting happening at the same time across the country.
Is this really the America we want to celebrate today?
A Symbol of Peace
As we were leaving the fair today, I noticed this enormous sunflower towering high above everyone. It carried a beautiful message underneath from artist, Daniel Castor, who worked with the organizers of the Marin County Fair to choose the sunflower "as a symbol to express our solidarity with the people of Ukraine.""We, the people of Marin County, will create our own 30-foot sunflower at the fair, our own symbol of peace. We will build it with materials readily available to any weekend do-it-yourselfer at the local hardware store: framing lumber, plywood, cardboard and packing tape.
We will make it as big as we possibly can. We will live with it in the fairgrounds, the heart of our community for five days. No flower lasts forever. And all wars must come to an end. We pray that the end of the suffering will come soon. And we look forward to a day when the people of Ukraine and Russia can return to the business of growing sunflowers for a grateful world."
For all that we face in our country and in the world, hold onto hope and stay brave, my friends. Take action when you can and keep standing up for what you believe in. We must make America better!
Follow the Magic!
Seriously, I can only handle so much madness in my life.
Madness is draining.
Madness is sickening.
Madness is hurtful.
If you feel the madness, find the source, and walk away!
Surround yourself with magic instead.
Magic is uplifting.
Magic is joyful.
Magic is loving.
Find the magic in your life and soak it all in!
Happy Birthdays!
We celebrated Jen Lefferts and Gina Perri last Tuesday on their actual birthdays, June 28th, with a mix of each of their favorite songs! They helped us to "Keep On Moving" on the dance floor!
Then on Thursday, we had an early "49-ish" Firecracker Birthday class for Erin Meyers, who is a July 4th baby and turned 50 today! Her sister, Terri, came all the way from New York to join her, and they brought "Big Energy" with their red white and blue leis, sprinkle confetti cupcakes, and homegrown peaches for all of us to enjoy!
We will also celebrate Jennifer Gonzalez, another July 4th baby,TODAY (Tuesday July 5th at 9:30am)! She has her hour-long playlist ready for us to dance to and she will join us online on Zoom!
Many of our dancers are traveling all summer, but if you're around San Rafael or have internet to Zoom in from your vacation spot, join us Tu/Th/Sa 9:30am ALL JULY! The only class cancelled will be Saturday, July 23rd, otherwise we are dancing ALL MONTH LONG! Join us (and remember kids are free with a dancing parent)!
Fundraiser Class THIS Saturday!
Please join us this Saturday, July 9th, at 9:30am as we celebrate Kathleen Belzer's birthday by raising money for the California Nurse Midwives Foundation to ensure all women have access to high quality sexual, reproductive and maternity care.
"Did you know that there are approximately 9 counties in Ca that have no OB provider? Did you know that our nation has the highest rate of maternal mortality of any industrialized nation? The CA Department of Public Health recently published a report highlighting that in CA, Black persons die 4-6 times more than white persons related to childbirth. This is largely due to the lack of access; and bias and racism that exists within our society, institutions and health care systems.
The Foundation supports efforts to integrate midwives into our system to address these issues; we support midwives of color who are developing and/or implementing important projects to support families and communities of color; and we offer financial support to student midwives of color through their educational journey."
Please join us in this endeavor by DANCING AND DONATING!!
(You will receive a Zoom link and in-person directions after your donation. Or please consider donating even if you are not available to dance. Thank you!)
Sending you a little extra magic this week,
Grace
