Day 31

I've got a string of donations going again. Back to more active stuff tomorrow.

Today I donated to the fall fundraising campaign for the Kidzu Children's Museum. One of the things I really like about Kidzu is that despite being a small, local kid's museum, they regularly have events for kids with disabilities and sensory issues, along with their families. And these events are totally free.

And this is not related, but tonight is Halloween, so please keep these thoughts in mind as you pass out candy:

Day 30

Today I made a donation to the Southern Poverty Law Center. They are best known for legal battles with the KKK and other hate groups. With hate crimes on the rise lately, it's important that we use every avenue we can to fight bigotry and intolerance, including speaking out, protesting in various ways, and supporting organizations that stand up against those who seek to intimidate, harass, or harm people based on racism and bigotry.

Day 29

Today I made a donation to the SECU Family House. They offer a place to stay for patients of UNC Hospitals and their loved ones, providing guests with lodging, meals, supportive programs, transportation and a support network.

Since opening their doors almost a decade ago, they have helped 20,000 families. 

Day 28

(This one's going to be a bit long. Feel free to skip to the bottom for lots of pictures.)

Today got off to an unusual start. I woke up way too early. Sometimes when this happens, I can listen to an audio book or podcast and it lets me fall back to sleep. That didn't work this time, but I got to listen to an interesting RadioLab episode about Oliver Sacks, and recordings made during the last several months of his life on his own terms. He knew his days were numbered, but he kept on living his life. It reminded me very much of my mom, who passed away last year.

Once I was up and about, my wife was telling me about her friend from high school who was murdered, along with her two kids -- by her own husband. Their bodies were never found, so a conviction was going to be difficult. His conviction on all three murders came down yesterday.

Then I got in the car to go to my 5K race, and Chris Cornell was singing a cover of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U - both Cornell and Prince left us recently, and far too soon.

So I was in a weird mindset, thinking a lot about life, and death, and mortality, and mourning.

What a perfect lead in to the Day of the Dead 5K! Mourning becomes remembering, and remembering becomes celebrating.

This was a great event, benefiting the Boys and Girls Club, which was awesome because a lot of kids were participating. Free margaritas at the end got a lot of adults participating as well, so all around it was one of my favorite events. I hope to do it again next year.

I left some flowers at one of the Dia de Muertos altars, saw some amazing costumes, passed by an incredible Halloween display at someone's house along the route, passed through a beautiful cemetery, drank a fantastic margarita, and headed for home. 

Day 27

Today I volunteered at my son's elementary school for the Roadrunner Romp fundraiser. Stephanie was there with Owen at the beginning, manning a bounce house, and I showed up at the end to help with taking down and cleaning up.  Our little school raised over $30,000 this year.

Day 26

Today I took German chocolate/chocolate chip cupcakes to Chapel Hill Fire Department Station 3.  You can't go wrong being kind to firefighters.

This was actually a dual purpose visit. Our daughter Amelia and her caregiver Sarah came along with me. Amelia is 14 and has autism and intellectual disability. She's non-verbal, and may respond unpredictably in an emergency situation. I wanted to introduce them to her and give them some information, in case there is ever an emergency reported at our house. If you've got a family member with similar challenges, I definitely recommend it.

Day 25

Today was another one of those food-based fundraisers that work great on days when schedules are tight. The Loop Pizza is hosting a benefit for the Children's Cooperative Playschool. Owen went there when he was little. So twist my arm and make me eat pizza.