Mona, Obama, U.S. Prisons. :)

Mona Locke's board term with the Foundation for Early Learning ends in a few months. I remember feeling star-struck the first time I sat a few seats from her at the first board meeting I attended. It turns out she's not only a great community leader, but also a sophisticated and kind person. Other board members were initially intimidating as well, I wasn't familiar with their faces but their titles and affiliations and wisdom were enough to overwhelm me. I must admit though that at one point, as I sit and stare, listen and observe, try to contribute as much as possible by nodding when appropriate, I also wondered what it'd be like to share a table with our current president, Barack Obama. Wouldn't that be something worth bragging about for the rest of my life? "Listen, my great-great-wonderful grand-daughter, I was this close to him. He even smiled at me. No, no, not Osama, Obama. Our 44th president." Perhaps just about ten chairs from him or something, close enough to hear him speak but distant enough to focus on my breathing? *deep breath in* *deep breathe out* *innnnnnnn* *outtttttttt* "Uh oh, oh no, wait, what did he just say?"

Okay, back to the Foundation's board meetings. I believe the first one lasted four hours. It was immensely inspiring to see how much work, attention and dedication the board and staff members put into discussing and implementing the Foundation's mission. I remember going home that day with a newfound appreciation to all non-profit organizations that have ever existed on planet Earth. These days when I see me thanking our donors for giving or thanking ELC members for joining or thanking Leadership Luncheon attendees for attending, sometimes (just sometimes) I wonder if they ever feel as just grateful to the Foundation staff and board members, for providing them the opportunities to contribute and take part in advancing early learning in their community…

MmMmmm.

Anyway. Do me a favor, will you? Invite all the new or prospective parents you know to the Early Learning Community to expose them to early learning benefits and resources and make them feel responsible for their precious child's development and well-being. Apparently, the United States' prisons are getting too massive and overcrowded at the current incarceration rate! “With 5% of the world’s population, our country now houses nearly 25% of the world’s reported prisoners.” –Senator Jim Webb. =/

Thanks Seattle though for the beautiful sunshine this week!

3/29 “What’s Wrong With our Prisons?” article (PDF) by Senator Jim Webb.