Our Daughter, The Activist

Two years ago, when she was in 8th Grade, Caitlin was asked to serve on the Governing Youth Council for Weber and Morgan counties. This council is composed of High School students who meet once a month with supervisors from the Weber-Morgan Health Department and Weber County Human Services to become educated on such issues as teenage drinking, teenage driving, cigarette use, abstinance, and fetal alcohol syndrome, to name a few. There's probably about 20 council members total. The council members then take this information out to their schools and share what they've learned with their peers. This has been a wonderful experience for Caitlin and has given her so many opportunities to do things she might not have done otherwise. It would take a really long post to name them all, however, since the Legislature is in session, I'll mention that experience.

Last year she marched in a rally at the State Capitol in support of the bill that would prohibit the selling of "alcopop" beverages or malt beverages in grocery stores. Apparently these were getting in the hands of a lot of underage drinkers. The picture above was from last year's trip to the legislature where she was able to meet Miss Utah, Heather Anderson, which was the highlight of the trip for Caitlin.

Next week Caitlin goes to the State Capitol again, this time to march in protest of the proposed funding cuts to the programs that educate the public about the effects of cigarette use and second-hand smoke. She has been assigned a State Senator to single out and talk to. While she can't lobby for anything, she's been asked to take a picture of someone in her family who's been effected by cigarette smoke and share a personal story with them. She also has a list of questions to ask "her" senator.

Although I've not attended with her, I have seen pictures and videos of all these teenagers on the steps of the State Capitol, in the freezing cold of January and February, holding their signs and shouting out protests, and it just gives me chills. How amazing is it that we as Americans can do such a thing! Furthermore, that a group of teenagers would even feel it worth their time and energy to do so. In their short lives, they have already exercised more of their constitutional rights than some Americans ever will!

Another of Caitlin's duties is to organize a Parents Empowered booth to correlate with a school function. She has coordinated with a school counselor to do this at a basketball game and has been given a list of students who can help her. Parents Empowered is a program that gives parents ideas on how to talk to their kids about such subjects as tobacco and alcohol use, among other things. It's a huge program and there are very effective billboards all around the Wasatch Front that display these messages as well. Overall, we're just so proud of Caitlin and incredibly excited for her as we watch her have these experiences.

We have been sick at our house. Both Sam and Chip were sick last week with bronchitis. Our house sounded like a TB ward. Caitlin and I escaped this round...knock on wood.

The weather has been absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!! We have had sunny days and warm temperatures. Okay, warm is a realtive term, but when it's been in the teens, the 30's and 40's feel awfully warm. Anyway, our snow is gradually melting away and I'm impatiently looking for the crocus to start emerging any day now. (Do 'ya think I have a little case of Spring Fever there?)

We spent Superbowl Sunday with some friends and had a great time. We really didn't have any ties or allegiance to either team. However, our hostess is from Pennsylvania so Steeler fans we were! I have to say it's nice when "your" team wins! It was an incredible game. It really must have been for a football novice like me to say so.

I have a Biomed lab staring me in the face, so I'd better sign off to go watch the surgery of a man who had the lower lobes of his lungs removed due to Emphysema. Should anyone be allowed to have that much fun in one day, I ask you?