Home Again

Over Labor Day weekend, I made a quick excursion back to Kansas/Missouri for a good friend's wedding and to see my family. I spent the first day enjoying Kansas City with my family. We met up at the Crown Center for lunch. While waiting for everyone to arrive we listened to Irish music for the KC Irish Festival. We didn't go in but I loved that they dyed the fountain green.

We went to an adorable place that served our lunch from trains running around the room, near the ceiling.

Part of the family.

The rest of the family, minus my oldest brother.

After lunch at Fritz's we went to the Kansas City Puppetry Institute. I found them through Googling fun family activities in Kansas City. I was trying to find something beyond the obvious for us to do. The kids have been to the zoo, Legoland, and all of the other obvious places. Plus I was excited to do something crafty and that we could all enjoy.

My oldest brother and his lovely family with their puppets.

We were given a tour and then the painting began! Everyone but my youngest nephew, who was napping, and my sister-in-law, who was with him, made a puppet. It was fun to see the little ones being creative and the "big kids" had a blast too. After we painted, they sewed on the bodies, and the kids put on a puppet show. Even my sister, two bothers, and I put on a show!

Siblings!

My sister and I with two of our nephews.
One is the master of the photo bomb.

The kids had so much fun putting on plays.

At one point my niece may have been a little "over it."

I mentioned how much I miss BBQ so our next stop was back on the Kansas side of KC to Joe's. It's an amazing BBQ place in a gas station. As Brandt described it, some of the best BBQ places are in odd spots. The line went out the door and half way around the first side of the building but we opted to wait any way. At times, the line can literally wrap around the building, so it really wasn't all that long. We took the opportunity to chat, play with the kids, and crave a delicious meal.

We were able to fit almost everyone at a table and chowed down. It was everything I dreamed it could be and more. I only ate half my sandwich and took the rest back to my room in the Hilton President. Turns out, even though it's an expensive hotel, they don't have a fridge or microwave. I was none too pleased.

After we finished eating we let the kids run back and forth in the back of the parking lot. We kept them out of traffic through the rule of staying in the no parking stripes. My youngest nephew loves to dance and we played some tunes for him. He was hilarious. The older kids raced and the grown ups chatted. It was an absolutely wonderful day with my family.

Out of the Darkness

Suicide is an epidemic that no one talks about. The number of suicides in Oregon is almost double the number of homicides and car accident fatalities. These statistics continue to baffle me. I knew the suicide rate in Oregon was above the national average but numbers this high need to be addressed. People are scared to talk about suicide. They avoid talking about mental health at all costs. These numbers reflect what happens when you ignore a problem because it's unpleasant to think about.

The mission of Lines for Life (the organization I work for) is to prevent suicide and substance abuse. In the last four months I have heard people with no hope who are ready to end their lives, call desperate for help. I've heard stories from people whose lives were saved. I've seen the ramifications reverberate through family and friends after a desperate person ends his/her own life. This is my first step to actively make a difference.

On October 3rd, I will be participating in the Out of the Darkness Walk to benefit the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. They are "the leading national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research, education and advocacy, and to reaching out to people with mental disorders and those impacted by suicide." You can read more about the Lines for Life team and donate here.

This is the first walk I have participated in and it's something I care about deeply. I would appreciate any donation, even just $5. What I'd like more than donations would be for people to seek help and learn about mental health.

Suffering from mental illness can be literally debilitating. Without physical symptoms, it's often shunned or people are told to "man up." It's my hope that reading this post will cause some of you to look into how mental health affects all of us. Postpartum depression, alcoholism, eating disorders, bipolar disorder, and more are often hidden from others due to the stigma associated with mental illness. By learning more and accepting these illnesses for what they are, an actual illness like cancer or the flu, we can make a difference. Who knows, maybe you could even save a life when you reach out and accept those around you with mental illnesses.