I was up in the Pacific Northwest over the weekend and sought out three more of recycle artist and activist Thomas Dambo's Trolls:
#122: Bruun Idun
#123: Jakob Two Trees
Years later came the annual purchase of backpacks and crayons and tennis shoes for my two boys, all of it seeming so important because it heralded the return to school. We would show up at Target, find the supply list for the correct school, and and start checking things off as we dropped them in the cart. This year, 57% of families will forego the shopping trip and buy their supplies online.
If you like to get a little wonky with the numbers, the National Center for Education Statistics is the website for you! That is where I learned that in Fall 2021, 49.4 million children were enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools and 5.5 million children were enrolled in private elementary and secondary schools.
That adds up to a lot of school supplies. In fact, total back to school spending--including everything from erasers to MacBooks--is estimated to hit $81.16 billion dollars this year. To help defray some of this cost, sixteen states are participating in "sales tax holidays" for certain eligible items. Hey, every little bit helps.
(All this talk about back to school is making me nostalgic. I might have to go buy myself a new pen and spiral notebook.)
To all the teachers everywhere, thank you! You make a hard job look easy and do it with love.
Instead of medals, ancient Olympians were presented with a branch off of the wild olive tree growing in Olympia, Greece. At the first modern games held in Athens in 1896, winners received a silver medal and an olive branch.
The summer Olympics of 1900 mixed things up with rectangular medals for some sports and various cups and trophies for others. The now-familiar tradition of awarding circular gold, silver, and bronze medals began with the 1904 St. Louis Olympic Games and has continued since.
This summer, the United States and China tied with 40 gold medals a piece (though the total medal count was 126 and 91, respectively). That's great, but it's also expected from these two powerhouse sporting nations. Kind of like when Stephen King or Colleen Hoover have another book on the bestseller list.
Since I'm the kind of person who likes to root for the underdog, I'm just as excited for Botswana, whose Olympic team brought back the country's first ever gold medal. Letsile Tebogo earned the top honor in the men's 200 meter race by besting American track superstars Kenny Bednarek and Noah Lyles, and other world-class sprinters.
The president of Botswana declared a half-day holiday on Tuesday, and Tebogo returned home to a stadium full of fans celebrating his victory. Seeing as how Botswana has been competing in the summer Olympics since 1980, this seems more than appropriate.
Although I do everything at a much slower pace than the 19.46 second winning time and will never be in a national spotlight, I'm still inspired by this story. And speaking of inspiration, the Paralympic Games begin on August 28.
Have a great week!
Well, it's been a week around here. Hot, dry weather, wildfires and smoke in the area. But the forecasts are looking better, and we should actually see some rain over the next few days.
So instead of a real post today (whatever that means), let's all take a quick moment for a deep breath, a smile, and some gratitude for the good things in our lives.
Each morning, we are born again. What we do today is what matters most. ~ Buddha
Take good care, and I'll see you next week!
