One
Ballet was never Hallie's favorite genre of dance. (For a lot of reasons, the primary of which being that slow, controlled movements are particularly difficult for someone with Tourette's.) But since she started pointe, ballet has quickly risen to the top of Hallie's list of favorite ways to spend her time. I don't know how long this new-found passion will last, but it's been incredibly fun for me to see her so excited about trying and working so hard at something new and different.
Two
We have a new internet provider! We've had Suddenlink since moving to Texas, and we've never liked the company or the service - our internet is tolerable, but with it comes mediocre cable (it cuts out periodically, almost always during the WORST possible moments, like at the very end of a season finale or during a World Cup shootout) and subpar DVR. We've wanted to ditch cable for a while, but held onto it because it didn't make sense to drop Suddenlink cable while still paying for Suddenlink internet with the bundling discount. But now that we no longer have Suddenlink internet, we can ditch cable too!
I'll share a review of Frontier Fiber in June or July's Monthly Medley!
Three
After qualifying earlier in the spring, late last week my nephew, Carter, competed at the United States Tumbling Association (UTSA) National Championship in Orlando, FL. He earned FIRST place on Double-Mini, FIRST place on Floor, and FIRST place on Trampoline! He's a THREE-TIME UTSA National Champion! Congratulations, President Carter!
Four
Happy (belated) Father's Day! The boys played disc golf (Tom's favorite way to spend a day) in Waco, so Hallie and I went out to lunch and to see The Theatre Company's production of Newsies.
Five
Lastly this week, a little PSA about Juneteenth.
In case you missed it, last Sunday was Juneteenth. Until a couple of years ago, I knew nothing about what celebrating this holiday - also called Jubilee Day and Freedom Day - meant.
Juneteenth commemorates the day - June 19th - in 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger read aloud the federal orders that all previously enslaved people in Texas were free. Though these individuals had been formally freed by the Emancipation Proclamation more than two years earlier and the Civil War had ended in April of that year, Texas was "the most remote of the slave states, with a low presence of Union troops, so enforcement of the proclamation had been slow and inconsistent". Festivities began the following year here in Texas, and grew gradually throughout the last 150 years until just last week, Juneteenth became a Federal Holiday. Popular Juneteenth activities include readings, lectures, exhibitions, and historical reenactments, as well as prayer services, street fairs, cookouts, reunions, rodeos, and parties. The day is about celebrating African American* freedom and achievement, but also about celebrating heritage, instilling pride, and honoring influences.
* I used "African American", rather than "Black", here because that is the terminology used on the official Juneteenth website.
Want to learn more about Juneteenth? Check out www.juneteenth.com and the What is Juneteenth? episode on the podcast First Name Basis with Jasmine Bradshaw.
Happy weekend, friends!
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