Polo Match to Benefit Youth Villages

Have you ever wanted to see a live polo match but didn’t know where to go? Look no further!

The Memphis Polo Club hosts a benefit tailgating picnic for Youth Villages on Saturday, September 19. Come enjoy the charming sport of polo while enjoying the picturesque 200-acre Memphis Polo Club farm, and supporting the Youth Villages—all in one fun-filled afternoon.This special event for Youth Villages is open to everyone, so spread the word. The match starts at 2 p.m. and will last two hours, but feel free to come early, stay late, socialize, and enjoy yourself. A concessions stand will be available, but bring food, drinks, umbrellas, or whatever you like to tailgate with. Free pony rides will be provided for children at half-time, so bring the whole family! Also, get ready to continue a longstanding halftime tradition- the stomping of the divots.The Memphis Polo Club, in scenic Rossville, Tenn., is just 45 minutes from downtown but feels worlds away from the city.

Tickets are $10 per person, and kids under 10 get in free. Tickets will be sold at the gate or through Paypal. Most proceeds from ticket sales go to Youth Villages. Come support our community while enjoying the thrilling sport of polo!Go to our website for more details: http://www.memphispoloclub.com/

Directions (from Memphis) :
Take 385 East (Bill Morris Parkway) to the last exit, Piperton, TN-57
Turn right off of the exit ramp and continue east for 6 miles
Turn Right onto Frazier Road
At the 2 way stop, 1.25 miles down, turn left onto Stinson Road
The entrance to the club is a few hundred feet on the right

Gates open at 1pm, match starts at 2pm.
See you there!

"...the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."

~Teddy Kennedy

Trail Running

I have not been out on a trail in a while, and I think the last time I was on a trail I walked most of the time. So Saturday morning was a lot of fun! Well...getting up at 5am wasn't that fun. Thankfully it was around that time that I had to get up to use the bathroom anyway, so I actually woke up and started getting ready before the alarm clock went off. I enjoyed a nice breakfast of G2 and headed out to pick up Becky. We were both considerably more awake than I thought we would be at 5:40 on a Saturday morning!
Why were we so awake? We were meeting about 30 other marathon and half-marathon hopefuls to run the trails at Shelby Farms as part of the Breakaway Marathon Training. We thought we were only running 3 miles, and I had mentally prepared myself for that. Then we found out we were going to run 4 miles. In the back of my head I thought that I might have to walk at least a little bit of the trail. Then we found out that really the first two miles of the run would be on a gravel road. Uggh... Straight roads are not my cup of tea. Straight gravel roads are even worse because of the extra effort it takes as you plop each foot down and bring it back up again. But, we were surrounded by bunches of eager runners, and the temperature was a beautiful 65 degrees, so I tried to tell my mind that it would be okay.
During the first two miles, I found my stride (albeit a very slow stride), and I kept telling myself that I had to keep running. Lately if I stop in the middle of a run, I find it very difficult to get back to running, and I did not want to walk for 3 miles! There was a girl in front of us doing the run/walk thing, and every time she walked, I told myself "you are stronger than that! keep running!" Just about at the time that I was getting insanely bored with the gravel road, we turned onto wet grass and headed into the trees for the trail run. Becky picked up the pace (I swear...she might disagree with me) because there is something about running on spongy damp ground that puts an extra spring in your step. You are surrounded by trees, it smells awesome, and there are sounds of birds and bullfrogs to keep you company. I felt great until about the last half mile, when I started to get super winded, but I kept telling myself to keep going! Becky was also a big help as she told me she was impressed with how far I had gone. When someone tells you that, you cannot start walking - you have to finish running.
We finished at 57 minutes, which had to be more than four miles because we were definitely running faster than a 14.25 minute per mile pace. I chugged a good bit of G2 and neglected to stretch (ooo...would I feel that later in the day!), and pretty much felt amazing. I don't think I could have run 4+ miles out on the roads Saturday morning; there is something fun about running through the woods that gives me a bit more energy than running past mailboxes.
Will I run the Overton Park 5 miler this Saturday? I'm still trying to decide. At first I was not, since I should probably stop paying to run. But after the fun I had this weekend, and the awesome feeling in my body from getting my blood and endorphins flowing, I might just have to plunk down the $18 and run through the woods again.

Why am I not surprised?

Already, just at 17 weeks gestation...we have a big baby. My glucose test is in two months, so it might be gestational diabetes. Or...it might by that this kid's parents are just the size of wookies. I'm hoping for the latter.

When we were looking over the results of the ultrasound this morning and looking at due dates, the doctor just smiled at us and said, "Well, we just have a big baby!" With a 5'11" mother and a 6'3" father, I guess that should not be surprising : ) Everything else looks great! It is amazing what we can see with ultrasounds: how full the stomach is, what the brain looks like, the spine, little fingers and toes... I totally started crying during the ultrasound because I was in such awe at this little life inside me! Gender is still a mystery to us, but the tech said that the sexual organs are good too. They don't even write the gender in my chart, so my ob doesn't know the gender either. We'll all be surprised!

The pictures we have are a bit blurry, because little baby was wriggling around the entire time and he/she had the hiccups. I won't attempt to post a pic, because it will just be super blurry. However, I am already showing anyone I run into the ultrasound photo, like a mad woman! It's so cliche, but I am so in love with this kid already! I'm just praying for at least 20 more weeks of good development : )

Mayoral Election

Okay, Memphians...you know that we have a big decision to make soon! I honestly have not done a lot of research into any of the mayoral candidates, but I'm going to go ahead and support AC. As a member of the child welfare system for the past 5 years, I have seen what AC has done to promote healthy children and families in Shelby County, and I do have faith in his administration that he will continue that work if he becomes mayor of Memphis. He seems to be good at delegating, giving important jobs to some pretty smart people (again, I am only speaking from my experience in the child welfare system). I have sat in a meeting that he directed, and he impressed me by how he listened to every one's opinions, explained what he would do with the information he gathered, and helped everyone feel like a valid member of the team. Here is an email that I received about supporting his run for mayor, and I wanted to share it with you:

Dear Megan,

Earlier this week, I emailed to let you know that our campaign's Facebook page had just gotten its 2,500th fan. Even in the short time since I sent that message, hundreds of new friends and supporters have signed up to show their support. With less than 60 days until Memphis chooses its next Mayor, I am going to need every single volunteer, voice, and vote!As you know, I have been campaigning aggressively for several weeks. Just last week, we launched a new version of our campaign website, ACWharton.com, and I'm sure you've seen our bumper stickers and yard signs around town. Tomorrow, we will take another important step in this campaign - and I want you to be there with me. Please join me tomorrow, August 20 at 12:00 p.m. when I will pick up my petition for the upcoming special election from the Shelby County Election Commission. We will gather on the steps at Second Street and Washington Avenue before walking to the Election Commission together.More details can be found by clicking here. As always, if you have any questions or comments about my campaign, just let me know.This campaign is about people, because my administration will be about people. Thank you for all your support. I look forward to seeing you Thursday.

A C Wharton, Jr.

P.S. This weekend, we'll formally open our campaign headquarters at 5016 Park Avenue. I hope you'll join us at 3:00 p.m. to sign my petition and meet my campaign Co-Chairs!

A note to my politically conservative friends

Jonathan and I have been the recipients of a slew of emails requesting that we either oppose President Obama's proposed health care plan or that we watch Fox News propaganda that serves no purpose whatsoever. I recently received an email that I could not just let slide, so I responded to the author. Since rising blood pressure is not good for the baby, I am sending this out to anyone who reads this blog - please do not send me hateful email about the government. When I opposed the Bush administration's policies, I did not send you hateful email. Okay, so here is my response:

Dear ______,

I understand that you and many of my friends are very upset about what is going on in Congress and the Senate. This can be a confusing time for many reasons, and I think we all need to be in prayer at all times for God to guide the future of our country. I am concerned about stating that Godly Americans must oppose what the government is doing. I think that it is the role of Christians to respect and pray for our leaders whether we agree with their policies or not, and to not assume that one political party is Godly while another is not. I think that it is very possible for two Christians, who are both saved by the blood of Jesus and striving to live for him, to have two different views about what is happening in Washington right now. I do not want to sound disrespectful in any way, and I thought for a long time on whether to even reply or not.

I appreciate you thinking about me when sending this email, but you can take me off of your distribution lists for future emails like these.

Sincerely,
Megan

Policy Brief About Infant & Child Health in West TN

**I put an incorrect date in this post. The One By One ministry, which reaches out to under-resourced mothers, kicks off at 2PC on September 17th.**

The Urban Child Institute just put out a new brief about infant and child health in Tennessee, breaking up the data into the three grand regions of Tennessee. It comes as little surprise to Tennesseans that West TN ranks lowest in all categories of infant and child health. You don't have to be a social worker to understand the implications this has on our region socially and economically. We can talk all day about health care reform, individual vs. social responsibility, etc. until we are blue in the face, but I feel that these numbers demand action.

Okay, so what can we do? Here is social worker Megan's take on what we can do:
1) Take very, very good care of your own little ones (obviously).
2) Support government programs that help with health and nutrition of children in the first five years of life. Federally we have WIC, TANF, and Head Start. Locally, there is a Shelby County Office for Infant Mortality. Memphians - we are about to have a mayoral election. Find out what the candidates' views are on this subject and what they plan to do about it as mayor.
3) Give your money and your time to organizations that serve the health and nutrition needs of children in the first five years of life. We have the Food Bank, the Church Health Center, Christ Community Health Care, the Urban Child Institute, and many more local agencies that you can support.
4) Become personally invested in the cause. My church is about to start a new program that can help you do just that! The new program kicks off Monday, August 17th with an informational dinner meeting. It is a mentoring program for new mothers (both currently pregnant and with little ones) who are in the at-risk demographic for infant mortality. The mentors develop a relationship with the new moms and help provide support as they raise their babies. Although I am only 15 weeks pregnant myself with my first child, I am going to participate in this program. I spoke with one of the ladies heading up the program, and she thought that I could help come alongside a woman who is also having her first baby, and we could walk through this journey together.

If you read the brief, are moved by it as I was, and want to know what you can actually do to help, I would be more than happy to talk with you about options for involvement. What is that overused quote? "Be the change you want to see in the world" or something like that... I am a firm believer in the monumental effect one person can have on their environment.