I have spent my fair share of early morning wake-up calls, on cold days, rainy days, hot days, all in the name of attending some kind of race that sounded like a good idea when I signed up for it. And as sleepy, or irritable, that I could be it all seemed to fade away when the race organizer announced that we were going to listen to the singing of the national anthem. And at that moment, we all turned and looked at the American flag and we quieted our minds and our nerves and we focused on all that these two symbols represent for us.

And today, on June 14th, we celebrate Flag day - a day that on the surface seems quite frivolous but when you dig in a bit you realize that this day, and our flag, are icons of all that we stand for – freedom, independence, sense of belonging. They are so important to us, that we stop a mass of strangers, before a race, to sing the national anthem and to pay respects to our flag. We can only do this if in fact, we know, that, just like THPL – the journey makes more sense when we have a connection to that which we believe in. And I for one know that it is easy to believe in the US and all of the symbols that reflect that for us. Happy Flag Day!

Loving life, on June 14th, yes Flag Day