This one umbrella

Goodness... it's been awhile since I've been here in the blog world - I was over in the website world this whole time!  Trying to create one.  What a thing that is!  And what a world the webworld is!  It's mind-boggling - I don't think I'll ever NOT be boggled by  it!

So here's what I do know - creating a website is very tricky.  I absolutely, without a doubt, completely understand why it's called a website - it's just like a spider web.  Tangly, thready, sticky, delicate and if the early morning sun gets to glance off and shine through the dew drops stuck on it, why it's just a beautiful thing! And spiders, while they're doing all that creating, make it look so easy.  But when a butterfly, for instance, gets the idea to make a web, yikes.  

At any rate, the Upside of Downs website is now up and running - and it's come a long way since the "reweaving" of it began a few weeks ago!  It had a few mushed up, super sticky, I-just-ran-into-a-cobweb-in-the-haunted-house-and-this-sticky-thready-thing-is-all-over-my-face-and-it's-super-icky moments, but hopefully those are gone now.  

"Helping Others UP from their DOWN"

The Upside of Downs is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) fundraising/charitable organization my family and I founded awhile ago.  The mission of the Upside of Downs?   It exists in order to support the many others who are challenged in the various ways that our own family has also been challenged - simply put, to help others "up" from their "down."  What with all the experience with our own special needs children and caring for parents with Alzheimer's and having several adult children serving in the military, we feel closely tied to their challenges and their blessings, their struggles, their gifts, and the amazing heroic spirit present in each one of them.  These members of my own family are the inspiration for the Upside of Downs and its "umbrella" mission: to reach out and help all special needs heroes, and those affected by Alzheimer's, and military veterans wounded while serving. The Upside of Downs upholds an umbrella for these three hero groups.  

Here's how we do that umbrella holding.  First we raise funds through fundraising events and the awesome website donation button you'll find in the website -  www.upsideofdowns.org (there's also information in there on how to donate the old-fashioned way, a check in the mail).  And then we pay it forward - to organizations that align with the Upside of Downs vision of protecting, caring, researching, and advocating for the umbrella heroes such as (these are our most recent recipients): the Wounded Warrior Project, Special Olympics, Alzheimer's Association, Semper Fi Fund, Travis Manion Foundation, Cure Alzheimer's Fund, and the FVSRFoundation (a local special needs recreation association).  These organizations provide the hands-on help in our common mission and the ones for which we gladly, and stubbornly in a butterfly-weaving-a-spider-web way, provide monetary support in order to pay it forward to the heroes under the umbrella. 

All right then, that's it for now - I've got to get lunch ready for the school's-out-for-the-summer gang - which reminds me - wherever you find things that really work in the website, that was USNA Midshipman second class Jack Meier's doing! He was home on a short summer leave and devoted his down time, lots of it  (with extreme grace and patience I might add) to the launching of the Upside of Downs website!  

Until next time, you all take care and God bless!