Getting pulled over can be a stressful situation. You may not know right away why you were asked to stop, but you probably have a good hunch that it’s not for a good reason.

More often than not, that premonition we have about being pulled over turns out to be accurate and we have to be involved in a less than ideal situation. It’s why many of us dread stopping to talk to an officer so much.

Andrella Jackson may now have different thoughts about being asked to stop by an officer though.

Not too long ago, Jackson was spotted by Milwaukee police officer Kevin Zimmerman and was asked to pull over. Officer Zimmerman requested that Jackson stop because she had the wrong registration for her car.

As he approached the vehicle though, something else caught the eye of Officer Zimmerman. To be more specific, he saw that there were three kids in the backseat of Jackson’s car and two of them were still very small, WTMJ-TV reported. He also noticed that the two small children in question were not in car seats.

Officer Zimmerman then asked Jackson why the small kids were not placed in car seats and she said that she did not have the money to pay for those essential pieces of safety equipment at that time. Jackson mentioned that with winter on the way, she was saving up to buy her children new coats and boots.

A shortage of money is the same reason why Jackson had failed to get her vehicle registered properly.

Per the American Automobile Association (AAA), there are laws in every state dictating that children should be in car seats or restraints.

It would have been easy for Officer Zimmerman to issue Jackson tickets for her violations, but he opted to handle things a different way. Instead of adding to her problems, he went about solving one of them.

Officer Zimmerman soon made his way to a nearby Walmart, and after learning how much the kids weighed from Jackson, he went ahead and purchased two car seats using money out of his own pocket. He even stuck around to install the car seats himself.

By the way, the police officer did more than just give Jackson and her kids new car seats. According to this report from CNN, Officer Zimmerman also made a stop at the police department to pick up a few things – children’s books and stickers – that he also gifted to Jackson’s kids.

The police officer explained why he went the extra mile to help out Jackson. Officer Zimmerman shared that he has kids of his own. He hinted at how frightening the thought is of his own kids moving around in a vehicle with no car seats and how they can be placed in grave danger if an accident occurs.

Officer Zimmerman also said that he was always taught to “do the right thing even if no one is looking.” In this case, both Jackson and the Milwaukee Police Department wanted to make sure that Officer Zimmerman would receive the recognition he deserved even if he wasn’t looking for that.

The generous act touched Jackson, prompting her to shower Officer Zimmerman with numerous “thank yous.” Her kids got in on the chorus of generosity as well.

Jackson called Officer Zimmerman “awesome” and that she is appreciative of the kindness he showed. She added that with the car seats now purchased and installed, she will be able to allocate a bigger budget that will then be used to buy those new coats and boots that her kids need.

What could have turned into an even more trying situation for Jackson and her kids became a shining example of humanity at its best and that is thanks to the generosity exhibited by Officer Zimmerman.

Have you heard that your body is made up of 50%water? This perhaps is the reason why you need to drink at least eight, eight ounces of water per day. My husband, two sons, daughter, and yes, even our family pets challenge each other (excluding the pets) to drink the allotted number of glasses of water per day for adults. This number is reasonable for everyone. 

The water requirements for children are calculated a bit differently. A child’s water intake tapers upwards according to age. For instance, 

• A child five to eight years of age need to drink about five eight-ounce glasses of water per day.  
• A child nine to twelve years of age needs to drink around eight to ten glasses of water per day.
• A child 13 years of age and up needs about eight eight-ounce glasses of water per day.

Some medical experts say that a child should drink water according to their ages. For example, two-year-olds need two eight-ounce glasses of water per day. Three-year-olds, three glasses and so on. 

Mom and Dad Are Coffee Geeks

The dad in our family counts coffee in his allotment of water per day. And, if that is not funny enough the kids think they can count soda pop into their allotment of daily water. This mom refused to buy any more soda until the kids showed her they drank their allotment of water. Some medical professionals claim that coffee, soda, and such beverages are good hydration drinks and can be added to the overall fluid requirements. Mom says, “Use your common sense, you know what is good and not good for your body and soda is on the list of beverages to avoid. 

Mom, being a nurse knows better and quickly removes all soda and allows dad and herself no more than two cups of coffee per day. Of course, she says, we allow ourselves more, but we drink one eight-ounce glass of water for every cup of coffee beyond our allotted two cups. This mom quickly tries to educate everyone in the family on the importance of drinking water and healthy optional hydrating beverages.

Coffee is a natural diuretic as it removes the water from your body. If you want to become dehydrated quickly, drink just coffee all day like mom and dad sometimes do and forego the water. In mom’s opinion, there is no nutrition in soda or coffee.

*There are instances where the normal eight, eight-ounce glasses of water are contraindicated such as in the event someone has kidney disease, cardiac issues, or the doctor limits the person’s water intake. In these cases drink water in the amounts that the doctor recommends. 

I will be the first to admit that I do not like plain water. Our whole family has a difficult time drinking water in the amounts that are recommended because we just do not like water. However, there are still options so that we can continue to hydrate our bodies as needed. If you have a difficult time choking down water try these options.

• Mom enjoys flavored, non-carbonated water or lemon water with Stevia. Research finds that lemon water makes you feel fuller, hydrates, increases metabolism and helps to decrease pounds. 
• Dad enjoys flavored water packets.
• Our daughter likes plain lemon water. She has found that lemon water is contributing to some weight loss. She says her skin looks clearer and her hair is taking on a great shine.
• Our sons, both enjoy drinking a mixture of energy drinks, flavored water, and beverages such as Gatorade, or G drinks.

Other healthy options include,

• Coconut Water
• Aloe Water
• Maple Water
• Watermelon water
• Pure Spring Water
• Vitamin Water
• Gatorade
• Milk

There are negatives to drinking too much water such as water intoxication. Too much water removes too much of the electrolytes in the body like sodium, potassium, and magnesium. An electrolyte imbalance can cause health concerns like heart irregularities.

Not drinking enough water also causes health problems such as an electrolyte imbalance and dehydration. Possible symptoms of dehydration include headache, dizziness, tiredness, blurred vision, dry eyes, muscle cramps, fever, dark-colored urine, and death if dehydration continues. 

Adequate fluid intake is easy when you chose healthy beverage options that you enjoy drinking. Drinking adequate fluids every day contribute greatly to enhanced health and wellness.

Grandeur Park:  a Popular Summit for Amateur Hikers 

Grandeur Peak is an 8,299 feet summit located on the east side of Salt Lake Valley, and anyone who makes it to the top gets great views of the valley and the surrounding mountains. As far as the local mountain peaks go, this one is relatively fast to summit, so many people enjoy taking one of the trails to get to the top.

There are two choices of easier trails to get to the top of Grandeur Peak: hikers can choose Church Fork Trailhead, which is wide, well-marked, and easy to follow. The beginning of the trail is at the Church Fork Picnic Area in Mill Creek Canyon. The other trail is the Grandeur Peak Trail, which follows a stream into the forest and then climbs to a saddle by way of switchbacks. A saddle is a low part of a ridge between two higher points, and switchbacks are places that go up and down on the path. Going up and down quickly could cause a climber to get more tired.

Floyd the Mastiff Goes on a Hike

Floyd was one 3 years old when he took the hike up Grandeur Pike Trail with his dad. He enjoyed exercise, and his dad didn’t have any reason to think Floyd wouldn’t be able to make it to the end of the trail.

Unfortunately, after hiking for several miles, Floyd realized he simply couldn’t go any further. Floyd made it two miles up the Trail before he lay down and refused to move again. He simply couldn’t take anymore. 

Floyd is a Big Dog

If Floyd had been a regular-sized dog, his dad would have probably picked him up and carried him back down the mountain. Unfortunately, Floyd weighs 190 pounds, and his dad wasn’t able to do it.

He couldn’t leave him behind, so Floyd’s owner decided the only thing to do was get ready to spend the night on the mountain. He was ready mentally, but he was worried about the temperature. It can get cold at night, especially if you are two miles up a mountain. If it got too cold, it could be dangerous, but the later it got, the harder it would be to leave. Climbing down in the dark would be difficult if not impossible.

Rescue!

Even though they didn’t ask for help, help came for Floyd and his dad anyway. Some of the people who passed by Floyd and his dad were worried and they told the police what was happening. 

To their great surprise, an entire rescue crew showed up to rescue Floyd and his dad. They brought medical equipment, emergency gear, and a stretcher big enough to carry a 190-pound mastiff. The rescue crew strapped Floyd safely in and, with one person in front and one behind, carried him down the mountain.

An Act of Kindness

The Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office search and rescue team is made up entirely of volunteers. They didn’t hesitate for a second, even when they knew they were going to help a dog. They showed up and helped because that’s the kind of people they are.

For his part, Floyd is a good boy and he appreciated the help. He might have been all right to finish the hike if he and his dad hadn’t gotten turned around on the trail. Floyd is just happy to be back home getting all the love and attention he needs.

Teaching Our Children to Bucket Fill Their Way to Being Kinder Human Beings

It is surprising considering how long parents have been doing it that people keep coming up with new ways to raise our children. There even used to be far different ideas of what was expected of children; there were times when children should be seen but not heard, times when children might be expected to take on adult responsibilities from a very early age, and times when parents assumed children didn’t have their own personalities at all until they were older.

Nowadays, though, most people can agree that we have succeeded in raising our children well if we have raised them to be kind. In these days of violence and fear, we can see the effects of bullying in news headlines. But how can you raise a kinder child? Without a good example from your own family, you may not even know what success looks like until you achieve it. Bucket filling is a practical way parents can teach their children to consider the feelings and well-being of other people in their lives so they can treat people more kindly.

What Is Bucket Filling?

As a concept, Dr. Donald O. Clifton first used the “Dipper and Bucket” story in the 1960s. Dr. Clifton was a psychologist and the founder of The Clifton Strength School in Lincoln, Nebraska. In the 1990s, early childhood educator Carol McCloud learned about the concept and adapted it for young children. She wrote a book called Have you filled a bucket today? which encourages children to be mindful of the needs of others so they can fill their buckets.

You can choose to be either a bucket filler or a bucket dipper. Everyone has their own bucket, which is a reservoir that can be filled with positive things or emptied by negative interactions. If you are a bucket filler, you find ways to provide support and validation for those around you. 

Understanding Bucket Filling

Bucket Filling is a simple and practical enough concept that even small children can understand the concept. Teachers explain the metaphor that all of us have a bucket, and our feelings of sadness, happiness, contentment, and even anger are dependent on what is in our bucket. 

The great thing is that we can all help fill each others’ buckets. Teachers and parents can teach empathy and how to achieve personal emotional well-being by using the concept of bucket filling. At any time during every interaction, we can choose to be positive and fill someone’s bucket or negative and dip from their emotional well-being.

Personal Responsibility

By teaching us how we coexist, bucket filling shows children that they are personally responsible for how their actions and words affect others. They can also understand that there may be ways to fill their own buckets, such as by finding friends who give them emotional support and love. 

There are resources teachers and parents can use to provide concrete examples of how to fill each others’ buckets. Someone with an empty bucket may feel inclined to empty the buckets of others, but we can learn instead to fill everyone’s buckets so we can all enjoy the sense of emotional well-being and having a full bucket.

Thousands of dogs are fosters by loving pet parents every year and, fortunately, most of those dogs find forever homes, leaving their foster parents behind forever. Or not. In the case of Kate Howard and Winnie, however, their reunion left all of Twitter reaching for tissues to wipe their eyes.

And no wonder. According to the American Humane Association, one tenth of all dogs adopted from shelters or rescues are returned. About 1.2 million dogs are euthanized each year simply because they cannot find a forever home.

A Puppy Named Winnie

Kate Howard, a managing editor, took in a small brown and white mixed breed puppy named Winnie in November of 2018. Since puppies are more adoptable than adult dogs, Winne was quickly adopted. Howard states on Twitter that she cried for three days after Winnie left her for her forever home, even though Howard knew that Winnie was getting a good home. Howard was all too aware of the statistics.

Meanwhile, Howard tried to get on with her life without Winne. She went on to help other pets. In August of 2019, Howard moved into a new home. She adopted a toy dog named Foxy.

On October 14, 2019, a sleek brown and white female dog with one ear ran onto her new yard and lay down. Howard was curious as to what this strange dog was doing. Then, she heard a woman cry out, “Winnie!” and wondered if this one-eared wonder was the puppy she fostered, now all grown up.

When the woman came up to get Winne, Howard eagerly asked her for particulars of when and where she got the dog. It was clear –- this dog was indeed the puppy Howard had fostered and cried three days for. Winnie’s Mom was adamant that she would never return Winnie to the shelter. Winnie had lost an ear but won a home and family. Just why Winnie lost an ear was not revealed, but dogs can lose their outer ears for a variety of medical reasons, including frostbite, injury or getting torn in fights or rough play with other dogs.

Twitter Sensation

The news was too good for Howard to keep to herself. Armed with plenty of pictures, she posted the whole story up on Twitter. She also noted that Winnie loved meeting Foxy, but Foxy was not so thrilled. Very soon, Howard discovered that her story racked up more than 13,300 retweets. The story was just so doggone captivating in a sea of bad news. Soon, she had over 3,000 comments to read. Her tweets kept getting shared and re-shared and Howard could not keep up with all of the kind comments sent to her.

Winne’s current owner wishes to remain anonymous. It turns out she and Winnie live only two blocks away from Howard and Foxy. The reunion will last for many years to come.