If we mamas don't speak up for our children, who will?

:: my PTA buddies Erika, Lisa, and I at the rally at the state capital ::

I'm not the "rah-rah" type. I was never a cheerleader and never will be. But things like the quality of our children's public education get me fired up. Maybe it's because I used to be a teacher. Maybe it's because I'm a mama with two boys in the public education system. Maybe it's because I believe that ALL children deserve a top-notch public education. Maybe it's all of the above.

So I rallied at the state capital with my buddies Erika, Lisa, and Lorena. We held up our signs and cheered when two of the state's assembly men (actually, they were ladies) came out to speak about the importance of supporting more funding for our public schools. I mustered up the best cheerleading impersonation that I could.

I was disappointed that there were more people there to support our cause because really, how many more reasons do you need?

:: picture courtesy of capta.org ::

"At least 600 people gathered at the Capitol on the first day of the California State PTA 111th Annual Convention in Sacramento. Their purpose was loud and clear: We must invest in the more than 9 million children living in California, and stop cutting budgets for education and other critical services."

See me in the middle in my yellow jacket? That's me right there in the middle of that big ol' number 9. That big number 9 stands for 9 million--9 million children--9 million reasons to speak up.