Just wanted to update you all on what I have been doing the last few weeks.  We took Caleb on his FIRST plane ride to Washington, DC.  I was so worried about the 5 plus hours on a plane with him, but he was so good.  He loved the humming of the plane and enjoyed socializing with all of the passengers who stopped by to chat =).  I was in DC for the first annual Tween Summit.  What a great event.  400 young “tween” girls from all over the country to learn about ways they can feel more confident about who they are, what they want to do and how they look.  It was AMAZING to hear girls from ages 7-14 talk about peer pressures from their friends, television and society making them feel like they are fat, or need to be more sexy.  One of the 10-year olds stood up and asked one of the other women on the panel who worked for Nickelodeon, “Why do I only see size 4 girls on your shows, when I am not a size 4 and never will be?  I would like to see more girls that look like my body and what I look like.”  It was so sweet and just melted my heart — so true!!  I hope more people from tv/magazines can hear what our youth are saying, use more realistic models/actors that show what more of America looks like. 

Speaking of realistic bodies, did any of you catch the Body Issue by ESPN the Mag?  I enjoyed being a part of this unique representation of the male and female athlete (for more on my thoughts on this, click here). 

Adam and Caleb have both never been to DC, so we went walking around the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and my favorite, the FDR memorial.  We watched the sun set over the lake at the Jefferson Memorial, perfect ending to a family day in our nation’s capital =).  From there, we took Caleb on his FIRST train ride to New York City. We had some fun with x games skier Grete Eliasen, skateboarder Lyn-Z Adams Hawkins, motorcross champ Ashley Fiolek and WSF super star Stacy Holand.  Once in New York City it was all about the Women’s Sports Foundation Annual Salute to Women in Sports dinner.  I helped host a dinner cruise on the Hudson for all of the amazing female athletes the night before the big show, attending board meetings, and met some pretty amazing people.  The night of the big event, I got a little nervous because this was my FIRST year as President of the Women’s Sports Foundation and going on stage in front of the thousands all dressed to the nines at the Waldorf Astoria.  Even though my husband Adam was my real date, I took Caleb down the red carpet with me in his little onesie tux.  He was a hit!!  I shared stories with Laila Ali about her one-year old son, Julie Foudy about her ten-month old son, with Annika Sorenstam about her 6-week old daughter, and of course my teammate Jennie Finch about her 3-year old son Ace.  So many amazing women having babies to learn from!  The night was a huge hit with a sold-out crowd, so many people stepped up to be a part of the 30th dinner, even with the tough economy.  Cool to look around the room and see athletes like Gina Curano, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Brandi Chastain, Melanie Oudin and of course, Billie Jean King. 

 

Hard to come home from such a fun-filled Women’s Sports Foundation week, but we did and I am sure Caleb is glad to be back in the warm southern California weather — getting him spoiled already =)

The next few weeks are filled with more events and softball clinics, so check and see if I am coming to one near you!

Hope you all are well and have a Happy Halloween!!

Love it, Dream it, Live it!

Jessica Mendoza #2