"Good night!" I told Rachel as I closed the door to her room tonight.
"I love you!" she yelled.
"I love you too!" I yelled back.
"Have a good sleep!" she yelled.
"You too!" I yelled back.
"Have good dreams!" she yelled.
"You too!" I said again.
"I will!" she called out. "...If I remember them!"
Friday, April 26, 2013
Moments of grace
I've been sick the past two days in the midst of doing a massive decluttering/cleanup of my house that is long overdue and I can only really manage after Rachel is asleep. The rest of the time I've been sleeping, coughing, blowing my nose and generally feeling miserable.
However...two extraordinary things happened to me this week that convinced me there is a lot of goodness in the universe and when I'm a recipient of that goodness, it's humbling and overwhelming. I'd be more eloquent if I could, but it's 12:03 a.m. and I'm waiting for a cake to finish baking (which itself is related to these two extraordinary things):
--on Tuesday evening there was a huge wreck on I5 -- a semi tractor/trailer carrying a 75,000 TON concrete girder for a light rail train (you read the number right) overturned on the highway just before rush hour, snarling traffic for something like 15 hours. I'd heard about it in Salem and left at 4:50 p.m. but STILL didn't get to preschool until 7:30. They fine me $1 for every minute I miss the 6 p.m. pickup time, so I was understandably anxious to arrive as fast as possible. Danielle, one of the new teachers, took Rachel to play in the park across the street, then to Lucky Spoon, a frozen yogurt place across the street. The minute I walked in, I announced, "This is your dinner, Rachel. I am getting frozen yogurt, too, and I am NOT making dinner tonight. This is IT!" You can imagine how thrilled she was as, she put it, "I get to have SUGAR for dinner!"
Meanwhile, Danielle and I got to talking. Turns out she's 24, just moved her from Santa Barbara where she went to college, and decided to have a late Seder this week because she missed out on Passover since she's such a recent arrival. We had a long talk about single kids (she was one until age 11) and she said, "I'm not supposed to have favorites, but Rachel's my favorite!" At 8:30 she got up to leave, and when I went to make out a check for $90, she stopped me. "I have to pay you SOMETHING," I said. She suggested I invite her to dinner one night. "A Shabbat dinner one Friday," she suggested. "How about THIS Friday?" I countered, and she said fine. (That's why a chocolate chip cake is baking as I write this). Rachel is beside herself with excitement, and I love the idea of exchanging mitzvahs.
--last night (Wednesday) it was so beautiful outside -- we've been having sunny weather in the mid-70s, very unusual this time of year -- that I decided to take Rachel to the food carts on Belmont Avenue in Southeast PDX. I had a fantastic burger with a gluten-free bun (trying a bit of a gluten-free diet just to see what it's like) and she had pizza. On our way out we came upon three guys playing music. One was a strumming a guitar, another a hammered dulcimer and another a fiddle. I immediately got out our family songbook from the car and we sang (and they played) "Clementine," "Oh Susanna," and "This Little Light of Mine." Rachel was particularly interested in the fiddle; she really seems to want to try out the violin, so I will look for lessons for her in the fall if she's serious. We actually attracted a little crowd of people, and I couldn't help think that only in Portland would we come upon people playing music and be able to contribute with some songs of our own.
So those were my moments of grace this week, which is winding down in a burst of activity coupled my intense desire to take NyQuil so I can sleep, really sleep. I can't, of course -- too much to do around here -- but these extraordinary events helped keep my spirit up.
However...two extraordinary things happened to me this week that convinced me there is a lot of goodness in the universe and when I'm a recipient of that goodness, it's humbling and overwhelming. I'd be more eloquent if I could, but it's 12:03 a.m. and I'm waiting for a cake to finish baking (which itself is related to these two extraordinary things):
--on Tuesday evening there was a huge wreck on I5 -- a semi tractor/trailer carrying a 75,000 TON concrete girder for a light rail train (you read the number right) overturned on the highway just before rush hour, snarling traffic for something like 15 hours. I'd heard about it in Salem and left at 4:50 p.m. but STILL didn't get to preschool until 7:30. They fine me $1 for every minute I miss the 6 p.m. pickup time, so I was understandably anxious to arrive as fast as possible. Danielle, one of the new teachers, took Rachel to play in the park across the street, then to Lucky Spoon, a frozen yogurt place across the street. The minute I walked in, I announced, "This is your dinner, Rachel. I am getting frozen yogurt, too, and I am NOT making dinner tonight. This is IT!" You can imagine how thrilled she was as, she put it, "I get to have SUGAR for dinner!"
Meanwhile, Danielle and I got to talking. Turns out she's 24, just moved her from Santa Barbara where she went to college, and decided to have a late Seder this week because she missed out on Passover since she's such a recent arrival. We had a long talk about single kids (she was one until age 11) and she said, "I'm not supposed to have favorites, but Rachel's my favorite!" At 8:30 she got up to leave, and when I went to make out a check for $90, she stopped me. "I have to pay you SOMETHING," I said. She suggested I invite her to dinner one night. "A Shabbat dinner one Friday," she suggested. "How about THIS Friday?" I countered, and she said fine. (That's why a chocolate chip cake is baking as I write this). Rachel is beside herself with excitement, and I love the idea of exchanging mitzvahs.
--last night (Wednesday) it was so beautiful outside -- we've been having sunny weather in the mid-70s, very unusual this time of year -- that I decided to take Rachel to the food carts on Belmont Avenue in Southeast PDX. I had a fantastic burger with a gluten-free bun (trying a bit of a gluten-free diet just to see what it's like) and she had pizza. On our way out we came upon three guys playing music. One was a strumming a guitar, another a hammered dulcimer and another a fiddle. I immediately got out our family songbook from the car and we sang (and they played) "Clementine," "Oh Susanna," and "This Little Light of Mine." Rachel was particularly interested in the fiddle; she really seems to want to try out the violin, so I will look for lessons for her in the fall if she's serious. We actually attracted a little crowd of people, and I couldn't help think that only in Portland would we come upon people playing music and be able to contribute with some songs of our own.
So those were my moments of grace this week, which is winding down in a burst of activity coupled my intense desire to take NyQuil so I can sleep, really sleep. I can't, of course -- too much to do around here -- but these extraordinary events helped keep my spirit up.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Busy weekend
We've been clearing out a lot of clutter in our house, and things are starting to look different around here. The other day Rachel and I went through all of the bins in her room and threw out a whole bunch of coloring books, toys she never plays with anymore, etc. and filled two boxes. Today we culled her vast collection of books. (I'm pleased to report that she said, without any prompting from me, "I'm keeping all the books that my relatives gave me." I couldn't have been more touched and impressed). I spent most of my time boxing up old books and "editing" the house, as I've come to call it, doing laundry, doing a mass of cooking (chicken, pasta and chocolate chip cake for a friend of mine who is recovering from cancer surgery), challah (for the same friend and for Rachel and me), and tonight, chicken soup, a salad for my lunch this week, and then tomorrow I'll be making pasta and sausage soup. I would have done more except that I got caught up in "Mad Men." It is my only mode of relaxation these days, so I hate to miss it.
Rachel and I have been battling colds and various tummy ailments, so we both decided to give up milk and dairy for a while. Until today, the only thing I felt like eating was matzah (!) and artichokes. This caused a friend of mine who visited today to look at me and say with concern, "Lisa, you're losing weight." Great to hear, if only for the wrong reasons.
That friend, Jen, is from synagogue and she brought her pregnant future daughter-in-law, Sara, to look at Rachel's old crib, baby clothes, changing table, car seat, etc. They left with piles of stuff and will come back Tuesday night for more. I got a twinge of nostalgia looking at everything again, things I'd forgotten we had and that were SO IMPORTANT at one time in my life and now just...aren't. Rachel keeps asking me to have another baby because she really wants a sister, and it's so painful to hear her say that. She'd be such a great sibling, it hurts me that another little person in the world will never get the chance to live with her, play with her, fight with her and love her as fiercely as Drew and I do.
Then it was off to a party for newly admitted Northwestern students, wherein people like me try to convince kids who have lots and lots of choices to choose Northwestern. None of the three kids I interviewed this year got in, which is rather sobering. There's no way I could get in if I were applying today. I did get the chance to catch up with Chris Broderick, a former colleague of mine at the Oregonian who now works for Portland State, doing kind of the same thing I do at the law school but on a much larger scale. His daughter got in to NU early decision, and I was very enthusiastic about Evanston and Chicago, even though she seems sold on the experience already. Chris hadn't seen Rachel since she was a baby (he came to the party we held after her baby-naming ceremony) but unfortunately they never saw each other today! There were two other kids at the party and they spent the time upstairs watching two "Shrek" movies, so I got some uninterrupted time to hang with the grownups.
And sometime today, it suddenly hit me that in a mere 12 years, we will be going through the same thing with Rachel. Oh, where did the time go? How come I didn't have four kids???
Rachel and I have been battling colds and various tummy ailments, so we both decided to give up milk and dairy for a while. Until today, the only thing I felt like eating was matzah (!) and artichokes. This caused a friend of mine who visited today to look at me and say with concern, "Lisa, you're losing weight." Great to hear, if only for the wrong reasons.
That friend, Jen, is from synagogue and she brought her pregnant future daughter-in-law, Sara, to look at Rachel's old crib, baby clothes, changing table, car seat, etc. They left with piles of stuff and will come back Tuesday night for more. I got a twinge of nostalgia looking at everything again, things I'd forgotten we had and that were SO IMPORTANT at one time in my life and now just...aren't. Rachel keeps asking me to have another baby because she really wants a sister, and it's so painful to hear her say that. She'd be such a great sibling, it hurts me that another little person in the world will never get the chance to live with her, play with her, fight with her and love her as fiercely as Drew and I do.
Then it was off to a party for newly admitted Northwestern students, wherein people like me try to convince kids who have lots and lots of choices to choose Northwestern. None of the three kids I interviewed this year got in, which is rather sobering. There's no way I could get in if I were applying today. I did get the chance to catch up with Chris Broderick, a former colleague of mine at the Oregonian who now works for Portland State, doing kind of the same thing I do at the law school but on a much larger scale. His daughter got in to NU early decision, and I was very enthusiastic about Evanston and Chicago, even though she seems sold on the experience already. Chris hadn't seen Rachel since she was a baby (he came to the party we held after her baby-naming ceremony) but unfortunately they never saw each other today! There were two other kids at the party and they spent the time upstairs watching two "Shrek" movies, so I got some uninterrupted time to hang with the grownups.
And sometime today, it suddenly hit me that in a mere 12 years, we will be going through the same thing with Rachel. Oh, where did the time go? How come I didn't have four kids???
The most startling Rachel quote EVER
Rachel was sitting in front of the heater as I made breakfast this morning -- it's her favorite place to sit, she's like a cat -- when she said this:
"The older you get, the more things you that you didn't know when you were a kid. But the older you get, the more things you forget when you were a little kid, and then your kids have to remind you of them."
Pure genius, I say.
"The older you get, the more things you that you didn't know when you were a kid. But the older you get, the more things you forget when you were a little kid, and then your kids have to remind you of them."
Pure genius, I say.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Chorus send-off
Rachel and I were on our own tonight, and I took her to a send-off performance for Pride of Portland as they head to Boise for regionals. It's bittersweet; I would have loved to join them (planned to with Drew and Rachel, in fact), but life got in the way. So I sat in the audience, Rachel on my lap, marveling and how much better they sound in just two weeks. Rachel screamed wildly, proudly noting that she had the loudest scream. She also got up and hugged Ryan's leg, whereupon he picked her up, she locked her arms around his neck and he kept hugging and kissing her face. I think he misses her. I know she misses him.
Anyway, one of the quartets that will compete in Boise sang a song mentioning "honey" a couple of times. Rachel grabbed my arm, pulled her body in close to mine and exclaimed, "YOU'RE my honey!" I hugged her tight and gave a silent thank you for getting such a wonderful kid.
Bev Erickson, a 70-something great-grandmother who stands behind me on the risers, gave Rachel a lovely gift -- a homemade "tooth fairy" stuffed rabbit with a little pocket in front for Rachel's teeth when they start falling out. Bev's granddaughter makes them and sells them on Etsy, and the rabbit is adorable -- Rachel insisted on cuddling with it tonight. I told her we have to write Bev a thank you note. One of many, many tasks facing us in the weeks ahead.
Anyway, one of the quartets that will compete in Boise sang a song mentioning "honey" a couple of times. Rachel grabbed my arm, pulled her body in close to mine and exclaimed, "YOU'RE my honey!" I hugged her tight and gave a silent thank you for getting such a wonderful kid.
Bev Erickson, a 70-something great-grandmother who stands behind me on the risers, gave Rachel a lovely gift -- a homemade "tooth fairy" stuffed rabbit with a little pocket in front for Rachel's teeth when they start falling out. Bev's granddaughter makes them and sells them on Etsy, and the rabbit is adorable -- Rachel insisted on cuddling with it tonight. I told her we have to write Bev a thank you note. One of many, many tasks facing us in the weeks ahead.
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Dinner Party!
I invited my fabulous boss Peter, the soon-to-be-leaving dean of the law school, his wife Felicity and their 15-year-old son, Ted, over for dinner tonight, kind of a thank-you and farewell even though he isn't leaving until the end of May. He and Felicity admired the house and the location (they live in a large, beautiful home in the Barrington section of West Linn) and they loved the dinner (roast chicken, roasted potatoes, a Northwest-themed salad and chocolate silk pie with whipped cream, an easy dinner but very do-able in spite of everything I'm going through these days). They even asked for seconds, and I got to send them home with two slices of pie.
Poor Ted -- he sat very patiently while we all talked shop (law schools, Willamette, etc.; it really wasn't very different from all the newspaper folks we invited over and talked shop with over the years) as did Rachel. She was a charming guest and Felicity in particular kept saying how adorable she was and what a great job we're doing with her. Rachel looked particularly cute because Drew had taken her to get her hair cut and the stylist put her hair in two little French braids. Man, I wish I could do her hair in the morning but I just don't have the talent.
"Your mom works right next to me at the law school," Peter told Rachel. "I do whatever she tells me to do."
"You do NOT!" Rachel answered. "You're the BOSS!"
Anyway, it was a very successful evening; they left at 9:45 after Rachel gave two rounds of hugs and kisses to everyone. It made me wish Peter was staying here but that he wasn't my boss, because he and Felicity are people I'd like to keep as friends.
Poor Ted -- he sat very patiently while we all talked shop (law schools, Willamette, etc.; it really wasn't very different from all the newspaper folks we invited over and talked shop with over the years) as did Rachel. She was a charming guest and Felicity in particular kept saying how adorable she was and what a great job we're doing with her. Rachel looked particularly cute because Drew had taken her to get her hair cut and the stylist put her hair in two little French braids. Man, I wish I could do her hair in the morning but I just don't have the talent.
"Your mom works right next to me at the law school," Peter told Rachel. "I do whatever she tells me to do."
"You do NOT!" Rachel answered. "You're the BOSS!"
Anyway, it was a very successful evening; they left at 9:45 after Rachel gave two rounds of hugs and kisses to everyone. It made me wish Peter was staying here but that he wasn't my boss, because he and Felicity are people I'd like to keep as friends.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Rachel's first story!
Despite all our efforts to the contrary, Rachel is definitely developing a knack for storytelling. Here's a tale she told us this morning, which is in itself a version of what she told me last night coming home from a pizza dinner (Drew was in Seattle and so she and I went to Sizzle Pie near Powell's. I don't like the pizza there but Rachel LOVES it):
"Once upon a time there was a bullfrog. He loved the ocean but he never went in it. He always hopped around on land. one time he noticed something. It was a ring. And when he looked in the ring he saw little golden stuff. He wondered, "What's that little golden stuff?" Then he ripped open the ring and it turned out it was gold.
"Now, it was only the COLOR gold but you couldn't hold it because it was made of sugar and it had chocolate chips on it and he threw it into the forest near the pond where he lived in.
"Then a group came by. The group was called the Princess Celestia group. And the people in the group were Cori, Tessa, Rachel, Amanda, Sadie, Devin, Giada and Sunny and Lila Anne. And then they saw the sugar. And then they brang it back to school and ate it all up.
"The End."
"Once upon a time there was a bullfrog. He loved the ocean but he never went in it. He always hopped around on land. one time he noticed something. It was a ring. And when he looked in the ring he saw little golden stuff. He wondered, "What's that little golden stuff?" Then he ripped open the ring and it turned out it was gold.
"Now, it was only the COLOR gold but you couldn't hold it because it was made of sugar and it had chocolate chips on it and he threw it into the forest near the pond where he lived in.
"Then a group came by. The group was called the Princess Celestia group. And the people in the group were Cori, Tessa, Rachel, Amanda, Sadie, Devin, Giada and Sunny and Lila Anne. And then they saw the sugar. And then they brang it back to school and ate it all up.
"The End."
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Feeling better...
well, at least Rachel is. The diarrhea seems to have abated. She had it once today at school but we didn't get any calls to pick her up so...I think it's past us. She asked for some Pedialyte tonight (it tastes like a sickly sweet version of apple juice) and we gave it to her anyway.
Rachel was her usual cheerful self tonight. I was downstairs working when she snuck up on me to pretend she was a fly on my back, and then I grabbed her and she sat down by the space heater.
"Be careful about putting papers in front of the heater," she said. "It won't burn but it will digest the house temperature and make it really really hot hot hot!!
***
"I'm queen of the mommies!" she said as she was hugging me goodnight.
"What makes you queen of the mommies?" I teased.
"Because I love all the mommies!" she answered.
We love you too, sweetie.
Rachel was her usual cheerful self tonight. I was downstairs working when she snuck up on me to pretend she was a fly on my back, and then I grabbed her and she sat down by the space heater.
"Be careful about putting papers in front of the heater," she said. "It won't burn but it will digest the house temperature and make it really really hot hot hot!!
***
"I'm queen of the mommies!" she said as she was hugging me goodnight.
"What makes you queen of the mommies?" I teased.
"Because I love all the mommies!" she answered.
We love you too, sweetie.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Bad day
Rachel woke me up at 6:50 a.m. with a knock on the door. "Mommy, I have diarrhea and it is NOT FUN!" she wailed, and it was true -- she had soiled a pair of underwear, dripped on the bathroom floor and finally made it to the toilet just in time. She went again before school, and despite my misgivings I sent her to St. James with two extra pairs of underwear just in case. Drew is in Seattle and I had to proof the magazine, or I would have followed my first instinct and kept her home. Yes: Bad Mommy.
Did I mention that my phone hadn't charged so no one could reach me?
Naturally as soon as I got to Salem, St. James informed me that I had to head BACK to PDX to pick up Rachel. Then I proceeded to drive to not one, not two, but THREE pharmacies to find children's Pepto Bismol -- anything to stop the diarrhea. We stopped at Verizon to fix my phone (I thought it was broken, turns out it wasn't fully charged), then the grocery store to get applesauce, and then finally home for lunch at 2. Rachel ate a jelly sandwich, applesauce and graham crackers, plus some Pedialyte, -- and then we both collapsed into bed for naps that ended up lasting until 6. I let Rachel watch 90 minutes of "My Little Pony" while I read the paper; I should have tried to work but I just wasn't up to it. We ate some baked chicken and shells for dinner, and Rachel ate three cups of applesauce and some graham crackers that I hope will bind her up enough so that Drew (who gets home tonight) won't have to take her to the doctor tomorrow. I can't; I need to proof the magazine and hand it in by noon. She had diarrhea three times after we got home from St. James, most recently just before she went to sleep.
Let us hope that tomorrow is a better day.
Did I mention that my phone hadn't charged so no one could reach me?
Naturally as soon as I got to Salem, St. James informed me that I had to head BACK to PDX to pick up Rachel. Then I proceeded to drive to not one, not two, but THREE pharmacies to find children's Pepto Bismol -- anything to stop the diarrhea. We stopped at Verizon to fix my phone (I thought it was broken, turns out it wasn't fully charged), then the grocery store to get applesauce, and then finally home for lunch at 2. Rachel ate a jelly sandwich, applesauce and graham crackers, plus some Pedialyte, -- and then we both collapsed into bed for naps that ended up lasting until 6. I let Rachel watch 90 minutes of "My Little Pony" while I read the paper; I should have tried to work but I just wasn't up to it. We ate some baked chicken and shells for dinner, and Rachel ate three cups of applesauce and some graham crackers that I hope will bind her up enough so that Drew (who gets home tonight) won't have to take her to the doctor tomorrow. I can't; I need to proof the magazine and hand it in by noon. She had diarrhea three times after we got home from St. James, most recently just before she went to sleep.
Let us hope that tomorrow is a better day.
Rachel the Personal Assistant
Tonight as I was getting dinner together fast (because Rachel kept complaining that her tummy hurt because she was hungry), I noticed her hanging out by the open refrigerator door.
"What are you doing, Rachel?" I asked.
"Getting the yogurts in order," she said. "Like putting the blackberry on top of the blackberry and the strawberry on top of the strawberry."
Think I'll hire her out to some pop songstress who insists on only being served yellow M&Ms in the greenroom...
***
Also tonight, Rachel said something most 4 1/2-year-olds don't. We went next door to our neighbors Doug and Bruce and chatted with them for a while, then biked to the playground, where she lasted about 10 minutes before she asked to go home because her hands were freezing and she was hungry.
I threw together a warmed-up dinner of brisket and a dinner roll for me and cheese quesadillas and carrots for Rachel. Poor thing, after a while she just decided her tummy hurt so much that she couldn't eat any more.
"I'm TIRED," she announced suddenly. "I want to read a short book, wash and brush really fast, and go to sleep."
And by 9 p.m. -- a record in the Lednicer/DeSilver household, she did.
"What are you doing, Rachel?" I asked.
"Getting the yogurts in order," she said. "Like putting the blackberry on top of the blackberry and the strawberry on top of the strawberry."
Think I'll hire her out to some pop songstress who insists on only being served yellow M&Ms in the greenroom...
***
Also tonight, Rachel said something most 4 1/2-year-olds don't. We went next door to our neighbors Doug and Bruce and chatted with them for a while, then biked to the playground, where she lasted about 10 minutes before she asked to go home because her hands were freezing and she was hungry.
I threw together a warmed-up dinner of brisket and a dinner roll for me and cheese quesadillas and carrots for Rachel. Poor thing, after a while she just decided her tummy hurt so much that she couldn't eat any more.
"I'm TIRED," she announced suddenly. "I want to read a short book, wash and brush really fast, and go to sleep."
And by 9 p.m. -- a record in the Lednicer/DeSilver household, she did.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Sleepover!
Yes, we apparently are at that stage. Rachel and her little friend Devin are going to have a SLEEPOVER at Devin's house on April 27 (this gives Mommy clearance to go to a previously scheduled ballet performance with Melissa. How fortuitous!). This is what Rachel had to say about the matter:
"So Mommy, this is how the sleepover's going to go. First we'll eat dinner at our house. Then we'll go to Devin's and play for a little while. Then we'll go upstairs to wash and brush, and then we'll go to sleep!"
I believe she has inherited her Aunt Ruth's talent for organizing her and other people's lives. For which I can only be grateful.
"So Mommy, this is how the sleepover's going to go. First we'll eat dinner at our house. Then we'll go to Devin's and play for a little while. Then we'll go upstairs to wash and brush, and then we'll go to sleep!"
I believe she has inherited her Aunt Ruth's talent for organizing her and other people's lives. For which I can only be grateful.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Welcome back!
Faithful readers of this blog, I am so sorry I've deserted you. March turned out to be a rather challenging month -- in a good way, but still -- and so I decided that one way to deal with all the stress was to give the blog a break while I sorted through some things in my life. (That sounds very New Age-y, didn't mean it to), so here is an attempt to catch up:
I just got back from two weeks out of town, first at a college magazine editors' conference in Minneapolis, where I had the opportunity to hear lovely things about me (one woman from Gonzaga University said, noticing my name tag, "Are you the brilliant editor who changed the law school magazine? I wish other law schools would follow your example!' No joke) and to catch up with Molly, one of my closest friends, the kind who you can lose touch with and then instantly pick up where you left off. Molly, in a stroke of genius, got us a lovely little rental basement room in Edina through Air B&B, and we had a great time hanging out (something I get to do precious little of these days), watching all the various house-themed shows on HGTV (and now I am an addict of said shows) and going back to St. Paul to see both of Drew's and my old apartments, have lunch at Cafe Latte and generally indulge in mindless nostalgia, as Drew would put it.
On Sunday I met Drew and Rachel at the airport in NYC and we spent Passover with Mom, Dad, Daniella, Valerie and Darryl (and guests Jim and Amy). The girls were giggly and cute, and it was hilarious how they interpreted the Seder -- asking, at various points, "What happened to Elijah? Was he killed in a BATTLE??" and Daniella responded with grace at being constantly interrupted. I can't remember speeding through a Seder so fast and yet still getting all the meaning about the ceremony in. It was a tour de force, as was her turkey wrapped around celery stuffing, which was mind-blowing, and the desserts...it's totally unfair to expect her to do this every year, but, sheesh, it's something I really look forward to.
On Tuesday we watched the girls run around the house (thanks for being so tolerant, Grandma!) and then we took them to a park so they could run around some more. I had a great time playing hide and seek and chase with them, pretending to be a monster (curiously, Rachel seemed more scared than Valerie). We agreed we really need to get the kids together more often; I know Rachel thinks of Valerie as a sister and talks sometimes about how when she grows up, she'll live NEXT DOOR to her cousin (Drew and I chortle at the idea of them being college roommates. Could happen!).
Then we drove to Washington DC where we spent time with Great-Uncle Dan and Great- Aunt Beryle, Anne and Uncle Airplane, Ruth and Steve. I also interviewed a Willamette alum who works for the FTC, and he turned out to be a great subject, especially when, right after I'd closed my notebook, he said mournfully, "You forgot to ask me what I miss about Oregon!" (the best parts of interviews usually come at the end when I think I've finished). On Saturday night we had a fabulous dinner with Anne, David, Steve, Ruth and us, with Rachel charming everyone (including the waiter, who she said "I love you!" to, as she has done with EVERYONE on this trip), and he immediately grabbed a menu and fashioned it into an origami bird, which enchanted everyone.
We got back last night around 6:30, did a bunch of laundry, put Rachel to bed and then it was back to work and school this morning. Thank you so much to our families who made us feel so welcome, and we hope to see you again soon!
I just got back from two weeks out of town, first at a college magazine editors' conference in Minneapolis, where I had the opportunity to hear lovely things about me (one woman from Gonzaga University said, noticing my name tag, "Are you the brilliant editor who changed the law school magazine? I wish other law schools would follow your example!' No joke) and to catch up with Molly, one of my closest friends, the kind who you can lose touch with and then instantly pick up where you left off. Molly, in a stroke of genius, got us a lovely little rental basement room in Edina through Air B&B, and we had a great time hanging out (something I get to do precious little of these days), watching all the various house-themed shows on HGTV (and now I am an addict of said shows) and going back to St. Paul to see both of Drew's and my old apartments, have lunch at Cafe Latte and generally indulge in mindless nostalgia, as Drew would put it.
On Sunday I met Drew and Rachel at the airport in NYC and we spent Passover with Mom, Dad, Daniella, Valerie and Darryl (and guests Jim and Amy). The girls were giggly and cute, and it was hilarious how they interpreted the Seder -- asking, at various points, "What happened to Elijah? Was he killed in a BATTLE??" and Daniella responded with grace at being constantly interrupted. I can't remember speeding through a Seder so fast and yet still getting all the meaning about the ceremony in. It was a tour de force, as was her turkey wrapped around celery stuffing, which was mind-blowing, and the desserts...it's totally unfair to expect her to do this every year, but, sheesh, it's something I really look forward to.
On Tuesday we watched the girls run around the house (thanks for being so tolerant, Grandma!) and then we took them to a park so they could run around some more. I had a great time playing hide and seek and chase with them, pretending to be a monster (curiously, Rachel seemed more scared than Valerie). We agreed we really need to get the kids together more often; I know Rachel thinks of Valerie as a sister and talks sometimes about how when she grows up, she'll live NEXT DOOR to her cousin (Drew and I chortle at the idea of them being college roommates. Could happen!).
Then we drove to Washington DC where we spent time with Great-Uncle Dan and Great- Aunt Beryle, Anne and Uncle Airplane, Ruth and Steve. I also interviewed a Willamette alum who works for the FTC, and he turned out to be a great subject, especially when, right after I'd closed my notebook, he said mournfully, "You forgot to ask me what I miss about Oregon!" (the best parts of interviews usually come at the end when I think I've finished). On Saturday night we had a fabulous dinner with Anne, David, Steve, Ruth and us, with Rachel charming everyone (including the waiter, who she said "I love you!" to, as she has done with EVERYONE on this trip), and he immediately grabbed a menu and fashioned it into an origami bird, which enchanted everyone.
We got back last night around 6:30, did a bunch of laundry, put Rachel to bed and then it was back to work and school this morning. Thank you so much to our families who made us feel so welcome, and we hope to see you again soon!
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