Lovely Saturday

Ah, the weather here has been lovelier than usual: Warm but not too hot, sunny and pleasant. I try to keep us outside as much as possible. Today we ran out to get me a new hairbrush (my old one broke) and then went to ballet class. After ballet we met a friend of ours, Angela, at a pizza place downtown and then strolled to the Saturday farmer's market at Portland State University, where I treated Rachel and I to Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwiches ($5 each, pricey but oh so worth it), while Angela got some lunch before her shift as a box office worker at a theater downtown. On the way we listened to a marimba player, and at the market Rachel made friends with some little girls sitting nearby. She looked so adorable with her face completely smudged with chocolate from the ice cream, I'm sure she was hard to resist!

Then we met Rachel's preschool friend Devin and Devin's mom, Linda, at a way cool fountain at Jamison Square in the Pearl District. (On hot weekday nights we've gone there after ordering Hot Lips pizza, and then finishing up with fantastic Cool Moon ice cream -- their chocolate sorbet is to DIE for). I brought a blanket, Linda bought an extra swimsuit for Rachel (a bikini -- now Rachel has decided SHE wants a bikini of her own) and we sat down while the girls played in the fountain. We were joined at one point by Giada, another preschool friend, and Giada's mom, Sharon. Luckily the girls stayed wet most of the time while the moms got to talk.

After around 2 1/2 hours, it was time to leave. Devin said some mean things to Rachel that I couldn't quite catch, but she started to cry and Devin wouldn't say she was sorry, she just kept her mean-looking face on and I wanted to scold her...but it wasn't my place. Rachel is always complaining that Devin "breaks up with me, and then she's my friend, and then she breaks up with me again." I hate that she's in thrall to this kid but there's not much I can do about it except tell Rachel to ignore her or find other friends.

Then Rachel and I went to dinner at a local brewpub that I am sick unto death of, but she likes because there's a play area. We rented "Barbie and the Pegasus" and I told her she could watch only a little of it because it was late and she could watch the rest of it tomorrow with Danielle. Danielle is a preschool teacher I am paying to watch Rachel while I attend commencement at the law school. Why do they always schedule it on Mother's Day?? Who knows. When I brought this ridiculousness up to Rachel she replied that if SHE were the director of graduation, she'd hold it on Mother's Day, Father's Day AND Teacher Appreciation Day. Which means I get no relief from my own family! Oh, well.

***

"Mommy," Rachel said at dinner tonight, "in the Cinderella play we went to, the carriage was magnificent! It had sparkles and it was gold. And best of all, it had little pillows so Cinderella could lay down and rest."

***

At dinner there was a basketball game on the overhead TV and Rachel stared at it quite fixedly for a while.

"Mommy, if you look at this game closely, it's really interesting," she said.
"I love basketball!" she said.
"If you like basketball so much, maybe we should sign you up for it," I answered."But I thought you liked T-ball!"
"Yes, but that's not my favorite," she said. "My favorite is basketball, gymnastics and soccer. I'm really good at soccer!"

Note taken.

***

"Mommy, have I told you this today?" Rachel said after she got up from dinner, wrapped her arms around me and gave me a hug. "I love you more than anything in the whole wide world."

Me too, sweetie.