Friday was very productive for me -- I got a lot of work done on two stories; found out an interview I had been persistent about getting would come through on Saturday; and I still managed to pick Rachel up before extended day ended. Of course, I ended up watching her and Sidney on the playground because she couldn't think of anything special she wanted to do with me even though Friday is supposed to be her Special Day With Mommy. (I had suggested a bike ride, or a return to Garden Springs, or the Long Branch Nature Center, all of which she vetoed.) When I suggested later Friday night that it didn't seem to make sense for me to pick her up early if I'd just end up watching her play on the playground with her friends, she said, "PLEASE, Mommy. PLEASE keeping picking me up early!" I guess it means a lot to her.
We had a nice dinner of lamb and pilaf, and then I headed to bed (a bit later than I wanted to) because my interview on Saturday was at 9 a.m. in a D.C. hotel restaurant and I planned to take Metro in. I made it to the hotel with 15 minutes to spare. The interview went well, lasted 45 minutes longer than planned, which was good, and then I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon running errands all using public transportation -- bought Father's Day gifts, some face cream, some socks and running stuff, and did another interview by phone at 1 p.m. -- and arrived back just in time to watch Rachel finish up a free ballet class at a local dance school (alas, she is STILL not interested in taking ballet. Mom, where have I failed? How do I reverse her decision?).
Meanwhile, Drew had taken Rachel shopping for some summer clothes. Then I took her back home while he ran some errands that he had to do -- and then, at 5, we dropped Rachel off at Kira's house for the evening while we went to a great restaurant in the District to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary. We saw a bridal couple coming out of a church; I rolled down the window of our taxi and yelled, "Congratulations! We're celebrating our 18th tonight!" and the couple let out a cheer and our driver smiled and said, "Happy anniversary" when we went into the restaurant. It was a fabulous meal; they gave us a free after-dinner sweet and champagne; we picked Rachel up from Kira's house and then I fell asleep at 10 p.m. Yes, I am a lightweight when it comes to alcohol.
Today we slept in, had a hearty breakfast and then took Rachel to a performance of her chorus at "Israel Fest" in Shirlington, a neighborhood in Arlington. I was pleased to note that she is very animated when she sings, and I got a cute photo of her in her new turquoise shorts, in the front row. Then we raced over to Rockville to visit Uncle Dan, who is being released from the hospital today. He thanked us warmly for stopping by, and then I had to go in to work.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Why I work at night
...so I can chaperone not one, but TWO field trips. Last week the kids in Rachel's class went to Garden Springs, a park in Fairfax County about a 20-minute drive from our house, and the next day to Mount Vernon. I volunteered to accompany the kids on both trips, and that made Rachel VERY happy, according to Drew. "Can I be in my Mom's group?" Rachel asked Mrs. McAdam, who answered, "Of course!" Rachel had been looking forward to Mount Vernon for weeks: "We can hold hands," she said, and tour the house.
The Garden Springs trip was lovely -- I had never been to this particular park, and although the bugs were out, they didn't bother us much. We listened to a talk about pollination and bees, and then the kids got to touch a disused wasp's nest and other animal samples -- all inside. Then they went outside and listened to one of the park employees talk about trees, and how you can tell how old they are (Rachel already knew that), and we all took a little walk through the woods and then ate lunch outside. Rachel insisted we play a game of pots and og with her friends watching, and I explained the game to them. Pretty soon it was time for me to leave, go home, shower off and head in to work.
The next day was Mount Vernon -- not as much fun because the Mount Vernon folks didn't seem interested in making the home interesting to kids; their attitude was that the kids shouldn't talk or touch anything, etc. Plus it was extremely hot and humid and one of the kids in my group, Tasia, the one who always hugs me and calls me Mommy for reasons I don't understand, was quite difficult. Every once in a while she'd randomly scream, and kept running away, and digging in the dirt and trying to remove the surveyors' flags from the neatly maintained tree surrounds and flower beds ("Tasia, this isn't a playground," I had to scold her). Rachel's tummy hurt. Her friend Kira, who was also in our group, was a little easier to handle than Tasia. But it was hard keeping them all together, and we had to stand on a long line in the hot sun to go into the house. (Plus I was exhausted from staying up late to finish a freelance story I'd been working on.)
At least we got to eat lunch together at the beginning, and I managed to get home in just enough time to finish up my story and shower off all the sweat from the trip before heading in to work. And Drew said Rachel loved having me there, so it was all good.
The Garden Springs trip was lovely -- I had never been to this particular park, and although the bugs were out, they didn't bother us much. We listened to a talk about pollination and bees, and then the kids got to touch a disused wasp's nest and other animal samples -- all inside. Then they went outside and listened to one of the park employees talk about trees, and how you can tell how old they are (Rachel already knew that), and we all took a little walk through the woods and then ate lunch outside. Rachel insisted we play a game of pots and og with her friends watching, and I explained the game to them. Pretty soon it was time for me to leave, go home, shower off and head in to work.
The next day was Mount Vernon -- not as much fun because the Mount Vernon folks didn't seem interested in making the home interesting to kids; their attitude was that the kids shouldn't talk or touch anything, etc. Plus it was extremely hot and humid and one of the kids in my group, Tasia, the one who always hugs me and calls me Mommy for reasons I don't understand, was quite difficult. Every once in a while she'd randomly scream, and kept running away, and digging in the dirt and trying to remove the surveyors' flags from the neatly maintained tree surrounds and flower beds ("Tasia, this isn't a playground," I had to scold her). Rachel's tummy hurt. Her friend Kira, who was also in our group, was a little easier to handle than Tasia. But it was hard keeping them all together, and we had to stand on a long line in the hot sun to go into the house. (Plus I was exhausted from staying up late to finish a freelance story I'd been working on.)
At least we got to eat lunch together at the beginning, and I managed to get home in just enough time to finish up my story and shower off all the sweat from the trip before heading in to work. And Drew said Rachel loved having me there, so it was all good.
18 years
...that is how long Drew and I have been married, as of May 25th. On that morning, Rachel made me come downstairs -- and I found a lovely bouquet of red roses and white carnations awaiting me, plus a card from Drew. We wished each other a happy anniversary, and then at some point that day we got into a discussion about why Drew proposed.
"He married you because you were a good cook," Rachel said matter-of-factly. "And he had a big appetite back then."
"He married you because you were a good cook," Rachel said matter-of-factly. "And he had a big appetite back then."
Happy Memorial Day!
Well, we had a lovely Memorial Day weekend. Let's see how much I can remember:
--Last Saturday, we decided it was going to be a get-the-garden-in-shape day. I was dreading the task, thinking that it would take me multiple weekends of backbreaking work to get everything going again. WRONG! The first lovely surprise was realizing that most of our herbs survived the winter; I just had to clear out the beds, buy new pots of dill, rosemary, cilantro and some other herbs and re-plant them. Not a huge task at all. Second nice surprise: OUR STRAWBERRY PLANTS ARE GIVING FRUIT! They didn't do anything last year, so I assumed they were goners, but lo and behold, I picked a bunch of 'em. They're in weird shapes but, man, they're delicious -- even better than farmers market strawberries (but alas not quite as good as Oregon strawberries). Drew mowed the lawn while I worked, and within four hours, all was done. Rachel did a great job weeding, and lasted longer than I thought she would.
--On Saturday afternoon, she and Ivy had a playdate at Ivy's house, and then Rachel asked if Ivy could sleep over. I was wary -- the last time this happened, Ivy woke us up early with her VERY LOUD VOICE, but we really owed Jenny, her mom, so I said sure. We ended up taking her to a new restaurant in Westover Town Center called the Italian Store that we were very excited about -- it's a place with awesome pizza and sandwiches and gelato and a terrific Italian market -- snagged a seat outside, and Drew brought us pizza. Their gelato selection wasn't that great so we went next door to Toby's for ice cream and, of course, ran into a bunch of kids from McKinley, including Noah in Rachel's class. I went up to his dad and said I really liked Noah, he seemed to be a very thoughtful and smart kid, and his dad seemed really pleased I had said that. Another nice thing about the outing: As soon as she got in the car with us, Ivy said, "You're like my second family," and she said how much she liked us.
It helped that the weather was simply stunning, perfect for gardening -- exactly like Oregon in the summer. That's why we took advantage of the weather to work outside!
On Sunday, Ivy and Rachel were quiet in the morning so Drew and I got to sleep. Then he made chocolate-chip pancakes and I made peanut butter cookies drizzled with dark chocolate for a potluck, and we dropped Ivy off back at home -- I told Jenny we'd love to do this again -- and headed to our friend Jeff and Crystal's house for a potluck. Their sweet daughter, Julia, is 14 months old, and we had fun saying hello to her and talking to the other guests, some of whom were kids around Rachel's age, so she had a fine time (and ate way too many cookies, but I wasn't watching closely enough). Then I headed in to work.
--On Monday, Ivy invited us to a "popsicle party" at her house at 2. I was determined to do something family-oriented, so Rachel expressed interest in going on "a family bike ride." We went on a different trail this time, and she did a valiant job of keeping up -- her little legs pump so fast to try to stay ahead -- and she lasted about 45 minutes before she asked to turn around. We went straight to Ivy's and had raspberry and coconut-flavored popsicles and Jenny's homemade strawberry muffins. Then Rachel and Ivy came back to our house and watched a movie in the cool basement while Drew and I finished clearing out the weeds and plant beds at the front of the house (not as much fun to do as the back of the house, plus it was much hotter than the previous two days). Then I made a light summer dinner -- basil and cherry tomatoes with spaghetti and sourdough bread on the side -- and headed out to Baskin Robbin's for ice cream. Then it was back home, to bed, and back to work on Tuesday.
Really, it was an altogether perfect holiday weekend.
--Last Saturday, we decided it was going to be a get-the-garden-in-shape day. I was dreading the task, thinking that it would take me multiple weekends of backbreaking work to get everything going again. WRONG! The first lovely surprise was realizing that most of our herbs survived the winter; I just had to clear out the beds, buy new pots of dill, rosemary, cilantro and some other herbs and re-plant them. Not a huge task at all. Second nice surprise: OUR STRAWBERRY PLANTS ARE GIVING FRUIT! They didn't do anything last year, so I assumed they were goners, but lo and behold, I picked a bunch of 'em. They're in weird shapes but, man, they're delicious -- even better than farmers market strawberries (but alas not quite as good as Oregon strawberries). Drew mowed the lawn while I worked, and within four hours, all was done. Rachel did a great job weeding, and lasted longer than I thought she would.
--On Saturday afternoon, she and Ivy had a playdate at Ivy's house, and then Rachel asked if Ivy could sleep over. I was wary -- the last time this happened, Ivy woke us up early with her VERY LOUD VOICE, but we really owed Jenny, her mom, so I said sure. We ended up taking her to a new restaurant in Westover Town Center called the Italian Store that we were very excited about -- it's a place with awesome pizza and sandwiches and gelato and a terrific Italian market -- snagged a seat outside, and Drew brought us pizza. Their gelato selection wasn't that great so we went next door to Toby's for ice cream and, of course, ran into a bunch of kids from McKinley, including Noah in Rachel's class. I went up to his dad and said I really liked Noah, he seemed to be a very thoughtful and smart kid, and his dad seemed really pleased I had said that. Another nice thing about the outing: As soon as she got in the car with us, Ivy said, "You're like my second family," and she said how much she liked us.
It helped that the weather was simply stunning, perfect for gardening -- exactly like Oregon in the summer. That's why we took advantage of the weather to work outside!
On Sunday, Ivy and Rachel were quiet in the morning so Drew and I got to sleep. Then he made chocolate-chip pancakes and I made peanut butter cookies drizzled with dark chocolate for a potluck, and we dropped Ivy off back at home -- I told Jenny we'd love to do this again -- and headed to our friend Jeff and Crystal's house for a potluck. Their sweet daughter, Julia, is 14 months old, and we had fun saying hello to her and talking to the other guests, some of whom were kids around Rachel's age, so she had a fine time (and ate way too many cookies, but I wasn't watching closely enough). Then I headed in to work.
--On Monday, Ivy invited us to a "popsicle party" at her house at 2. I was determined to do something family-oriented, so Rachel expressed interest in going on "a family bike ride." We went on a different trail this time, and she did a valiant job of keeping up -- her little legs pump so fast to try to stay ahead -- and she lasted about 45 minutes before she asked to turn around. We went straight to Ivy's and had raspberry and coconut-flavored popsicles and Jenny's homemade strawberry muffins. Then Rachel and Ivy came back to our house and watched a movie in the cool basement while Drew and I finished clearing out the weeds and plant beds at the front of the house (not as much fun to do as the back of the house, plus it was much hotter than the previous two days). Then I made a light summer dinner -- basil and cherry tomatoes with spaghetti and sourdough bread on the side -- and headed out to Baskin Robbin's for ice cream. Then it was back home, to bed, and back to work on Tuesday.
Really, it was an altogether perfect holiday weekend.
Bridging to Brownies
A few weeks ago, Rachel and Drew went to a "Bridging Ceremony" to mark the transition to Brownies from Daisy Scouts for Rachel. It involved crossing over a "bridge" in the McKinley multipurpose room. The troop leaders gave a little talk about what the girls had accomplished; Drew gave a talk about how well they did selling cookies; some Brownies talked about the stuff the Daisies would have to look forward to -- and then the Daisies walked across the bridge when their names were called. They shook the hands of the Brownies and then each of the parents had a Brownie sash, and the girls got their sashes.
Later that night, Rachel got into an argument with Sidney about who wold get to take home a purple balloon from the festivities. Drew said sternly that if they fought over it, no one would get to take it. Sidney eventually went home with it.
As Rachel was pouting about it, and saying that Sidney gets everything, Drew said, "It's a balloon. You can take any other color you want." And then he gave her a little talk about what's important in life and what's not important.
As they walked out to the car, Rachel exclaimed, "Daddy! You have so much wisdom! How can you STAND it?"
Later that night, Rachel got into an argument with Sidney about who wold get to take home a purple balloon from the festivities. Drew said sternly that if they fought over it, no one would get to take it. Sidney eventually went home with it.
As Rachel was pouting about it, and saying that Sidney gets everything, Drew said, "It's a balloon. You can take any other color you want." And then he gave her a little talk about what's important in life and what's not important.
As they walked out to the car, Rachel exclaimed, "Daddy! You have so much wisdom! How can you STAND it?"
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Saturday, May 9, 2015
"Happy day before Mother's Day!"
...is what Rachel greeted me with this morning. How can you not want to hug and kiss someone who says that to you right after you wake up?
I went downstairs, emptied the dish drainer from Drew's utterly fantastic duck and wild rice Shabbat meal, then set out breakfast. I ate a quick one with Rachel and Drew after they came down, with Rachel insisting on reading a front-page Post story today about people who pilfer things from the White House, and then I went into the kitchen to make cookies for tonight's neighborhood potluck/block party, which I realized quite late that I hadn't made plans to bring anything for.
I just barely finished before racing into the shower, getting dressed and then driving out to Laurel, Maryland, which took me waaay longer than I thought it would, to meet two former and one current multi platform editors for The Post. We ordered lunch and oh, I wanted to drink so badly but I held off because I knew I had to drive back. Anyway, we had a great time laughing and catching up (I had to wipe tears from my eyes a couple of times, I was laughing so hard) and then I raced back to get to the potluck/block party at 6:30 (it supposedly ended at 7 but lasted until 7:30). My cookies were all eaten up; Rachel was racing around with friends and going in and out of the bouncy house; Drew was talking to a Medill grad who had just moved here from New Zealand; and a brass quintet was playing. I laid out our picnic blanket, got a burger, hot dog, some side dishes and dessert, and had a lovely meal on a day when the weather could not have been more perfect. Spring here, I told someone from Oregon this week who was in town for a book reading, is equivalent to summer in Oregon.
Drew and I had volunteered to clean up, so we helped break down tables, throw away garbage, recycle bottles, etc. Then he and Rachel walked back (actually, Rachel rode her bike with her cook new helmet; Drew got that for her today and tuned up our bikes at the bike shop so now we can all take family bike rides together, yay!) while I drove home with a big back of garbage from the potluck we had agreed to put in our trash bin, as well as some leftovers I plan to bring to work tomorrow to share. All in all, it was a great day!
I went downstairs, emptied the dish drainer from Drew's utterly fantastic duck and wild rice Shabbat meal, then set out breakfast. I ate a quick one with Rachel and Drew after they came down, with Rachel insisting on reading a front-page Post story today about people who pilfer things from the White House, and then I went into the kitchen to make cookies for tonight's neighborhood potluck/block party, which I realized quite late that I hadn't made plans to bring anything for.
I just barely finished before racing into the shower, getting dressed and then driving out to Laurel, Maryland, which took me waaay longer than I thought it would, to meet two former and one current multi platform editors for The Post. We ordered lunch and oh, I wanted to drink so badly but I held off because I knew I had to drive back. Anyway, we had a great time laughing and catching up (I had to wipe tears from my eyes a couple of times, I was laughing so hard) and then I raced back to get to the potluck/block party at 6:30 (it supposedly ended at 7 but lasted until 7:30). My cookies were all eaten up; Rachel was racing around with friends and going in and out of the bouncy house; Drew was talking to a Medill grad who had just moved here from New Zealand; and a brass quintet was playing. I laid out our picnic blanket, got a burger, hot dog, some side dishes and dessert, and had a lovely meal on a day when the weather could not have been more perfect. Spring here, I told someone from Oregon this week who was in town for a book reading, is equivalent to summer in Oregon.
Drew and I had volunteered to clean up, so we helped break down tables, throw away garbage, recycle bottles, etc. Then he and Rachel walked back (actually, Rachel rode her bike with her cook new helmet; Drew got that for her today and tuned up our bikes at the bike shop so now we can all take family bike rides together, yay!) while I drove home with a big back of garbage from the potluck we had agreed to put in our trash bin, as well as some leftovers I plan to bring to work tomorrow to share. All in all, it was a great day!
Our sensitive kid
I had Wednesday and Thursday off this week, and one of those nights Rachel came downstairs (at around 10:30) and said she'd had a nightmare and couldn't sleep. "What was the nightmare about?" I told her as I carried her up the stairs. "It was so bad, I don't want to tell you," she replied. "It was about blood."
When I put her into bed, she said, "Mama, can you sing to me?" "Sure," I said, and then I proceeded to sing "Michael Row the Boat Ashore," "Sabbath Prayer," and "Sunrise, Sunset."
By the end of "Sunrise, Sunset," she was sobbing. "What's the matter, sweetie?" I asked. She wouldn't say, and then finally she blurted out, "I'm afraid that if I leave to go away to college, you'll move somewhere else, and you'll like it so much there that you'll never come back, and I'll be ALL ALONE!"
"Sweetie," I said. "You may find that when it's time for college, you won't WANT to live close to Mommy and Daddy. You'll want to live far away."
She sobbed even harder.
"Sweetie, there are lots of good colleges around here," I said. "You can go to the University of Virginia -- that's only three hours away and we can visit you every weekend! And there's the University of Maryland, and other places."
"I want to go to the college nearest to where you and Daddy are," she said. I told her that would be fine, if that's what she wanted to do.
Clearly, I need to stop emphasizing that someday, she'll want to be as far away from us as possible. And I REALLY need to stop singing songs from "Fiddler on the Roof."
When I put her into bed, she said, "Mama, can you sing to me?" "Sure," I said, and then I proceeded to sing "Michael Row the Boat Ashore," "Sabbath Prayer," and "Sunrise, Sunset."
By the end of "Sunrise, Sunset," she was sobbing. "What's the matter, sweetie?" I asked. She wouldn't say, and then finally she blurted out, "I'm afraid that if I leave to go away to college, you'll move somewhere else, and you'll like it so much there that you'll never come back, and I'll be ALL ALONE!"
"Sweetie," I said. "You may find that when it's time for college, you won't WANT to live close to Mommy and Daddy. You'll want to live far away."
She sobbed even harder.
"Sweetie, there are lots of good colleges around here," I said. "You can go to the University of Virginia -- that's only three hours away and we can visit you every weekend! And there's the University of Maryland, and other places."
"I want to go to the college nearest to where you and Daddy are," she said. I told her that would be fine, if that's what she wanted to do.
Clearly, I need to stop emphasizing that someday, she'll want to be as far away from us as possible. And I REALLY need to stop singing songs from "Fiddler on the Roof."
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Small World
Who says all kids today are buried in their IPads, Wiis, video games, etc.? Rachel, Simone and Kira have created a universe called "Small World." They have made mini reproductions of themselves (heads, bodies, etc.) and put them on mini paper airplanes and buses that they made themselves, and then they have them explore all over the country on a mini map of the United States that Rachel had Drew create for them.
It's adorable and imaginative beyond words. Still shaking my head over this one.
It's adorable and imaginative beyond words. Still shaking my head over this one.
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Rachel the Swimming Superstar
While I was at work tonight, Drew took Rachel to her swim lesson. He had this to report:
On the way to her lesson, Rachel said, "Dada. You know what I want to do?"
Drew said, "What?"
"I want to try jumping into the pool without Taylor catching me and then just starting to swim."
Drew was kind of surprised and said, "Uh, okay, I think you should talk to Taylor about that to see if you're ready and if there's anything you need to do, but, okay, go ahead."
So after they got there, Rachel went over to the pool and told Taylor, her teacher, what she wanted to do. Taylor was a little surprised but said, "Okay, if you want to."
They did a couple of warmup exercises, and then Rachel stood at the edge of the pool, and girded herself, and jumped forward, hit the water and immediately started paddling. She did it a couple of times, telling Taylor, "Back up! I don't want to hit your head!"
Afterward, when Drew was toweling her off, he told her how impressed he was. And she said, "I was a little scared at first, but I told myself, 'C'mon, Rachel, you can do it!' And then I just jumped. And it was SO fun!'"
I, too, am mighty impressed. It says so much about her character that she convinced herself to try something new, and then plunged in and did it. It bodes well for the approach to life that I've always wanted a child of mine to have.
On the way to her lesson, Rachel said, "Dada. You know what I want to do?"
Drew said, "What?"
"I want to try jumping into the pool without Taylor catching me and then just starting to swim."
Drew was kind of surprised and said, "Uh, okay, I think you should talk to Taylor about that to see if you're ready and if there's anything you need to do, but, okay, go ahead."
So after they got there, Rachel went over to the pool and told Taylor, her teacher, what she wanted to do. Taylor was a little surprised but said, "Okay, if you want to."
They did a couple of warmup exercises, and then Rachel stood at the edge of the pool, and girded herself, and jumped forward, hit the water and immediately started paddling. She did it a couple of times, telling Taylor, "Back up! I don't want to hit your head!"
Afterward, when Drew was toweling her off, he told her how impressed he was. And she said, "I was a little scared at first, but I told myself, 'C'mon, Rachel, you can do it!' And then I just jumped. And it was SO fun!'"
I, too, am mighty impressed. It says so much about her character that she convinced herself to try something new, and then plunged in and did it. It bodes well for the approach to life that I've always wanted a child of mine to have.
Guess we don't have to worry about Rachel taking care of us in our old age
Today at Hebrew school, Rachel's chorus had an end-of-the-school-year party (there are only two weeks left of school until they start back up again around Rosh Hashanah). Drew, who took her to school, said he was waiting in the synagogue lobby to walk her to class when she came to him with a plate of pizza, a Chips Ahoy cookie, and a cup of water.
"Here, Daddy!" she said. "I brought you a meal!"
Drew was touched and said, "Thank you sweetie! Thank you very much!"
It was totally unprompted, and all the more touching.
And then she went skipping off.
"Here, Daddy!" she said. "I brought you a meal!"
Drew was touched and said, "Thank you sweetie! Thank you very much!"
It was totally unprompted, and all the more touching.
And then she went skipping off.
Very busy weekend
So, on Saturday, we had a jam-packed day. Rachel and I had dentists' appointments at 9:30, which necessitated all of us getting up earlier than we wanted, racing to the dentist to get there by the appointed time -- ONLY TO BE KEPT WAITING FOR AN HOUR WITH NO APOLOGY OR EXPLANATION. I was about to walk out, but then that would entail finding a new dentist for both of us, which I don't really want to do right now. I asked the dentist, Dr. Wali, to be especially gentle with Rachel -- Rachel misses Dr. Mike, our old dentist in Gresham, Oregon, who was VERY gentle and excellent with patients of all ages -- and she did. But the fluoride paste she gave her was pineapple-flavored, and Rachel hated it so much that she yelped, so Dr. Wali gave her some pink fluoride rinse, but the pineapple flavor persisted. So much that on the short drive home, Rachel asked that I pull over, and she hopped out of the car and threw up. "I hate myself!" she sobbed. "This is ALL MY FAULT!" (She tends to get this way whenever she vomits, for some reason. And yes, she did ask for the paste instead of the rinse, but I told her that it was not her fault that it didn't agree with her.)
We got home, jumped into Drew's car and went to pick up Kira, a friend of Rachel's. Kira's parents are in Europe for a cruise celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary, and Kira's mom's mom, who is (according to Rachel) around 78, was staying with Kira and her sister, and Kira's mom had asked us to host Kira for a playdate to relieve her mom, and we said sure. Then I realized that Mount Vernon was having a Revolutionary War encampment all weekend, and since Kira is as nuts about Colonial history as Rachel is, we decided to take her along.
It was the most perfect spring day imaginable. We walked around the encampment, which consisted of tents with people weaving, cleaning rifles, selling foodstuffs, etc. A guy playing a Hessian soldier referred to Rachel as "fraulein" and kissed her hand (which she found creepy). There was a reenactment of a skirmish between the British and Continental armies, which was surprisingly well-narrated by, of all people, a Canadian, who explained that the reenactors camp out all weekend and pay about $2,500 for their outfits, equipment, etc. It really was amazing watching the skirmish, especially as the armies got closer in, fired guns at each other (blanks, not bullets, of course) and fell over in mock death. (Rachel got a kick out of the narrator saying at the end, "Now, they will begin to recover...unless they've had a heart attack. God forbid.")
We went to the visitors' center for lunch, and then later on Rachel and Kira watched a short film about George Washington. At the end of it, a woman in Colonial costume came up to us and said, "Excuse me, how old are the girls?" I explained that Rachel was our daughter and Kira was her friend, and they are both 6 1/2, and the woman told us how impressed she was that they knew so much history. "They were talking about the events the whole time," she said, and then Rachel piped up, "Lafayette was Washington's best friend!" The woman then said, "I don't know that many girls know as much history as they do." True, that.
Then we went back home. Drew dropped Rachel and me off at home so we could change quickly to go to a local production of the ballet "The Firebird" and three other works, two set to Mozart and Schubert and one a cool baseball-themed ballet set to '40s and '50s tunes. It was done by a local ballet company, Ballet Nova, and while the dancing wasn't that great (one "Firebird" ballerina fell, and Rachel gasped and asked, "Was that intentional?" "No, sweetie," I answered), I took her mainly for the cultural exposure. My great dream is for Rachel to be able to recognize great classical music numbers from various ballets, and to someday at least be able to guess what composer she's hearing on the radio or on her Iwhateverit'scalled based on her knowledge of various musical styles.
And then we came home. We fed Rachel a jelly sandwich for a very late dinner, then sent her off to bed while I watched the most recent two episodes of "Mad Men."
We got home, jumped into Drew's car and went to pick up Kira, a friend of Rachel's. Kira's parents are in Europe for a cruise celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary, and Kira's mom's mom, who is (according to Rachel) around 78, was staying with Kira and her sister, and Kira's mom had asked us to host Kira for a playdate to relieve her mom, and we said sure. Then I realized that Mount Vernon was having a Revolutionary War encampment all weekend, and since Kira is as nuts about Colonial history as Rachel is, we decided to take her along.
It was the most perfect spring day imaginable. We walked around the encampment, which consisted of tents with people weaving, cleaning rifles, selling foodstuffs, etc. A guy playing a Hessian soldier referred to Rachel as "fraulein" and kissed her hand (which she found creepy). There was a reenactment of a skirmish between the British and Continental armies, which was surprisingly well-narrated by, of all people, a Canadian, who explained that the reenactors camp out all weekend and pay about $2,500 for their outfits, equipment, etc. It really was amazing watching the skirmish, especially as the armies got closer in, fired guns at each other (blanks, not bullets, of course) and fell over in mock death. (Rachel got a kick out of the narrator saying at the end, "Now, they will begin to recover...unless they've had a heart attack. God forbid.")
We went to the visitors' center for lunch, and then later on Rachel and Kira watched a short film about George Washington. At the end of it, a woman in Colonial costume came up to us and said, "Excuse me, how old are the girls?" I explained that Rachel was our daughter and Kira was her friend, and they are both 6 1/2, and the woman told us how impressed she was that they knew so much history. "They were talking about the events the whole time," she said, and then Rachel piped up, "Lafayette was Washington's best friend!" The woman then said, "I don't know that many girls know as much history as they do." True, that.
Then we went back home. Drew dropped Rachel and me off at home so we could change quickly to go to a local production of the ballet "The Firebird" and three other works, two set to Mozart and Schubert and one a cool baseball-themed ballet set to '40s and '50s tunes. It was done by a local ballet company, Ballet Nova, and while the dancing wasn't that great (one "Firebird" ballerina fell, and Rachel gasped and asked, "Was that intentional?" "No, sweetie," I answered), I took her mainly for the cultural exposure. My great dream is for Rachel to be able to recognize great classical music numbers from various ballets, and to someday at least be able to guess what composer she's hearing on the radio or on her Iwhateverit'scalled based on her knowledge of various musical styles.
And then we came home. We fed Rachel a jelly sandwich for a very late dinner, then sent her off to bed while I watched the most recent two episodes of "Mad Men."
Friday, May 1, 2015
Shabbat shalom...and Shir Joy
Rachel's Hebrew-school chorus, Shir Joy, performed tonight. It was at a service thanking the religious school teachers for their work all year (last day of Hebrew school is May 17th, and then we're off for the summer and fall until Rosh Hashanah). Drew came in time for the 7 p.m. service, and I was worried that if we waited until after the service Rachel wouldn't eat until 9 -- and we have a jam-packed weekend planned -- so, I walked her home from school after she stopped in the school library (and unfortunately forgot to bring home the books she checked out, sigh) and made Italian lemon chicken and egg noodles while she played in the backyard and read in her room. We said the blessing over the candles, ate quickly and got to the synagogue just in time for her to practice at 6:30.
The service was really lovely. One of the songs that Shir Harmony, the choir of older kids, sang was tango-inflected (there was a clarinet!) and it was wonderful seeing Rachel in the front row of the younger kids' chorus. At the Oneg Shabbat afterward, I got to talking with the father of one of her close Hebrew-school friends (they had a playdate last weekend) and he is the editor of a health-policy journal whose narratives are sometimes excerpted in The Post -- I told him of one I had read that really resonated with me, about the importance of coordinated care for elderly patients -- and he seemed impressed that I remembered it. Turns out he also knows former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber and former Oregon Department of Human Services director Bruce Goldberg. Such a small world -- here we are, thousands of miles away from a state I left two years ago, and it turns out I talked to a guy who knows two people I covered as a reporter in the late 1990s/early 2000s. You just never know where life will take you.
The service was really lovely. One of the songs that Shir Harmony, the choir of older kids, sang was tango-inflected (there was a clarinet!) and it was wonderful seeing Rachel in the front row of the younger kids' chorus. At the Oneg Shabbat afterward, I got to talking with the father of one of her close Hebrew-school friends (they had a playdate last weekend) and he is the editor of a health-policy journal whose narratives are sometimes excerpted in The Post -- I told him of one I had read that really resonated with me, about the importance of coordinated care for elderly patients -- and he seemed impressed that I remembered it. Turns out he also knows former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber and former Oregon Department of Human Services director Bruce Goldberg. Such a small world -- here we are, thousands of miles away from a state I left two years ago, and it turns out I talked to a guy who knows two people I covered as a reporter in the late 1990s/early 2000s. You just never know where life will take you.
Math Day!
Went to "Math Day" at Rachel's school earlier this week -- it was sort of a celebration of all things math-related, and parents were invited to their kids' classrooms to watch them play math games. (This was unexpected; Rachel told me parents were invited the morning of the event, so I didn't have time to plan my workweek. Result: I didn't have much time to do any freelance work in the mornings, and I have three stories I need to work on. Next week must be better.)
Anyway...I got to class and saw that Rachel had a cool paper had she'd made with "2+2=4" on top. We played three games that involved rolling dice, and she beat me at two. Her friends Libby and Tasia, as usual, gave me big hugs when they saw me. "Can you play with me?" Libby asked plaintively at one game station, but Rachel would have none of it, so I had to tell her no. I think Rachel gets slightly jealous at the attention her friends pay me; she said on the way to school that she gets upset when they hug me because "they think that you're their MOM!"
When I got to leave, Rachel had a complete meltdown, complete with tears, hugs, begging me to take her home so she could be a "walker," and after I disengaged myself (I had a late shift that night that began at 4:30 p.m.) I raced home, changed and drove to work. Drew later had a talk with her saying that if she keeps this up -- crying and breaking down every time I have to leave school after volunteering -- "then Mommy will feel so bad that she won't volunteer anymore." He said she answered, "Okay," in a subdued voice, so hopefully it will stick.
Anyway...I got to class and saw that Rachel had a cool paper had she'd made with "2+2=4" on top. We played three games that involved rolling dice, and she beat me at two. Her friends Libby and Tasia, as usual, gave me big hugs when they saw me. "Can you play with me?" Libby asked plaintively at one game station, but Rachel would have none of it, so I had to tell her no. I think Rachel gets slightly jealous at the attention her friends pay me; she said on the way to school that she gets upset when they hug me because "they think that you're their MOM!"
When I got to leave, Rachel had a complete meltdown, complete with tears, hugs, begging me to take her home so she could be a "walker," and after I disengaged myself (I had a late shift that night that began at 4:30 p.m.) I raced home, changed and drove to work. Drew later had a talk with her saying that if she keeps this up -- crying and breaking down every time I have to leave school after volunteering -- "then Mommy will feel so bad that she won't volunteer anymore." He said she answered, "Okay," in a subdued voice, so hopefully it will stick.
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