Somewhat chaotic weekend

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.