Serving what some would call "the least of these"

Last night, Andy, Kevin and I helped the Salvation Army's "Grate Patrol" in Washington, DC, handing out food to the homeless. The SA van goes out every night and has regular stops. Our church is responsible for donating the food and manpower (besides the driver) the first Saturday of each month and this month, my small group took on the task. Kevin and I delivered food one other time but this was Andy's first time doing it.

Kevin loves this project and enjoys getting out of the van to hand people things directly, including going with an adult to people who can't make it over to the van either because they are sick or injured or don't want to leave their belongings behind for someone to steal. The people we serve get a kick out of having Kevin there. I was sure one woman wanted to tuck him in her bag to take with her.

Driving to the city last night, Kevin asked, "What if we see homeless kids?" He asked in a thoughtful but not emotionally sensitive way. I said that we wouldn't likely see homeless kids because most people who are homeless aren't children and that most children who are homeless live in shelters. I also said that I don't really know that much so I could be wrong.

And wrong I was, as we did encounter two boys with their father. The older boy was about Kevin's age (7) and the younger was maybe 5. They were near the front of the line at a large stop so we were busy handing out food and didn't get a chance to talk to them but we heard from the driver that the boys' mother was deported. Their father was taking care of them - they were born in the U.S. so are U.S. citizens - trying to make his way and get the woman to be able to come back to the U.S. From the little interaction we had with them, they seemed well-adjusted, which is a strange thing to say about kids on the street but that's the first thing that came to my mind. They were with their dad and doing what they knew. I'm sure they haven't always been homeless, but they, at the moment we saw them, were taking it all in stride.

Looking back, I wish I'd gone outside the van to talk to them (I was inside dishing soup most of the time but could've made time to walk over to them). Something else that struck me was how Kevin looked at them the same way he looks at any kid. He was kind of shy and didn't want to make a trip over to talk to them but I could tell he would've gone with me if I'd gone over. And that's how he'd be with any child - in school, at the store, on a sports team...

Last night was a great chance to encounter the people that we serve - to look in their eyes and see part of ourselves and to then turn our gazes inward and see part of them inside us. What makes us human is the same in all of us.

Fun With Short Hair

Every couple of years, I cut off my long hair to donate it. This surprises a lot of women with long hair as they can't imagine having short hair. Some even think short hair is boring and not versatile. I believe that a little creativity can go a long way and I've provided some examples below to help get your creative juices flowing.

Most days, my hair looks like this.

 

That style looks pretty good on me and it works well most of the time. But sometimes, I feel a need for change.

Without the weight of long hair, short hair can be given more volume rather easily. View Exhibit 1 - Voluminous Style.

 

The next example is for those days when you are oozing confidence and feeling a little playful. Exhibit 2 - Pigtail Style.

 

Don't we all have days when we're less than confident about that large blemish on our forehead? Bangs cover a multitude of sins! Check out Exhibit 3 - Bang Style.

 

I have moments - ok, days - when I feel like lashing out at the world! I display my feistiness with the look shown here. Exhibit 4 - Lion Mane Style.

 

When all else fails, you need to have a "go-to" style that makes you feel taller, thinner and more sassy, all at the same time. For those times, I present to you...

 

...Exhibit 5 - Bozo Style.

Tour de France

The Tour de France started on Saturday! It doesn't show on our TV but I usually keep a close eye on it through the computer. Unfortunately, this weekend provided no time for that. Now that I'm at work I'm at the computer, but, well, I need to work. And I have serious deadlines that I have to work quickly toward.

I did spend a few minutes this morning looking for live updates, which I usually watch at the Official Tour de France website and VeloNews's Tour de France site. As technology marches forward ever faster, it appears that plain text, live updates that are reasonable for skimming through quickly every hour or so are not supported. Coverage is primarily by video with plain text being saved for the post-stage articles. There are text updates at the official site, but they automatically refresh differently this year and when I'm trying to read previous updates from, say, an hour ago, the view screen keeps refreshing and flipping back to the top of the page where the most recent updates are. VeloNews was like that in the past. Darn annoying.

I don't have time to figure out the best way to keep up with the Tour as it's happening, which is quite a bummer. It hasn't felt like nearly enough to just read at the end of the day who won the stage, who has which jerseys and what the general classification (overall, ie: yellow jersey) standings are. I need more Tour!

Maybe tomorrow when I'm not working and I have only 142 things to get done at home while entertaining the kid, then I'll find time to keep up with the Tour, at least for a day.

That ol' feeling again

I just looked back through my blog and found a post from September of last year when I lamented about not getting the same "warm, fuzzy feelings" from the things I usually would enjoy. I remember a couple of months, or so, of general malaise and being easily angered. It went away rather suddenly, if I remember correctly, but it really sucked while it was happening and I couldn't figure out what to do with it.

I feel the same way again now. I'd like it to go away, please. Immediately. Thank you.

One piece of pantyhose

I cut a piece of pantyhose to cover the hole at the bottom of a flower pot and Kevin didn't know what it was. I was glad for that because it means I never have to wear it! On the way back outside, I asked if he was still carrying the pantyhose. He said, "I just have one pantyho."

Today's mood

I have been so tired and cranky today. Make that tired, which causes the crankiness. I tried hard to be "engaging Mom" on this first day Kevin and I had together for summer break. I would've settled for "happy Mom" or "tolerant Mom" but it just wasn't happening.

I was so tired that I fell asleep in the middle of a sentence while reading out loud to Kevin this afternoon. Actually, that's not so strange for me, but it's an example of how tired and drowsy and dozy I felt.

Today was my turn to go for a bike ride after dinner and I had a feeling I'd get 100 yards up the road and fall over. The opposite happened. My legs and lungs felt the best they've felt yet this season. I then expected to feel energized when I got home, which I often do after exercise.

While I was a bit more social than I felt like being the rest of the day, I still wasn't happy, gracious or engaging. I was tolerant, though.

Not sure what's going on, but I don't like it. Except for the great ride part. That was pretty awesome.

He must get that from me

After dinner tonight, Kevin and I rode bikes around the neighborhood. He's gotten the hang of his new bike and we ride farther from the house now, so he needed something more to keep his interest. Not surprisingly, he came up with something imaginative. I was expecting a trip to the "grocery store" but got this instead.

"Hey, Friend... I'm riding my bike to raise money for homeless people. Do you want to do that, too?"

How do you say no to that? "Sure, Friend, I'll ride my bike to raise money, too."

We raised more money with each lap we rode and then handed the money off to the guy in charge. Then Kevin said, "There's some food leftover. Let's deliver it to the homeless people." So we rode around the neighborhood stopping to hand off pretend food to pretend homeless people in our neighbors' real front yards and driveways.

And then it was time to go inside to get ready for bed. Serving the needy is tiring work.

Father's Day Interview - 2009

Father's Day Interview with Kevin Aguilera - June 2009
(see previous years' interviews: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005

What is Pápi’s name? Andy
How old is Pápi? 42

How much does Pápi weigh? 1,000 pounds *hee hee*
What is Pápi’s favorite color? Red

What is Pápi’s favorite food? Butter! *grin* For real? Watermelon
What’s his favorite thing to wear? Tank tops! *hee hee hee* - I don’t know

What does Pápi do at work? Build
What does he build? Books

What is Pápi’s favorite thing to do? Work
What is Pápi’s favorite thing to do with you? Play! I mean, make me tickle. Um, I don’t know.

What is Pápi the best at? Building
What should Pápi practice doing? Typing
What should Pápi go to timeout for? Yelling loud and timeout for sneezing real loud and yawning really loud

What is your favorite thing to do with Pápi? Play!!
Play what? Fun games Like what? Pretend games
Where do you like to go with Pápi? Toys ‘R Us

What does Pápi do that makes you laugh? Tickle me
Is Pápi a good singer? Hardly
Is Pápi a good dancer? Hardly

Do you have an idea for another question? “Is Pápi stinky?”
So, is Pápi stinky? Yes, very.
Any other questions? “What is Pápi’s favorite movie?”
OK, what is Pápi’s favorite movie? Batman. No! Scaaarrry movies *wiggling fingers*

[8 hours later, Kevin suggests another question]
Does Papi burp loudly? Very, very, very!

Does Pápi love you? Yes
Do you love Pápi? Yes

Ride Observations

Road ride, 6/19/09

• My new bpa-free but squeezable water bottle (I shopped around a lot to find one and I found it at Larriland farm, of all places, for half the price of a regular bottles at an outdoor or bike shop) is slippery and hard to get in and out of the bottle cage, but I plan to keep working with it.


• There are trees in bloom right now that are very pretty with dark green leaves and long, yellow flowers that STINK like mad.


• My highest heart rate was 175 bpm.


• Route 99 is better riding than neighborhood streets because there aren't many places I have to stop and my average speed is higher.


• Route 99 is harder riding than neighborhood streets because there aren't many places I have to stop and my average speed is higher.


• I can't imagine how professional riders come down those mountains so fast in a clump of other riders without crashing every time - or having a heart attack.


• There have been lots of changes to bike shorts in the past 10 years. It's hard to find them without thick gel padding now. The jury is still out on whether I like it or not. I think it extends too far to the front and will cause me problems after a few rides.


• I hate running. Why do I keep trying to like it? Cycling is so much more "right" for me.


• My ankle feels great but I have less range of motion than I thought. But it's still doing great and doesn't negatively affect me when riding (at least, not that I realize.)

Ankle progress

My ankle has been feeling very good and the physical therapy exercises seem to be working like a charm. (Give it up for Robin Caruso at NovaCare Rehabilitation in Ellicott City!) I have almost full range of motion in all directions and my stabilizer muscles are coming around. I can now walk on uneven ground without a problem.

I'm still unable to move fast, jump, run, etc. But I've come a long way.

I have to wear a compression wrap on my ankle all the time or else my ankle swells a lot. With the swelling doesn't come extra pain, and I don't feel pain as I'm doing things that cause the swelling. However, the swelling is persistent.

Yesterday I had a followup with the surgeon and he was surprised by my recovery so far. He said my pain is ahead of schedule - I can do things without pain that he wouldn't expect this soon. My swelling is on schedule. He said to expect that by 3 months after the surgery (end of July) my ankle will be 75% healed on the inside. At 6 months (end of November) it'll be 90% healed. That means the swelling is normal and will continue for quite some time.

My instructions are still to do whatever I can tolerate, pain-wise, but because my pain is mild with the activities I'm doing so far but I'm still having the (expected) swelling, I need to take the swelling into account and make sure that it doesn't get out of hand.

Conversation

I asked Andy what kind of shirt he thought would go with a certain pair of pants.

Andy: Something athletic-looking.
Me: Like what?
Andy: Something with a v-neck and cap sleeves.
Me: How do you know the term 'cap sleeves?'
Andy: I get around. *pause* I've seen Old Navy commercials.