New 'do

This is not the most flattering picture of me or my hair but I have an ultimate (frisbee) game to get to so I don't have time to properly fix either. So, here is my new hairdo. I hope that the recipient of my hair gets some good use out of it and feels better about him/herself for it.

 

And yes, I do intend to refrain from highlighting the scar on my forehead the next time I style my hair.

I was right

I was right. I love my computer.

I installed a second hard drive and additional memory last night. I went from a single 40GB drive to a 40GB drive plus a 160GB drive and from 512MB of RAM to 2.5GB of RAM.

Yes, I've gone off the deep end. But it sure is fast in here.

No award for this, but recognition

My grandmother celebrated her 103rd birthday last week. She is now officially the oldest resident in her community. I feel that my parents have seen a lot in their lives and that I have, to some extent (I remember the first Apple computer! :-) But think about what life was like when Grandma was born in 1904... she's seen more than I can imagine!

Growing up I never appreciated this grandmother very much. She wasn't as warm and nurturing as my other grandmother. But as I got older (and wiser, I hope) I came to realize how amazing she is.

My grandmother worked full-time. She was a teacher, but she kept teaching even after she had kids. She hired a nanny to take care of my dad and his sister. Speaking of the kids, my grandmother had her first child at age 34. Her second, my dad, was born when she was 40. That's not an oddity now, but it was rare to start having children so late back then. I'd say it was because her husband was younger than she, but Pop-pop wasn't that much younger - just enough to buck the stereotype.

I remember thinking that my grandparents were SO OLD back when we'd get together for holiday meals and I'd see my grandmother carrying the huge Thanksgiving turkey on a silver platter. I always expected to see her rickety legs fold beneath her and the turkey roll away, dragging her behind it. That was 25 years ago - I had nothing to worry about as she was still a spring chicken.

Bye bye

On Halloween, I'm donating my hair. It's been too long for too long.

 
 

Beautiful Fall Day

THIS is what a fall day should be like - a visit to the farm with the sun warm but not hot with red, yellow and orange leaves floating on the breeze.

 
A chainsaw carving at the entrance of the Red Barn

 
Kevin picking out the perfect gourd

 
Kevin in the hay maze

 
A llama nearing my too-close-for-comfort zone



My two pumpkin faces

Anticipating computer love

My computer has some problems. Take, for instance, that last sentence. I made a mistake and had to backspace and re-type the end of the sentence and the computer couldn't keep up with me. I was typing blind. Not a problem, but quite an annoyance. And that's just a simple example. It also disk thrashes so much that I have to reboot it regularly or it will come to a screeching halt entirely.

I'm not one who likes to tinker with things and build my own computers but my officemate has convinced me that I can install a second hard-drive (the first one is almost full and is likely causing most of the problems) and additional memory (you can never go wrong with more memory and with a full disk I'm sure the half a meg I have now doesn't go very far.)

My officemate always waits with much excitement (well, as much excitement as he ever seems to muster) for packages from newegg.com to arrive and now I understand why.

Now that I've placed my order, each bit of lag only makes me that much more annoyed because I know HELP IS ON THE WAY! And I suspect I'll love my computer after it arrives. Please, newegg - please ship it today!

From a journal

I don't journal often but this morning I found this excerpt from 2002:

My feet are stuck because I'm afraid to move forward alone, mostly because I have only questions with no answers, so I don't even know where to go. But, I can't return to the "comforts" of my God from the past few years, because my mind has moved beyond that point and the comforts of having answers, disciplines, succinct theories and a body of friends who believe the same things are no longer comforting and can no longer satisfy me. I'm stuck - as if I'm on that stairway to cross the Potomac River into Harper's Ferry - too afraid to move up or down because any change in balance causes a wave of nausea and vertigo - thoughts of plunging to the ground far away - falling through the sky, the unknown, only to be smacked by the very real, very solid rocks below. Is God there in the rocks, waiting to smack me because I let go? or because I went up the stairs in the first place? Is God in the unknown, the sky, a feeling of exhilaration due to fear and fun all at once? Do I need to wear a safety harness?

All of these questions have answers in my old paradigm, but I've jumped ship and even if I jumped back on board, I would not stop hearing the call of the sea to jump back in. My arms need to pull, my feet need to kick, my lungs need to expand with breath to hold me afloat.

Do I end this time with prayer? That seems hypocritical. Or is it just faithfulness at a time when true faith really shines... at a time when there is no answer? Is my desire for prayer due to habit or true yearning for my creator? Have I been created by anything more than Contingency, Law and Deep Time? I think that I hope so.

An open mind

Our church installed a labyrinth this year and dedicated it to our founding pastor and his family. It's purpose is to provide a meditative/contemplative exercise to the user. I've never used a labyrinth and I've never learned much about them except for hearing one person's experience with it.

This morning I visited the labyrinth. I am glad that I haven't read much about them because each idea I had for how to do it was new and my own (rather, from God.) Here's how it went...

I prayed before stepping onto the paver stones that I would be able to clearly hear God if He had anything to say to me. That's it. I had no lofty expectations or goals for my time in the labyrinth. I stepped onto the bricks and prayed again, clearing my mind and asking only to have my thoughts be God's thoughts.

I walked in sets of 10 steps. After each 10 steps, I paused. I did my best not to find words to offer up thanks to God for the birds that were singing their praises in the fields around me or for the tickling breeze on my bare skin or for the happy, fluffy clouds in the sky as I looked up to feel God's face gazing on mine. I felt thankful but did not clutter my mind by putting words to my feelings.

Each time my stomach leapt because I thought I'd walked on the wrong path (hard to do when there's only one, but the path is separated from its own curves by just a row of different colored pavers) I immediately told myself it didn't matter even if I was on the wrong path and to let it go.

As I neared the center, I felt the urge to take off my shoes and socks to stand barefoot directly on the stones. I thought that was a little weird, especially since I knew people in the parking lot could see me as they arrived for the bible study group I was about to attend. Then I realized God was telling me not to be embarrassed and to just do it, so I did. I stood barefoot in the center for a minute or two, then picked my shoes up and walked slowly but continuously out the path, feeling the cold stone and the occasional piece of gravel digging into the soles of my feet.

I had no earth-shattering experience while in the labyrinth, but I did feel extremely at peace and completely open to hearing Him, which was my only hope for the exercise.

I plan to try it again sometime soon.

Farm Tough

On Friday, I went to Sears to pick up Andy's chainsaw that was in for repair. That model had been recalled so they gave us a replacement. Unfortunately for them, they no longer make a comparable chainsaw, so they had to give us a Husqvarna 455 Rancher model - 20" bar, 56cc engine, commercial-grade.

I almost had to sleep in the guest bed Friday night so that Andy had room for his new chainsaw in our bed.

 

Missed an important anniversary!

With all that's going on around us, we completely flaked on the anniversary of Kevin becoming part of our family. It was on October 2, 2004, that we first met him (and he us) and it was on October 6, 2004, that he first stepped foot into our (and his new) home.

He started out as a quiet and shy kid, overwhelmed by his new experiences. Three years later, he's now 5 1/2 years old and a popular, although not precocious, member of the kindergarten class at our local elementary school.

We'll have to come up with some way to commemorate the missed anniversary. I'm guessing we'll eat out at a restaurant not because that's how everyone seems to celebrate everything but because it's Kevin's most favorite thing in the world to do. Hey, if I don't have to cook or clean up, I'm game!

A Good Cry

I never believed I'd ever experience a "good cry" as I'd heard other people describe one. Like most people, when given the choice, I prefer not to cry. I couldn't imagine what would ever be good about doing it. Some people are more ok with crying than others and some people talk about needing "a good cry" to feel better about something. I had never understood that but I think I experienced one on Sunday.

It was with trepidation that I went to church on Sunday because of the situation in the life of a close friend of mine. When I sat down, a lot of pent-up emotion came out and I cried - I wasn't able to stop it but I was able to curb it a little. I wasn't embarrassed by it, I guess because I had a really good reason to be crying.

I suspect I needed to release the emotion that had built up and that's why it felt ok, and even good, to cry. Even now, I don't have bad memories of it and I don't wish that it won't happen again.

I'm learning a lot about myself through my friend's devastating experience. Maybe the next time someone in my life faces something difficult, I'll be better equipped to support them.

Griever as counselor

In the recent past (and present) I've found myself among friends who are grieving. I care deeply for these friends and grieve with them from my own perspective. I grieve over their grief and face my own grief over the situation.

If someone close to a friend dies, I grieve for my friend's loss. I feel sad, angry, etc, that my friend has to face the loss. I also grieve my own loss, remembering the person who died as I knew them through my friend.

I've come to realize that when I go to a grieving friend, I go from my perspective as a griever. "I can't believe this is happening. I'm shocked." "I'm so sorry for your loss - do you remember that time when I was there with your mom and she said 'such and such' to me?" I end up working through my own grief in the presence of one who is grieving so much more. The "main griever" ends up being my counselor. How backward is that?

In a current grieving situation of a close friend, I'm trying to consciously help her process her grief while leaving mine for other people. I think it's a good start and I hope it helps me to be a better friend to leave my own processing on the shoulders of other friends around the situation and sometimes those entirely outside of the situation.

I also hope that when I am in a situation of grief and the people around me come to support me that I will better understand that they will be coming from their own perspective and may need to bring me their grief as a way to process it.

Harry Potter Summer

This summer I read the Harry Potter series. I hadn't read them until now because I don't generally care for the science fiction or fantasy genres of stories. Plus there was the way that "everyone" was "always" talking about Harry Potter This and Harry Potter That. I think that God was secretly keeping me away from the books so that I wouldn't have to wait between reading them. I timed them perfectly... I started the first one just as the last one was released to the public. My biggest problem at that point was trying not to hear any news of the plot of the last book, or even what characters were still around. While it's not hard to surprise me, my enjoyment of a story is pretty much ruined once I know what's going to happen.

I liked the series a lot and even found myself noticing that the author had a good way of writing. That's the way English majors describe good literature, no?

If you haven't read the books yet, I suggest giving the first one a try. You won't lose out on anything by trying it but you might find yourself happily sucked into the story on page 2 the way that I did - kinda like falling into a pensieve.

Mama, it doesn't matter

I'm sometimes a bit of a control freak. I fretted over Kevin's lunch items when he started kindergarten because he can't open most of our plastic containers. Before purchasing some that he can open, I accidentally packed him regular containers one day without thinking about it. Then I worried because if I'd been unable to open my lunch items, I would've just put them back in my Pigs In Space lunchbox and not eaten. Kevin, on the other hand, asked the lunch room monitor for help. Huh, how about that?

The second day of school, he asked to buy lunch. In all my years of school, I never bought my lunch. And I haven't seen how Kevin's school does it, so I didn't know how to tell him to proceed. I agreed to let him buy lunch after all but tried to explain how it might work.

"You probably have to pick up a tray and then tell the person behind the counter-" Kevin interrupted me to inform me, "they're lunch ladies." I wasn't sure that was a politically correct label but I guess it is. I continued, "You'll have to tell the lunch lady what you want to eat - tell her cheese pizza. Then you need to pick out a fruit-" He asked, "Will they make me?" I said, "No, but I will. So you have your tray and your pizza and your fruit and then you can pick your milk. Hmm... Maybe the milk is at the beginning of the line. Well, either get your milk at the beginning or the end, I'm sorry, I just don't know."

Kevin replied nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter," as if he had some inkling of the earthquake of uncertainty in my soul, and he grabbed his backpack and bounced out of the house.

Stylin'

 

Kevin has been asking for "crocs" for awhile now. Today I told him we could do something special for him (he has the day off from school) if he was good while I shopped for clothes for the wedding reception I'm attending this weekend.

His pair is shaped like race cars. On the back, where the taillights are, they actually light up (feel free to roll your eyes - mine haven't stopped since I handed the cashier my credit card.)

 

This is a close-up of the pair that Kevin picked out for me. I said, "But they have skulls and crossbones on them." He answered, "Just ignore them."

Kindergartner

 

No tears from anyone when he got on the bus but I admit I'm nervous about some little things like him not knowing that he can ask to use the bathroom whenever he needs to and how to open all of his lunch items himself (although I used mostly all ziploc bags today because I didn't think to test him on our plastic containers.)

I don't have any worries in the grand scheme of things - he'll be a pro in a few days and I think he'll do well in school and enjoy it.

It's canning season

I canned strawberry jam early in the summer but now it's time for peaches and tomatoes. Applesauce is still to come.

 
Yummy, simmering peaches just before putting them into jars

 
Tomato leftovers - the skin and seeds left after mashing the rest of the tomatoes through the food mill to make tomato sauce

More vacation pictures

 

This is the man who designed and makes the Christmas Trees at Simon Pearce. It was amazing to watch him make them.

 

Our twilight canoe ride at Deep Creek Lake State Park

 

The living room of the cabin/house we stayed in

 
Dad and Andy enjoying our last few minutes of vacation

Vacation pictures

Surprisingly, I didn't carry my camera with me much on vacation and I don't have many pictures. I'm hoping to snag some of my dad's to supplement my inventory.

Here are a few I did take.

 

Dianne, Kevin, Andy in the freezing water at Tolliver Falls in Swallow Falls State Park

 

Kevin being silly

 

Dianne, Andy, Kevin, Dad, Mom on the trail to Muddy Creek Falls in Swallow Falls State Park

 

Kevin with Skunky, his new stuffed animal that he asked for 8 times a day after we first saw it at the Discovery Center in Deep Creek Lake State Park

We had the best vacation

Do you know how I know we had the best vacation? The day we left to come home, we wished we could've stayed another week. When we got home, we wished we weren't here. The next day, we still wished we were on our vacation, exactly as it was, and not here.

It's not just that we don't want to go back to work. It's not that we need a vacation from our vacation. It's that we want that vacation we just had to continue just as it was really happening.

Our honeymoon was like that to some extent, although on our way home, we had our new "normal," everyday married life to look forward to.

Not only did this vacation include our son, but we were with my parents. Staying in the same cabin. Participating in the same activities.

And it was awesome.

Just overheard from behind my chair

"You have a skunk on your face and you look like Santa Clause."

How not to respond to someone else's good news

Friend/Acquaintance: Yeah, I got married this weekend.
Me: On purpose?

I can only hope he thinks that I was testifying to the state of my marriage (which, of course, I would get myself into on purpose a million times over) and not to the state of my opinion of his husband-worthiness.

Adios, Mi Amigo

 

This was my last look at the truck while driving away from the lot where I left it tonight.

The Tour de France!

Yes, that's an exclamation point up there, because I LOVE THE TOUR. At the beginning of this year's Tour, I was a bit down about all of the doping BS (pardon my French - haha, get it? French?) throughout the past year. I survived 2 weeks of the 3-week Tour without watching a single "live update newsflash." Then things got really exciting and I couldn't help myself - I turned back into my usual Tour maniac-self. Well, let's say 80% of my usual Tour maniac-self. Here's a summary of this year's Tour:

1. A few people got kicked out of the race for doping


2. A few people got fired from their teams for doping


3. The race leader in the first set of mountains was kicked out of the race and off of his team for lying about his whereabouts during missed drug tests in the off-season


4. One guy got booted for doping on the same day that he participated in a "sit-in" against doping


5. The Discovery Channel team ROCKED THE PELOTON winning 1st and 3rd places overall - Go Disco!


6. Levi Leipheimer (who came in 3rd place) STOMPED the last individual time trial


7. The overall winner, Alberto Contador, from the Discovery Channel team, is only 24 years old


8. Discovery Channel might perhaps be wishing they hadn't already announced pulling out of their sponsorship of the team after this season

There you have it, the 2007 Tour de France in a nutshell.

Thoughts from my last day driving my old truck

I took the S-10 out for a spin today to CarMax to get it appraised to find out whether the charity I will support with it will get more money from it if I sell it and give them the cash or give them the truck outright. While all conditions they check (exterior/body, interior, frame, mechanics, etc.) were listed "as expected for the age of the vehicle" they still only offered me $250 - I guess I'm lucky they didn't try to charge me to take it off my hands. Speaking of which, Andy text messaged me while I was there and said, "Throw $20 on the floor and just walk out." Hmph.

Anyway, here are some thoughts I had while driving "Al" for what was probably the last real time.

1. Sliding into that seat and pulling out of the driveway was like slipping into an old pair of cotton fleece sweatpants - soft, comfy and worn-in in just the right spots. Sliding into the new car seat and pulling out of the driveway is like slipping into a pair of sweat-wicking, 4-way power stretch, therma-fleece running pants - also soft and comfy but more technologically advanced and designed for moving instead of lolly-gagging.
   
2. The truck accelerates as fast as a snail on downers.
   
3. Country music sounds much better in a pickup.
   
4. What with all the creaks and clunks it lets out, I'm really lucky that truck still runs and never left me (or anyone else) stranded anywhere.
   

I run like an animal

A friend invited me to do a duathlon with her in September. That's a race where you do a run, ride your bike, and then run again. I used to do them regularly but haven't done a training run or bike ride in AGES. This friend is obviously not someone I talk to on a regular basis or else she probably would have never considered asking me along :-)

Not knowing whether I can even train hard enough to be prepared in 8 weeks, I went for a test run this morning. If I can't run a mile already, there's no way I can be ready for that race in 2 months. I stole borrowed Andy's mp3 player and went out with my running shoes on this morning. I ran for 15 minutes (and walked another 15) so I'm guessing I made it about a mile (not including the walking.) I run very slowly.

I don't usually run with music on so that was a change that I think helped me to stay moving when I would've otherwise felt like I should quit. If I can't hear myself breathing like a raspy ogre, then it doesn't seem like I'm doing such a bad job. Plus, I listened to Nickelback, which is hard to sit still during anyway.

Most of the time I have to consciously slow myself down because I can't run very long if I run at a normal pace and I at least need to get back home from wherever I am at the time. This morning I found the perfect song to match my tempo. Never before has a song actually fit perfectly with my stride/pace/cadence.

It figures that it's the song "Animals." Sheesh.

They say it's my birthday

Today is my birthday and the celebration started on Sunday with a surprise "party" set up for me when I got home from church. Amy decorated our dining room table with party plates and napkins, confetti, balloons, flowers, candles, presents and a cake while we were out.

Yesterday I spent the day with two other dear friends, Beth and Elesa, swimming in the pool and just hanging out doing not much of anything. Dinner was terrific and there was home made ice cream and cake afterward - yum!

When I got in the car to come home, I found a new CD (Rascal Flatts) with a bow on it that Andy had put in the car for me to listen to on the way home. This morning I found a card in the refrigerator which Kevin made.

I don't often feel sappy or get teary-eyed about things that Kevin does but this came close to doing it:

 

Can you see what he wrote at the bottom? "You are the prettiest and greatest Mama." Of course he should think that, as all kids do, but I don't take that for granted. Plus, when I try to make him write things, he stops at his name and asks me to write the rest. Writing that whole statement himself was an effort the likes of which he rarely makes.

Kevin couldn't wait for Andy to come home to give me presents so he had me call Andy so he could talk to him on the phone. Andy walked Kevin through the process of finding the hidden presents in the car and under Kevin's bed so Kevin traipsed outside in his pajamas and rain boots (it's beautifully sunny here today) with the phone to his ear and climbed through the car to find the pack of socks hidden in there for me. After the presents were found, Kevin asked Andy if he could tell me what we're doing this afternoon and Andy obliged. Kevin told me that we're going out to dinner and to play "MINIATURE GOLF!!" Andy says that was Kevin's idea.

It's been a wonderful few days of birthday celebration and it's more than I expected. I'm very fortunate to have friends and family who care for me.

More Kwik-E-Mart photos

Thank you for loitering. Please come again.

7-Eleven knows what they're doing, joining up with The Simpsons movie. The folks buying Buzz Cola, Squishees, Krusty-Ohs and pink sprinkled doughnuts and snapping pics with their pocket digital cameras outnumbered those who appeared to be locals at the Bladensburg, MD, 7-Eleven-turned-Kwik-E-Mart on this sunny Sunday morning.

Without studying

Honestly, though, if they call an A- "excellent," what do they call an A+? They might just be trying to make me feel good but I know better.

Le Tour. (with a period, not an exclamation point)

Yes, Folks, the riders of Le Tour de France are less than 2 weeks from lining up for the Grand Depart in London, England. England? Yup, the Tour makes its debut in London and we avid race fans are wondering, "Will car traffic be held off while the cyclists race through the tunnel?" Just kidding.

Anyway, you haven't heard much from me this year about the Tour because, frankly, there's too much drama. Unfortunately, it's not racing tactics drama so it's not exciting. Well, I guess it actually is racing tactics but it reads more like a gritty tale of drugs, drugs and more drugs. Doping is the word in cycling, yet again (still?) and the stories make my head spin. I wish I could provide a nice, clean summary to catch you all up but I can't. It's too crazy with someone like me being completely unable to know what's true and what's not. I sure hope someone comes up with a way to figure that out sooner rather than later because I'm not sure the professionals know all that much more surely than I do.

Yes, I will keep an eye on the race. Yes, I will get excited about the race. But there will be a piece of me holding back because I have that awful, nagging feeling that nothing is what it seems.

Thoughts from my first day driving our new car

Today I drove our new car to work. It was my first chance to drive it in place of my truck. I had some thoughts along the way.

1. It's hard to drive the speed limit in a new car
2. I'm no longer a cool chick in a truck
3. I'm no longer a weird and/or possibly lesbian chick in a truck
4. Feeling safer (real or contrived) feels good
5. I'm interchangeable with most other people on the road
6. I will miss my truck
7. Sitting lower than other drivers provides a new perspective
8. It takes longer to change the temperature of the air in a wagon than a truck cab
9. I should more closely consider where I park
10. Accidentally turning on the heated seats switch makes a 100-degree day feel even hotter
11. I look forward to testing the limits of the all-wheel-drive-ity of the new car
12. A shorter wheelbase allows one to drive faster over speed humps

Too many issues to tackle at one time

Me: (looking behind my nightstand) Huh - I have 2 hair ties back here.
Kevin: I hid them from you to punish you.
Me: For what?
Kevin: Because I didn't want to go to the Meaghers' house.
Me: Ohh, I see. But now you're glad that I forced you go to, right? You said you had lots of fun.
Kevin: Right. Did you look around? Is something else missing?
Me: I don't see anything missing. Why, should I?
Kevin: Yes.
Me: What else did you hide?
Kevin: Papi's blanket.
Me: You hid Papa's blanket to punish me?
Kevin: Yes.
Me: That doesn't punish me very much, actually. I do hope that you'll return it to him before he needs it tonight.
[half an hour later, we're still discussing the missing blanket in the midst of taking care of other things - I refuse to search for it and he refuses to tell me or Andy where it is - he finally says something to Andy while I'm out of the room and then I get called back in...]
Kevin: Mami?
Me: Yes?
Kevin: Here's the blanket. But it's not Papi's; it's yours; I was trying to trick you!
Me: Oh, I see. Are you actually just trying to keep me from getting mad at you for punishing me too much?
Kevin: Yes.

Suba-what?

Lady at key counter: What kind of car is this for?
Andy: A Subaru
Lady at key counter: What is the other name for it?
Andy: Outback
Lady at key counter: No, I mean what kind of car - Toyota, Honda, Chevrolet...?
Andy: It's a Subaru
Lady at key counter: I've never heard of that. *looks at catalog for the key blank it matches* Huh - Soo...buh...roo. Oh, Subaru. Sorry, we don't have that in stock.

Now it's time for a game called Props

If you live anywhere near here and are looking to buy a used car from someone who acts like a normal human being and who treats you like a normal human being, then go to Shoreline Motorcars in Glen Burnie.

Buying our car was so pleasant it felt more like buying a cherry pie from someone's grandma at the farmer's market than what I've ever known buying a car to be like.

My freedom is but a positive side effect

Kevin moved up to a new class in preschool/daycare for the summer. This new class has a summer camp format through August and the kids are over 4 years old so there is no nap requirement.

His second day in the new class, Kevin asked me if he could stay there all day every day. I made sure he understood what he was asking for and then talked to Andy about it. We agreed that as long as he didn't have to nap, we were ok with it. [When Kevin has to participate in nap/rest time, he falls asleep and then doesn't go to bed that night until 10pm - we try to minimize such behavior.]

Now in his second week of the new class, Kevin is thriving. He LOVES the activities, field trips and new friends. He prefers to be there over just about anywhere else. I couldn't be happier to see him so happy.

Yes, I now have even more time at home (or running errands or weeding the garden or what-have-you) with nobody else here but, honestly, I think my thrill from that is overshadowed by my glee at Kevin's thrill of being at school with his classmates and teachers doing fun things and learning and going on field trips and swimming and just experiencing all sorts of life.

Go for it, Little Dude.

Our New Ride

 

Some facts about Andy

These may help you interpret Kevin's interview responses.

Andy is 5'5" tall.
He has brown eyes and black hair.
He likes to eat salmon but loves to eat watermelon, potato chips and steak.
He likes to drink Coke.
His favorite color is red but he is not a fan of the Redskins.
He works at the government printing office warehouse (nowhere near the harbor.)
He is wild and crazy when it comes to making people, kids especially, laugh.
He is not a teenager. He is 40 years old.
He sings and dances.
He loves Kevin immensely.
Kevin loves him to pieces.

Father's Day Interview

Click here to read the 2005 interview.
Click here to read the 2006 interview.

June 2007

What is Papá’s name? Papá. No! Andy. Aguilera.
Is Papá tall or short? Tall
What color are Papá’s eyes? I don’t know. Brown?
What color is Papá’s hair? Black

What does Papá like to eat? Salmon. And should I add anymore stuff?
[Sure.] Lettuce, tomatoes.
What does Papá love to eat? I don’t know. Uh... fish?
What does Papá like to drink? Coke
What is Papá’s favorite color? Red, like the Redskins.

What does Papá do at work? Works in the harbor and people send him books

What do you like to do with Papá? Play with him.
How do you like to play with him? Because he’s such a fun, playful guy

Where do you like to go with Papá? To the birdseed store
What do you like to help Papá do at home? Fill the bird feeders and work in the garage

What does Papá do that makes you laugh? Do funny things
What kinds of funny things? Dances funny dances, he sticks out his tongue to make a funny face

How old is Papá? Fourteen. Oh, no, he’s not a teenager!
So how old is he? Twenty four

Is Papá a good singer? Yes!
Is Papá a good dancer? Yes.

Does Papá love you? Yes!
Do you love Papá? Yes!

Lollipop of Death

+

=

Death to the little suckers tormenting us for the past 4 months.

We tried everything we were supposed to - multiple types of baits w/ poison, peanut butter and jelly with boric acid, washing every dish and wiping every counter at the sight of the smallest speck of spill or crumb, etc. Nothing worked until the night I came home to find the ants parading across the kitchen floor creating a veritable superhighway between their nest (in the wall) and Kevin's bucket o' candy. The ants were mostly on the lollipops - not the dum-dums style pops but the flat kind with the clear wrappers. The ants squeezed through the space between the paper stick and where the wrapper is glued shut.

"Ok," I thought. "If you love those lollipops so much, you can have 'em!" I cleaned up the bucket o' candy and sprayed "deterrent" along their pathway back to their point of emergence where I placed a lollipop dipped in yummy but deadly boric acid powder. The ants were all over it! I placed another one at the back of the countertop where they often emerge.

This week I tempted fate - I put dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Lo and behold there was no ant superhighway across the counter culminating in a thousand-strong party of ants in the dishwasher. Woohoo!

Be careful what you ask for

Taylor: I know! Let's play a game where we pretend to fight.
Kevin: Ok. *smacks Taylor in the face*
Taylor: [crying] Ow, Kevin, stop it!
Kevin: Sorry, Taylor, but that's what you said!

Brother (4) and Sister (3) and Friend (5)

Taylor (brother): Mom! Alyssa pretended to cut her arms off!
Alyssa (sister): I was just PLAYING. I didn't really do it.

Taylor: Stop it, Alyssa. It's not funny.
Alyssa: *pause* Hahahahahaha!!!

Mom: What was your favorite part of today?
Taylor: Mine was having Kevin come over.
Kevin (friend): Mine was watching TV.
Alyssa: Mine was taking a bath with Kevin.

1-800-GIVE-LIFE

A number of years ago, a blood mobile visited our office building and I signed up to donate for my first time. I'm a wimp when it comes to needles or much of anything related to the medical field, so it was a big step.

Since then, I've tried to donate a number of times but was always deferred for a low hematocrit level. I've always had low iron but iron supplements had started giving me terrible migraines. I tried other dietary changes but was never up high enough to donate.

Until today.

I've been every day taking a multi-vitamin with iron and that with 3 meals of beans yesterday seemed to have done the trick. After getting an "Ok" on my minimum-but-legal level of hematocrit, the tech took my temperature. 99.8. Too high to donate! She took it again and it was lower. I was set to go.

I made it to the lounge chair and covered my face and twitched my feet, making the technician nervous. She wasn't the one getting her arm jabbed, so I don't know what she was talking about. After all of the prep work, she stuck the needle in and said, "Geeze! You squirted all over!" I thought she was joking but she wasn't. She had to change her lab coat and gloves and my shirt was stained.

That was just what I needed to feel comfortable.

Roundabout tagging

I've never been tagged for a meme. You know, one of those things where a blogger posts an answer to a question (often in list form) and then tags (as in, "You're it") some people to answer the same question on their own blogs.

You could say that because I read Betsy's blogs and she tagged "anyone else who tells me that they read this blog - you know who you are," I have now been tagged. Or, at least, I was back in January, when she wrote that and her answers to the meme.

It has taken me awhile and you all have been very patient (I'm sure you can't wait to read more self-indulgent posts) but here we go.

Five important details about myself that many of you may not know…or remember.

1) If money wasn't so available in my line of work, I'd rather be an administrative assistant. And I think I'd rock at that job.

2) I'd also rather be a librarian.

3) I would like to try being an environmental scientist, too. Half in the office (planning studies, writing reports, analyzing data) and half in the field (wading through streams, counting birds, searching for rare plant species.)

4) I LOVE to play sports.

5) I don't think any of the above answers are important to anyone but I find it intriguing that of all the things I could think of about myself, the first ones to come to mind are about having a job. Specifically, jobs that I don't have now and probably never will (which is ok by me.)

Creativity

Did you know there are lots of different ways to put toothpaste on your toothbrush? Two recent attempts at our house include putting the tube on the floor and then stomping on it. This results in copious amounts of toothpaste wasted - much too much to hide.

Another way is to put the tube on the front edge of the sink and then lean your belly on it to squeeze the toothpaste out. This works better than stomping on the tube, but still results in too much toothpaste to use on one set of teeth. If you have friends over to share, this method might work.

Growing up

I've asked Kevin whether he wants me to go on his preschool field trip to the zoo. One day he answered, "No." Then he said, "Yes." Then he said, "No." Then he said, "Yes." I pressured him the night before the permission slip was due and said that I needed his final answer. He said, "No." I was surprised. He said he didn't need me there. I'm cool with that but wanted him to know that other parents would be there so I explained that parents go on field trips to be chaperones to help keep all of the kids safe while the group is away from the school.

He said, "Ok, you can go to keep the kids safe but I don't have to listen to you - I only have to listen to my teachers."

Conversation

Dianne: Mine is 5% alcohol.
Amy: Mine is only 4.5%! But I've had two, so I'm up to 9%.
Dianne: Huh? That's not how math works. At least not when you're not drunk.
Amy: I'm not drunk! I can add four and a half to four and a half!

This is just the beginning

We once went to the movies and left Kevin with friends of ours (whose child is friends with Kevin.) We went to lunch a couple of times and to a musical and left Kevin with his grandparents. We went to a Bible study meeting once and left Kevin with a friend who was staying at our house for awhile and who Kevin has known as long as he's known us.

Never have we had a "real," teenage babysitter for more than an hour. And never have we not taken Kevin to a party with us.

Until tonight.

All I can say is... FREEEEEDOOOOOM!!

It's 5:45pm - do you know where your truck is?

While hurriedly getting ready for our night out for a friend's birthday, I noticed through the window that our truck was in the driveway across the street.

"Andy - why is our truck in the neighbors' driveway?"

"I don't know."

"Huh."

"Is it really?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's our black truck with all the stickers in the back window. And it's sitting in their driveway."

I went outside in my bare feet and backed the truck into our driveway. The neighbors weren't home and I didn't see anyone else out on the street, so we got away with it. Andy pointed to the flattened grass next to our driveway and said, "I think it went that way."

It's 7:31am - do you know where your kids are?

Kevin is not only still sleeping (a magnificent feat given that earlier sunrises have had him up before 6am for the past few weeks) but he's sleeping IN HIS OWN BED. He has been there all night.

Let's have a party! I sense Slurpees, pizza, mango and watermelon in the works for dinner tonight!

Since I got up, I've been in his room 8 times checking to see that he's still breathing. At one point he must've been having a dream because his arm twitched and I was afraid he was having a seizure so I stayed in there for an extra couple of minutes to make sure he was ok.

I know, but to spend the night in his room there must be something drastically wrong!

Maturity

For his birthday, Kevin received a hooded bear-design towel that Alyssa picked out. He asked to use it after his bath last night and then we had the following snippet of conversation:

Kevin: Why did Alyssa pick out this towel for me?
Dianne: Because she loves teddy bears and wanted you to have one like hers.
Kevin: Why does she love teddy bears?
Dianne: I don't know.
Kevin: I don't want her to like teddy bears. I don't like teddy bears.
Except for cute baby teddy bears. And Mama teddies and Papa teddies.
I don't like sister teddies.
Dianne: Ok.
Kevin: I'm not going to like teddy bears. I like....hmm.... (pause) What
is Alyssa scared of?

Perhaps we've moved on from the cutesy-type love to the more mature "I'll show her I like her by putting worms down her shirt" type.

A Neighborly Day

This morning I went to Rite Aid and in the parking lot I saw an acquaintance from church (one of few I know up in this area.) On my way out of the store, I saw the neighbor who lives across the street and I stopped to talk with her for a few minutes. This afternoon Kevin and I put flyers on mailboxes on our street for our upcoming "community" yard sale. I went the lazy route and didn't knock on doors this time, but I did meet 2 neighbors I'd never met before because they were outside working in their yards when I came by.

Freedom Writers

After a long day of gardening and such (we planted radish, beet, carrot, lettuce, spinach and squash seeds) we watched a movie, Freedom Writers. It's based on a true story of teacher Erin Gruwell and her high school English classes which have turned into The Freedom Writers Foundation. Amazing stuff.

What I learned about myself through this movie is that while I know that poverty around the world is my problem because I'm human and a child of God and I am moved to live such that I intentionally make a smaller footprint on this planet, my heart is tugged most strongly by issues of the inner city.

That makes no sense because I have no ties to the inner city and my life and experiences are pretty far on the opposite end of the spectrum closest to the Anglo-Rural arrow. But that's how it is.

I'm not sure where to go with this newfound realization, but right now I choose to sleep on it.

Happy Birthday, Little K

 

No more coddling now that you're 5 - make your own birthday cupcakes and make mine with extra icing, please.

Preaching to the choir

Not including Kevin's sleep insecurities, he has gotten much less clingy but still always wants to have another person with him - at all times. He's ok staying in a room when I leave if he has a friend or really anyone else in the room with him. He's an only child so it usually means he tags along with Andy or me like a puppy. That can be a bit annoying, especially to a couple of introverts like ourselves.

On Tuesday night, Kevin went out on a date with Elesa to dinner and the toy store. When he got home I asked him, "Was it nice to go out and have fun without Papa and me with you?"

He replied: "Yes, it was nice to have a break from listening to you."

His first word

In the car the other day, Kevin wanted to read his kids Bible. Usually that means just looking at the pictures but he said, "Look, Mama - I can read!" Then he focused his eyes on the first word of the page and started sounding it out.

"Buh - uh - t."

"Buh - uh - t."

"Buh - uht."

Then his eyes got wide, he clasped his hand over his mouth and he started giggling.

"MAMA! Do you know what this says??"

I started laughing because his reaction was funny but also because he had proven that he was really reading the word on his own. I tried to explain that he was reading the word "but" and not "butt" but he just couldn't stop laughing.

Andy chimed in, "That's the Bible for you."

Ocean's 13 - booyah!

There aren't too many movies made these days that I want to see. On the rare chance we have time and space to go to the movies, we have a hard time figuring out what to see because there isn't always something available that we're interested in.

Exceptions to this are anything by M. Night Shyamalan (I don't love everything he does (see: Lady in the Water) but I love enough to want to see 'em all) and Ocean's 11, Ocean's 12 and - coming June 8th - Ocean's 13. Oh yeah!

The Twilight Zone

Andy has a collection of DVDs containing original episodes of The Twilight Zone and last night he watched "The Odyssey of Flight 33" in which a commercial jet flies into a jet stream causing them to break the sound barrier and be transported back in time.

Andy: They broke the sound barrier. That's not fast enough for time travel.
Dianne: *blink*
Andy: Theoretically.

Evolution of Laundry

Early marriage:
"Honey, where are you?"
"I'm getting dressed."
"Where??"
"By the clothes dryer, where my clothes are."

Later marriage:
"Could you fold the laundry, please?"
"Yes, if it's a load of towels instead of socks."

Preparing for baby:
"Aww, these clothes are so small they don't even fill the washer. How uncontrollably cute!"

After baby:
"Could you fold the laundry, please?"
"Yes, if it's a load of socks instead of baby clothes."

Growing child:
"Child, put your clothes in the hamper. You don't need my help with that."

Older child:
"Child, let me put those in the hamper for you so I can pre-treat the stains and empty the playground mulch and matchbox cars out of your pockets before they go through the washer."

Vindication

Gmail is off the hook (as in not guilty of anything rather than being the bomb - although that is also true) for putting a message we needed into my spam folder. I am off the hook for deleting that message.

We received a forwarded message of it on Monday morning and when I looked at the original part, it was sent when they said, but our email address was typed wrong so we never got it. I guess the person who sent it found the returned message on Monday morning and re-sent it after we'd already gotten it from other people on Friday afternoon.

Phew!

And the interview went well. Andy doubts he'll accept the job but they haven't officially offered it yet, so we'll see.

Can we push the date of that interview back a few days?

Andy has a job interview on Monday. He wasn't looking for a job but a friend forwarded Andy's resume when he saw a job opening at the company where he works.

The recruiting specialist that Andy spoke with said that Andy needs to fill in an online application this weekend before his interview. She said who would be emailing it and to let her know if he didn't get it.

Here's where I step into the story as a key player. I rarely look at my spam messages before deleting them (Gmail's spam filter is amazing) but yesterday as I hit the delete button, my eyes scanned to a message that mentioned a job. That isn't strange as plenty of spam messages mention job opportunities but this one fired more than the usual number of neurons in my brain but it was too late to get the message back when I realized that may have been the message Andy was waiting for.

When Andy got home I told him so he emailed the recruiter to get another copy of the message. He opened the crazy long application page and read through it, filling in the easy stuff before dinner - addresses, etc. - and reading through what else he'd have to do (a couple of extra conflict of interest forms on top of the crazy long application.)

After dinner I was checking email and surfing around when I accidentally hit "Back" while on Andy's application page. I thought I should be concerned about that until I saw the message that came up - "This page is no longer available for security reasons. If you need access to this page, please contact the person who provided you with the address." Then I KNEW I should be concerned. My heart raced, my eyes widened and my skin got prickly. I searched my fairly internet-programming-savvy brain for a solution to cover my tracks. No results were found.

It turned out that we could still access the link from the email message and he didn't have to contact anyone for yet another correction for his space-case wife's mistake (that's what they would've thought I was at that point, I'm sure.) Unfortunately, all of the data Andy already entered was gone.

When Kevin and I returned from running errands this morning, Andy was at the computer. He said he was going to let me type in the information I deleted yesterday but he was filling in some new stuff. Later when he got up from the computer, I asked how far he'd gotten. He said he'd moved on to writing his answers down on paper after accidentally closing the window that he'd typed his answers into.

If you're ever going to comment, do it now for my sanity

Please, can someone (or someones) please remind me what the federal government is doing for me besides annoying my socks off?

Between umpteen tax forms that were so confusing I lost sleep over them (not because I'm afraid of owing taxes or being audited, I just couldn't figure out what to do on some of the forms that kept telling me to go fill out more worksheets that asked for data from the ones that sent me which just put me in a circle of not having any information and can you tell how aggravating that must've been??) and being denied a simple change at the social security office with the appropriate paperwork except for something that we were not given in the format that they say they need it in even though I have plenty of other proof that was issued by their same federal government who writes their laws and signs their paychecks and to which they owe their existence.... I'm really ticked off.

If you're not a programmer, this will not be any fun

The website Worse Than Failure (used to be known as "The Daily WTF") provides sneer-inducing material for programmers. Although it's easy to look down one's nose at the code examples, I know that we've all written code that could be featured on that site.

I enjoyed this quote from the introduction of a recent article:

Now there are different levels of evil. Ruby is normally elegant but resource intensive. PHP was designed as an example of how not to name functions. Perl has its own special circle, ancient and full of strange characters. If you want real evil, though, you have to find a web application written in C.

Good stuff.

First Date?

Andy: Who invited you to their house?
Kevin: Reem
Andy: What did she invite you over for?
Kevin: To watch a Princess movie
Andy: Who was hugging you when I came to pick you up today?
Kevin: Reem
Andy: Were you hugging her back?
Kevin: Yes
Dianne: Who was knocking on the front window when we got there this morning to wave to you?
Kevin: Reem
Dianne: Who was waving at you from the door of the room when we walked in?
Kevin: Reem
Andy: Reem was also waving from the door as we walked down the hall to leave, looking doe-eyed.
Dianne: (looking in Kevin's lunchbag) Oh, good, Grave Digger came home today
Andy: Who wanted to play with that this afternoon?
Kevin: Reem

Fortunately nobody has introduced the term "girlfriend" into Kevin's vocabulary yet and the boys often want to hug him goodbye also.

Movie Reviews

I've seen these three movies in the past three days - that might be a record for me. Nobody pays me for, or even asks for, my opinion of movies. Here they are anyway.

1) Music & Lyrics (theater, Hugh Grant & Drew Barrymore)- We planned to see Breach but it was sold out, even 2 showtimes in advance, so we got tickets for the later showing of Music & Lyrics and went to a restaurant. At 4:30 pm on Saturday afternoon, we were told there was a 50-60 minute wait for a table. ?@#$!@#$?! We didn't necessarily mind as we planned to walk around shopping a little anyway, but the idea of there not being an available time to beat the crowd ticked me off. We arrived at the theater 30 minutes before the show and had to sit in the 5th row, below the main walkway. I got a headache from straining my head up to see the whole screen and from being hot in there. The movie itself was ok. I don't think I'd recommend it, but some people have said they liked it. Hugh Grant's character's one-liners were the best part of the movie.

2) The Pacifier (DVD, Vin Diesel) - I found this pretty funny. Although I didn't like Music & Lyrics because it was too contrived, too predictable, cliche and I didn't think the characters should've been together romantically, I liked The Pacifier even though it was contrived, predictable, cliche and the romance part should've been left out. I would recommend this movie.

3) Flightplan (DVD, Jodie Foster) - Great movie. Good plot with twists and turns, good acting, suspenseful... I definitely recommend it.

Big Girls Don't Cry

Andy: Waaaahhh! Waaaaahhhhhhh!
Kevin: Papa! Stop crying like a baby.
Andy: I'm not crying like a baby. Waaahhhh!
Kevin: Yes you are.
Andy: I'm crying like a grownup.
Kevin: Grownups don't cry.
Andy: Sure they do.
Kevin: Not like that.
Andy: How do grownups cry?
Kevin: Umm... tears come out of their eyes and run down their cheeks. They don't make any noise.

I apologize in advance

Andy's coworker just bought a new house and the guy who lived there before him installed a "theater room." He described it to Andy.

Andy's coworker: Picture this - dark walls, recliners, surround sound system, the screen drops down from the ceiling...

Andy: Picture this - me, in a pink thong, two sizes too small.

They say having a kid changes you

I got new glasses yesterday. My prescription was about 6 years old so I had to have an eye exam, too. Those who know me realize the drama hiding in that simple phrase - EYE EXAM. Did you hear the rumbling thunder as you read the words EYE EXAM? I did.

Obviously I've had EYE EXAMS in the past, in order to have glasses, but I've always signed a waiver stating that I wouldn't allow the doctor to perform all of the portions of the EYE EXAM needed to determine the health of my eyes. No worries about whether I had glaucoma, retinal detachments or that my eye was about to fall out - just give me the glasses so I won't run into anybody and I'll be on my way, thank you.

Yesterday I had Kevin at the eye doctor's office with me. He's extremely well-behaved in such circumstances so I didn't think twice about it until I stepped into the room with the PUFF OF AIR contraption and realized I had a very impressionable audience attending with me.

Hmm...

Over the past few years, I've found myself eating vegetables, considering every word that comes out of my mouth, being brave when I had to talk to someone new and scooping up critters with more legs than seem necessary. Pre-Kevin, I'd have turned around and left all of those situations alone. But now, I have to face them all for the sake of being a good example and strong mother to Kevin.

So what did I do during my EYE EXAM yesterday? I faced up to the bright lights, big machines, puffs of air and retinal scans just to show Kevin WHAT A GOOD MOTHER I AM.

Do you think I can eke out 10 years from this pair of glasses?

Taking care of business

About 5 years ago, my glasses broke so I got a new pair. Thankfully my prescription was only about a year old then, so I didn't have to get another eye exam. I'm still wearing those same glasses. Needless to say, I should get an eye exam. And new glasses, as these have loose screws that I have to tighten a couple of times every day and the lenses still fall out on a regular basis. And I got hit in the face with a volleyball on Sunday and they got majorly tweaked.

So I made an appointment for this afternoon. Yesterday morning, I woke up with only one eye functioning. The other was stuck shut. Ah, my old buddy, pink eye, has returned. "It's been awhile since I've seen you," I remarked. Then I added, "And really, I haven't missed you." Now I will wait until probably next week to take care of my glasses problem.

On the subject of buying a new car, we test drove some more over the weekend and had one of those "God!" moments. After the first test drive at a major-brand dealership, the sales guy was all like, "Is it the car you've been looking for?" "Aw, I was sure you'd come back and say it was perfect for you." "Do you want to step inside and talk some more?" When we left, I complained to Andy about how a salesperson who would act like a human would be much more likely to make money off of me. I probably complained for a good 10 minutes on our way to the next place.

When we arrived at the next place, it was as if we were on Candid Camera. The people we talked to there were exactly like I described wanting salespeople to be! They treated us like we were family. When Andy turned on a car to test drive it, the fuel light came on. The guy genuinely felt bad (someone else had just had it on a test drive, so we didn't think anything of it) but said, "Well, I'll have to drive it up to the corner to get gas in it or you can" and he handed us their American Express Business credit card.

We didn't find the car we want there, but we now have them looking for a car for us while we sit on the couch watching Ocean's Eleven and eating Bon Bons.

If we find out the service we received wasn't a fluke and they continue to treat us the way we hope, I'll be sure to mention their name and give 'em props - that way they get some free advertising to all 3 of you who read my blog.

A reason to buy the Subaru

We're shopping for a car to replace my ailing truck. Yesterday we visited CarMax just to sit in a few different models that may be of interest to see whether they're even comfortable, before dealing with a full-blown test drive. This was particularly the case yesterday as we went out while the temperature was about 25 degrees and it was snowing, so there was no test-driving going on.

To get to Laurel from Ellicott City took much longer than it should have, with people driving 20 mph on I-95, which was merely wet with very light snow falling and lots of cars to melt it off the roadway. Talk about annoying!

We skipped the highway on our way home and took back roads. The back roads were covered in a dusting of snow (covered, but by less than an inch of snow) but they were hilly and curvy. We started down a hill only to see a large gathering of vehicles with their flashers on at the bottom.

"Abort! Abort!" we decided. There was one driveway along the hill so we turned around in it and tried to get back up the hill to go a different way. Unfortunately, we couldn't get back up the hill. Our newly-tired front-wheel drive with traction control van couldn't go anywhere but sideways. Andy and I know how to drive in the snow (really, we do) so we were a bit surprised to find that we were unable to negotiate getting started up the hill. There was a van identical to ours that turned around just after us and got stuck just ahead of us on the hill.

We tried various maneuvers for about 10 minutes before a diesel-engine, dual-rear-wheel Chevrolet truck came by and asked if we needed assistance. You bet! Andy helped him get his tire chains on and hook up the chain to the front of the van. While they were doing this I was wishing we were in his position, being able to help people so practically. I tried to imagine who he was - what kind of job does he do that he has such a truck, is he just out for something else and found all these people in need, etc. I thought through the outward-focused service mindset that our church is really working on and wondered where this man's desire (or at least willingness) to serve came from.

I saw he had some of those "awareness ribbon" magnets on his tailgate and I assumed they were war/military-related. I squinted to read them and could make out only the first and third ones which said, "Support Farting" and "Support Lap Dancing."

I'm going out on a limb to assume that he probably doesn't get his willingness to serve from feeling full of the Holy Spirit. But I could be wrong.

A dandelion in a field of poppies

I visited a Roman Catholic Church last Saturday for a mass in Spanish. I don't speak or understand Spanish. I know a few words, but that doesn't help in a real-life conversation - or a church service. I also was the only blonde in the crowd. I told Andy my hair said, "Look at me!" Then I realized that lots of people live their lives feeling like that everyday and it's good for me to be in that situation. Granted, my situation was insulated in that I was there with Andy's family including relatives visiting from Mexico, so I had a sense of belonging because they looked and sounded like everyone else there and I belong to that family. (And, surprisingly, they do take ownership of me.)

Were I Catholic, I'd know what was going on in the service despite not understanding the language, but I had the double-whammy of not understanding AND not being exposed to Catholic mass in the past except for a few isolated incidents. Yet, I could still tell that I shared something deep with these people - a genuine belief that God is bigger than all of us and that Jesus came to teach us to love.

Andy's dad and aunts asked me whether I liked the service. I thought it a strange question because, obviously, I didn't understand any of the service! But I did say that although I didn't understand any of it, I enjoyed being in that type of situation where I was wildly outnumbered based on my race and cultural experience because it helped me learn about other peoples' perspectives while showing me that deep inside our hearts, we all share so much in common.