A Job Well Done

Our receptionist buzzed me today to tell me I had a delivery. I assumed it was one of Josh's birthday presents which I ordered shipped to my office. Imagine my surprise when this showed up at my office:

I couldn't imagine who had sent me flowers. It's not my birthday, anniversary, Mother's Day, I haven't done anything particularly noteworthy for anyone lately. So I opened the card, and was pleasantly surprised to see the flowers were sent by a former client, whose custody case I won for him on appeal a year ago today. He wrote that one year ago, I gave him the greatest gift when I won the return of his son, and he wanted to send this small gift to me in thanks. So kind and thoughtful.

Inflatable Spiderman

The latest addition to our Spiderman collection. Josh picked this one up at the last waterfront festival. He is already looking forward to Rose Festival later this month, and checks daily on the status of truck arrivals and unloadings as they set up the tents and rides.

Futsal -- Playoffs!

Against the odds, my futsal team made it to the playoffs as the fourth seed, and then defeated the number 1 seed to advance to the championship game! We of course lost in the finals, but it was so exciting to get that far. Here I am after returning home from our victory Monday night:


Summer session starts next week, so wish us well!

Oregon for Obama

Barack Obama held a rally in Portland today, and although I really wanted to go (given my support for him, and also because I took Josh to see John Kerry at the Portland Waterfront in the 2004 campaign and wanted to give Lucas the same opportunity at early political involvement), it was in the 90s today and I knew from past experience that it would be a long hot wait in a very large crowd. So, I was not that upset when we ended up with a playdate scheduled for Josh at noon (bowling! It was really fun.)

But after the bowling adventure, I had to at least get a glimpse of Obama and this historic moment. I made John drive me down to the eastside waterfront (the rally was across the river on the west side waterfront). I couldn't see the stage (it was blocked by a bridge from where we stopped), but I could see that Obama was not yet speaking. I couldn't take it; I grabbed bus fare (to get home afterward) and got out of the car. Josh needed to get home for his nap, but I took Lucas with me. We trekked across the bridge and into the rally.

It was hot, and the crowd was large, but I am still glad we went. The Obama staffers were prepared as usual, with tons of water to hand out, and had other volunteers walking around spraying water to keep people cool. The crowd was so diverse: all ages, all races, even skater kids, the gamut. Lucas befriended a dog and some college aged girls, and kept himself entertained playing with one or the other. I am sunburned, but it was worth it (I only put SPF on Lucas before we rushed out of the car, and forgot to take similar care of myself). Obama is a great speaker, an inspiring leader, and hopefully, our next President.

Portland set the record for crowd size for an Obama rally, and that's saying something. There were 75,000 people there. Lucas and I stuck to the back, in case we needed to leave (another lesson learned from the Kerry rally).

Here is Senator Obama speaking to the throngs:

And here is the full crowd. We are in the waaaaaay back, about 20 yards in front of the trees (the ones that look like bushes given the distance, at the top of the photo):

It really didn't feel as far back as we were, and because we were on a hill, we had a great view of the stage. Lucas has learned to clap, which he most often does when others are clapping (such as when he watches sports on TV and the crowd is clapping), so he clapped right along with the crowd, much to the amusement of those around us. Babies for Obama!

Hello Virginia!

Goooooooooal!

Two months ago I was invited to join my friend Ingrid's futsal team. I did not play soccer growing up, and did not know about futsal, which is a form of indoor soccer (but is a bit more true to the outdoor game, with no playing off the walls). Ingrid's co-ed team needed more women, and they invited me for my athleticism despite my lack of soccer knowledge. When I logged on the website to learn the rules, however, I was horrified to read the banner: "Futsal -- Faster, Skilled Play." Ingrid, I said, I have no skills, much less fast ones! From portlandfutsal.com:

"What exactly is Futsal? The game was invented in Montevideo, Uruguay back in 1930 to provide the World Cup winning Uruguayans a way to get even better and more creative on the ball. The word Futsal comes from shortening the Spanish phrase “Futbol de Salon” which literally translates to indoor soccer. You play 5 v 5, with four field players and a goalie.

Futsal is the only FIFA-sanctioned indoor soccer game in the world, and every single Brazilian swears by it and grows up playing it, then taking those well-honed skills into their outdoor games. Ronaldo attributed his winning goal against Turkey in World Cup 2002 to a technique he learned in futsal. He told FIFA.COM after the game that “it was a difficult move because my way was blocked. Nobody expected me to shoot it because I had to use the point of my toe and you don’t see many players try it. But it swerved through the defenders and went in. It was instinctive and I owe it all to playing a lot of futsal when I was younger.” Most of Latin America plays it; Argentina calls it Cinco, Mexico calls it Rapido."

My first game was a disaster, but I have gradually improved over the season. Last night, in our last game of the spring season, I finally scored my first assist! I was so excited. But it only got better from there. I also went on to score 3 goals! I hadn't scored any goals, or any assists, all season. The only downside is that it was the last game--where was this earlier?? But, it looks like we will be able to field a team for the summer session, so maybe I can keep it up!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mothers' Prayer for Peace

Excerpts from the Mother's Day Proclamation, 1870, by Julia Ward Howe

Arise then...women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!

Say firmly:

"Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of women of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to kill theirs."

From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!"

Ceremony Pictures

Many thanks to Gail and Gene (John's mom and dad) for sharing their pictures with us.

The research symposium:



The hooding ceremony:



(The thing tied to Josh's wrist and cutting through the photo, which Lucas is staring up at, is one of the decorative balloons that were on the stage.)

Cinco de Mayo Festival

Josh's preschool is one block from waterfront park, and his class walks down to the waterfront everyday to run around and get some fresh air. Monday, the trucks and trailers started arriving with the rides for this weekend's Cinco de Mayo festival, and it was all Josh and his friends could talk about. Every day he has asked if he could go ride the helicopters; Friday night, he finally got to go. About four rides in, he spotted his bud Terence from school, and it was so much fun to watch them ride the rides together. Terence's dad got this great picture of the boys on the swings and sent it to us.