You May Own Us, But Don't Leer

Did anybody else see this image from President Obama's arrival ceremony in Beijing last week?  Check out the guy over Hu Jintao's shoulder: is it me or is he making a face at the President of the United States?

China may well own most of our foreign debt.  The President may be new on the world stage.  But neither of those gives that Chinese serviceman the right to leer--really, to mock--the President of the Untied States.  I most sincerely doubt you could ever find a similar photo of a U.S. serviceman in a receiving line for President Hu doing the same thing.  I don't care what the excuse is, because there's really no excuse for this shoddy treatment of our President.

Happy Birthday Mary!

This weekend we celebrated Mary's 40th birthday...and we got her g-o-o-o-o-d!

It started with the kids and me taking her to Tokyo One for dinner on her actual birthday, and just as we sat down, a couple walked over and asked if the next seats were taken; when Mary looked up, it was Laura and Glenn Ellingson, all the way from San Jose, CA--her college roommate had made the trip!

Then Saturday afternoon, Kate, Stacy, Anna, and Colleen got all dressed up and a little after 4 in the afternoon spilled out of a limo out front, and told Mary they were taking her away for drinks for her birthday.  She and Laura got changed, then headed off in the limo to the Ritz Carlton's bar for champagne and toasts.  Meanwhile, the kids, Glenn, and I got dressed and started collecting pre-ordered balloons and cake and headed to Maggiano's over in Tyson's Corner.  I had made arrangements for a private dining room upstairs, which we decorated in time for 40 of her friends and family to show up.

When the limo brought the ladies to the restaurant, we could all yell "Surprise!" and it was.  She had NO idea that her parents had made the trip down from Vermont; nor her college friend Alicia and her husband Jake, also from Vermont; nor her cousin, Curtis, who had driven up from Norfolk and whom she hadn't seen in years.  We actually made her cry when we sang Happy Birthday to her when she walked in.

It was a very special evening that no one wanted to see end...well, except the restaurant staff, who finally had to usher us out after our closing time.  We kept the party going a bit longer today with a brunch at the house for everyone who had travelled so far to see her.  It was a tremendous way to celebrate Mary, to surround her with all the love of all her family and friends through the years.

Once we get some photos processed, we'll have them up on here too.  But the memories...oh, those will last another forty years.

25 Seconds of Excellence

Thanks to Liz & Al Ramos, we have video of David's terrific 40-yard pass play for a touchdown last Saturday against Manassas.  Click here for 25 seconds of David's excellent performance to even the score in the first half of the Wolves' playoff game.

One Year On

Friday, November 6, was the first anniversary of my Dad's passing.

I left the house a little early, and stopped to lay some delphiniums (one of his favorite flowers) at the tree we'd planted this fall for him.  The morning light was coming up, and it was quiet: a good time to pray and say that a year later I still miss him.  When I looked up, I saw Sarah in her bedroom window, watching me; she waved, as if to cheer her Daddy up.

Work conspired to keep me nice and busy, and so did the boys' last football practice before their playoff game/rematch against Manassas.  There were plenty of times during the day that thoughts of him cropped up, and while they were more frequent and pronounced than recently, I could handle them well.

Then came a moment in David's football game Saturday morning.  The Sharks had run a play like the ones they had used to beat us on so many times in our first game, and ran a long ways for a TD and the first score.  In the next series, Coach called a timeout and gave the defense some life, because they came out of that timeout with two sacks that quickly had the Sharks looking at 4th and 21.  Suddenly there was a glimmer of hope.

Then we got the ball, ran a few more of our run plays.  And then, it happened: Power Pass Right.  David's signature pass play.

It went just beautifully, exactly as it's drawn up.  By the time everyone realized it was a pass, David was behind the last defender.  Daniel's pass was perfect, David caught it in mid-stride, and was off.  The Wolves bench and sideline went nuts, cheering and hollering for David as he ran 40 yards for what would turn out to be the Wolves' only score of the day.  But suddenly it's 6-6, suddenly there is hope, suddenly the Wolves are back in it, and suddenly it's dawning on the Sharks that this isn't the same team they beat before, and they're in for a long morning.

Of course I was cheering probably the loudest; why not?!  But then I noticed a new emotion working up beside the tremendous pride I felt in my son and his accomplishment.  It was a stab of deep sorrow.

Standing on the sideline, watching my boy so nonchalantly flip the ball to the referee to set up the PAT ("This? Oh, I do this all the time!"), I began to sob.  Tears rolled down my face as I turned away; I never saw them miss the PAT.  At that moment, what saddened me the most was that David's Pappap never had the chance to see him play...would never have the chance to see the tremendous gifts his grandson has, could not share in the moment and could never give him the hug he so richly deserved.  And David, exulting with his teammates, could never know the joy of seeing his Pappap's beaming face on the sideline, his white crown of hair and gold glasses shining with the excitement of the moment, his moment.

I think often that It's Not Fair, that I should lose my Dad when I'm only age 40.  It's moments like those that make me see the broader unfairness, how many others are similarly denied having him around.  Oh, David never saw me crying; he probably didn't register who wasn't there to see him in triumph.  But it's moments like those that nonetheless make up how we are, and how we find ourselves coping, One Year On.

Updates to Photo Albums

We've added some pictures to a couple of older albums, and added a new one capturing the Wolves' heartbreaking loss to the Sharks this weekend in football.

For the photo album in which we remember Dad K., we added two pictures of the bare tree with the delphiniums we laid in his memory on November 6.  And in Sarah's soccer pictures, we added two photos of Sarah with her Blue Lightning teammates this fall.

Finally, the Wolves had their rematch against the Manassas Sharks on Saturday, November 7, and while they did a LOT better than when they lost to Manassas in week 3 (their only loss in the regular season), they still came up j-u-s-t short in the 13-6 loss.  David had the TD: a 40-yard BEAUTIFUL catch that he broke open and ran away from everyone for the score.  But it wasn't enough, and the heartbreak of the loss shows up on the photo album we created for the Wolves' playoff game.

Enjoy, and as always, add your comments and join the dialogue!

The Title Chase Continues

We learned today that the Springfield Wolves will face the Manassas Sharks, the only team they lost to in the regular season, in the first-round playoff game this Saturday morning at 9:30.  We'll be at Greenbriar Park's field number 5, on Stringfellow Road in Chantilly, VA, so while it's technically an away game for both teams, it's a lot closer to Manassas than it is to Springfield.

Any and every-one is invited to turn out in their Wolves' blue-and-white to cheer on the boys.  At practice this week we intend to work on the plays we want to have humming j-u-s-t right when we meet Manassas again (and, I imagine, working on our run defense too).  And for those From Away, continue to follow the Wolves through 703astrosfan at Twitter.  See you at the field!  Awooooo!

It's That Time of Year...

Every fall, the kids begin building their lists of things that would make them squeal with glee on Christmas morning.  And this year being no different from any other, their lists are both extensive and expensive.  However, in an effort to bring some reason to it, when we post this year's list we've done some editing to take out the $250 doll accessory or the truly ridonculous Nerf gun that looks like something out of Blade Runner.  As ever, we will do our best to update the list as ideas come on and off, and cross things out that arrive for late-year birthdays.  And for family members who also often send us their lists...well, Black Friday is less than four weeks off.