anniversary times, seventh season

Me: BIM!...you're making the same face every time!

Bim: oh, right, funny faces. OK. 

All day babysitting for Ally and Liv = all day for me and Bim to ride the BIG KID roller coasters at Knott's Berry Farm and Soak City. Good thing the girls weren't around to hear some of the words that slipped out of me on the way up and down...

(If you love rickety old roller coasters, I have two words for you: Ghost Rider.)

team Lorenza

We spent the afternoon today with 18 year-old Lorenza and many of her cousins, uncles and aunts. Lorenza's parents, and her little brother and sister live in Guatemala, but Lorenza is starting a new life in Los Angeles thanks to Bim and his colleague Sasha, whose pro bono work won her asylum. it's a big deal. The amazing supervising non-profit attorney (Lindsay) who brought the case to Bim's firm said that only about 5 of her hundreds of clients--all children--have been granted asylum.

For Lorenza, this means that she won't be at risk for deportation back to Guatemala where, as a native Mayan woman, her life was threatened numerous times by gangs that often target indigenous people. Bim would come home after meeting with her and tell me some of what she went through. Her little brother was killed by the gangs and...well. We're happy that she'll be able to finish high school and go on to college here. We all hope things will be easier for her, though easy isn't probably the right word. College in a new language can't be easy. But she has a plan, and a big family to support her.

The aunts spent all day cooking us Mayan tamales wrapped in special leaves that they buy once a year. The second course was a chicken and pasta soup, served with homemade tortillas. Mmm, boy. I could eat that every day. Our translator, also Guatemalan (Lorenza speaks K'iche), explained that we were eating the equivalent of Thanksgiving dinner.

Meanwhile Ally and Liv were making friends with all the kids in the the little courtyard area between apartments. The little boys won Liv over by bestowing little gifts on her: stickers and tinsel they pulled out of the dumpster. She claims to now speak Spanish.

Welcome to the land of giants.

If anyone ever puts one of these in front of you, eat it.

Tios y Tias

Team Lorenza: Misrael (translator), Lindsay, Lorenza, Bim, Sasha

Lorenza showed us all of her official documents and her legal resident card, and she gave us each a glitter bedecked holographic picture of Jesus on which she'd written a grateful benediction. As we sat down to eat at tables rented for the occasion, she stood and made a little speech, telling Bim and Sasha and Lindsay how thankful she was and how she prayed that God would return to them, in blessings, all the time and money and work they had devoted since her case was opened more than a year ago. She was so poised; it was hard to imagine all the wild changes she's endured since leaving her home: from candles to electricity, from K'iche to Spanish to English. She showed us pictures of her family, all in the native Mayan dress which up until now were her everyday clothes. I can only imagine how her mom must miss her. But it's a great day! 

summa

 first pepper from the garden; too bad she's fulla worms.

 my girl can hit! they both can, actually, but Ally hits the ball. 

 i think that means, 'swing for the fences.'

4th of July block party

the blue bird of happiness

ally had her first ballet recital last weekend. i predicted boredom and impatience during the 3-hour backstage wait, 3 days in a row. (did we really sign up for that?) but i was wrong. there was candyland, there were iPads, there was makeup! and mirrors, mirrors everywhere. i didn't think they were serious about that stage makeup, but when all the other moms brought it except me, i think ally was a little disappointed. someone gave her some sparkly eyelids and that made it better. the next night i brought it and she threw her arms around me, then ran to the mirrors to acquaint herself with the *new* fabulous ally. win.

well, hello there

for my part, i found entertainment in my iPod, my reading material, and the stage parents, some of whom were pretty awesome. half the moms were pumping their kids full of sugar and the other half were real mad about it. would whoever is giving the kids chocolate please stop? now there's chocolate all over my daughter's tights and i don't know what to do!

maybe start by interrupting her attempts to mop the floor with her body? but not really; all the girls were getting a lot of joy from that. such a shiny, slickery floor! 

the show was pretty cool and ally was only too happy to be on stage. this was her second event in the high school theater and i think it's starting to feel pretty familiar. far from overwhelming her with costume changes and bobby pins and endless waiting, waiting, waiting for the bluebirds to go on stage, the pageantry energized her.

looks like we're not done with ballet just yet. more bobby pins! QUICK!

oh, nothing, just this morning

i need a james bond camera that discretely snaps pictures when i close my eyelids. i need this to replace the one i have now, which looks like a car engine strapped around my neck and inserts itself in the scene rudely. reminds me sometimes of certain annoying girls who used to try to block me from making shots in church basketball. if i had a james bond camera, i could capture a memory without crushing it. i could, for example, show you a little scene from this morning that was no big deal, but which i would like to remember forever.


first, some latelies. 


lately, we've been lolling around with no school schedule to obey. we've been spending long hours puttering and lying at the beach, trawling the neighborhood in sundresses looking for cheap pedicures, dropping in at the park to see friends, rearranging the furniture, watching tv and otherwise indulging ourselves while bim works and works to keep us in the lifestyle to which we've grown accustomed. even i would hate us a little if i weren't so grateful for this slow, savory summer life. 


Ally packed her bag(s!) days ago in preparation for a sleepover that will happen tonight. she's been using her backup toothbrush at home because her good one is packed. she slept in her dress last night so she wouldn't have to waste any time in the morning. so, she's ready. (i heard her bounding around the house at 6-ish this morning.)


a little later, when Al was halfway through a bowl of generic cheerios, we heard Liv bawling for her. Ally looked up like a houndog that's just caught the scent of its 'coon. she put down her spoon and rushed to Liv's bedside. i slunk in behind her in case i was needed, but i wasn't.

Ally: Livvy, what's wrong?
Liv: I didn't want you to go!
Ally: Ohhh, you didn't want me to go. [Patting her back, kind of hard but meaning well.] I'm sorry. It's okay, it's okay. Next time I won't leave you.
Liv: *sniff*

there was some babytalk (from Ally) and some more big, sad eyes from Liv, some more patting (er, pounding?) on the back, and lots of loving.

then i came out to my office and my bunnies started giving me a jumping show. did i mention we got LeBoeuf his own bunny, a dutch named Maisy? he's a more blissful bun these days (Ally: 'look, they're hugging!' Liv: 'they're getting married!').

so far i like this morning. feels good.

Fanks, that's perthect.

this post is alternately titled, going wrong for all the right reasons.

i want to say publicly that i screwed up Father's Day yesterday. it started with forgetting until late Saturday night that i had promised snickerdoodles to my Sunday school class (11 and 12 year-olds), so i got up at 6 to make them. i think there would still have been a chance to save the day if i had only slept until 8.

then when we got home, instead of resting for a bit and doing a good job, i rushed into it and made the worst meal of maybe ever. inedible. (over- and under-grilled chicken, soggy cabbage...and not much more)

then i gave the wrong gift because i wasn't listening. no gift would have been better, truly.

the father in this house wouldn't have minded either of those things. he isn't rude--actually, he's very nice and a great dad...the total package. he didn't say a cross word all the live-long day.

but...i did pout a lot. not really about the food or the gift, but mostly because i was feeling melancholy and tired and didn't muster the strength to rise above. i went to bed early. i think we're going to have to stage a Father's Day Redux.

an alternate title for this post is, going wrong for mostly wrong reasons. 


i sure hope all your father's days were better than the one i presented. i have *no doubt* they were.