This past weekend we attended the Arbor Work Party where kids and parents alike chip in and help out at the school. Many people pulled weeds, sanded tables, or planted flowers. Kathleen helped to clean Nicholas' classroom with his teacher Lori, and Nicholas and I went off to the library to shelve books and lend a hand there.
This gave me the opportunity to talk more with Maureen, the school librarian who wields her bullhorn like a football coach during pick up/drop off in the driveway. We talked about what books we have read recently, politics, religion, and about life at Arbor. I mentioned how much Nicholas loves it there, and we came to the topic of one of my favorite traditions at the school- children donate books to the the school on their birthday.
This July, Nicholas happened to be at Summer Camp at Arbor, so he was able to drop off his book last month. He picked one of the "Magic School Bus" books to donate. In it, he wrote a personalized inscription.
Excuse the glare, but it says, "You are the best school for me. Love, Nicholas."
No, this is not a post about Abba. It is about my talented little dancers. Their moves constantly surprise and amaze me, and we are still not sure from whence these skills came. Definitely not from me or Kathleen.
I hope you enjoy Nicholas with accompaniment from Adele and Catherine along with Bon Iver!
Last month, I traveled to DC. I was not there for a conference or for meetings. Rather, my friend Brooks and I were there for a weekend of Barcelona football. On the night we got in, we went to FedEx field and saw both teams practice. It was incredible to see the skill and preparation of each team, particularly Barca. Shown below is a circle drill Barca commonly practices to gain comfort in passing the ball quickly and in tight quarters. No one does this better than them, and now I know why. Preparation.
The next night, we watched Barca and Man U face off in a "friendly" match that was a re-match of the Champions' League Final from May. Unfortunately, Man U beat the Barca squad that was largely comprised of B team players that was sans Messi :(. However, it was still wondrous to see football played on such a high level by both teams. It will be difficult to go back to watching MLS games after this spectacle.
More than just the football events, it was great to catch up with my friend Brooks and to have some time to myself. We took in the DC sites- mainly indoors because it was in the high 90s! We went to the National Gallery and the Phillips Collection between large cups of iced coffee and gatorade and had a great brunch at Kramerbooks.
During the weekend, we discussed our plans for next year. Brooks begins his second year of medical school, and I have a slew of grants to write and get funded. Before we parted, we also made plans to meet again- hopefully for another soccer weekend somewhere. Can you say annual tradition?
Here is to more beautiful weekends with the best club and one of my best friends!
I picked up new kits (uniforms) for the kids at the Timbers' store. These two seem like a great fit for the Timbers Army, the club's supporters' group, already... especially the little one!
