Aidan

Aidan is playing his first season in club soccer. And since we arrived here late, the only spot available for him was on a U11 team. Completely undeterred by the difference in size and strength, our scrappy little boy has been playing his heart out. Often on the sidelines when we are chatting with other parents they ask which boy is ours and we reply-that little guy; the one who keeps getting knocked over. But everytime, Aidan pops back up and throws himself back in the game which is earning him reputation among the other parents for being so tough. And now, there is a whole orchestra of "Go Aidan!" as he runs across the field.

Aidan was really proud of the nickname "Kaka" that the coaches from the British Soccer Camp dubbed him with last season. (not so much for playing soccer with Brazilian like finesse but more because of the hair)

Four guys on him and he still manages to push through a hole to shoot and score!

But as proud as I am of his soccer playing self, I am most delighted with the person that he consistently shows himself to be. Full of integrity and thoughtfulness, with a giving and generous heart. We had a garage sale a couple of weeks ago and Aidan was trying to raise money for a remote controlled helicopter that he has had his eye on so he was trying to sell his old skateboard. There was a a young hispanic boy who had his eye on the skateboard, but his father told him they couldn't spend the $5 for it. When I turned around a few minutes later, Aidan was kneeling by his skateboard peeling off the price sticker and giving the skateboard to the little boy. Athletic skills are over emphasized and highly sought after, but a man of character is priceless.

Friday

This morning I got up before the sun and headed to Denver for a benefit breakfast I had been invited to by a new friend from my soccer team. I didn't feel intimidated when she casually mentioned her nonprofit. But, um, by "her" she really meant "Her"-like as in, "I am the Executive Director". I'm sitting at the table, appropriately dressed in business casual, nibbling on my bagel and lox with a side of green capers (which I am thinking looks suspiciously like something my rabbit would have left behind although, much tastier) and fortifying myself with a cup of coffee AND tea. The lawyers surrounding me at the table make friendly small talk and offer validation of the "hard work" of my role as a stay at home mom in the way that only working professionals who have careers and not kids can. (yep, if anybody at the table throws up or needs to use the bathroom, I'm your girl.--thought, not spoken.) The benefit was for an organization called Seeking Common Ground and the idea is to bridge the gaps that religion, social status, and history, etc would dictate for our path. My legs dangling above the ground in the adult sized chair, I listened to eager voices of change and friendships between white and black South Africans, Jew and Muslim, Israeli and Palestinian-neighbors except for a wall. The thoughts and actions of people inspired to make a difference and "use the brick they had been given to make a step instead of a stumbling block". I was thinking over the meeting as I was driving home to do the laundry and chaperone on a 1st grade field trip. I thought maybe I was the only one going home who had the urge to shout "slugbug" and hit the ceiling everytime I saw a VW Beetle thanks to the usual cacophony from the backseat. And as I arrived home to a locked door and had to shimmy under the garage door while climbing over boxes, I imagined the lawyers at the table with me, sneaking peaks at their cell phones under the white tablecloth, doing the same. The image didn't fit. But for a moment, an hour and a half, we shared something more than a table and the cream cheese. We shared some common ground. And had the same thought planted that an ordinary person could make a difference. My ordinary seemed extra ordinary compared to the PHD's and awards around me. But maybe, there is a chance for this laundry-doing, meal-making, bathroom-cleaning Momma to take her very ordinariness and make a difference as well.

Chloe-ish

When I first got my camera, Chloe was my patient, willing model for hours of picture taking. In retrospect, I should have spread those days out longer as it appears my sweet littlest one has become tired of patiently posing. But these are just as fun because here you get to see the quirky, zany side of our Chloe.

Taking a moment to pause and shoot the mountains because they at least, were not wiggling.

One last try...