The weekend

Friday:
Wow, what the heck happened Friday? I think nothing. K and I sat and crocheted/knitted together. I know; I know.

Saturday:
K went into the City to get ready for a memorial service for a recently passed parishioner. G had a soccer game at 9:30 but the coach had asked us to get there at 9, since the previous Wednesday's practice had been rained out. They set up cones and did some drills and offered Lee's Donuts (top 4 in the SF Bay Area!) to the parents. Maple glazed, yum!

Someone else had also brought coffee. I convinced myself that if I only took a small amount of coffee and added lots of milk that it would be fine. cue the sounds of Doom

The game was against the best team in the division, apparently. They had 1 sub, if any, and were fast and quite skilled. And G's team played like they'd never played before! The final score was probably 4-0, but far better than the 7-0 of 2 weekends ago. It was like these kids got the kick in the butt they'd needed! They all played better than ever, every one of them. G had some wonderful saves at D and nice long kicks up in front... but at nearly the end of the game, took a ball in the stomach. I cradled him and he settled down but didn't want to go back in at all. His coach understood. He did get up to run through the Tunnel Of Parents that the parents make each game. And eat another donut, and his post-game snack.

So with an extra-exciting game and 1/2 cup of real coffee, I was BUZZING for at least an hour. Wow!

When I got home, there was a message from K saying a friend was going to be dropping off her robe, which she'd washed, hung up, and forgotten to bring with her. I had only been able to set up childcare for an hour before the service, so we knew it was going to be tight. oh, man--define 'tight'!

G and I ran like 8 errands and returned home about noon. We both had some lunch and I got my shower in and was actually ready (reread that: actually ready) on time. I even moved stuff into my car that I would need with me (the robe and boxes of tissues for the mourners) before my babysitter arrived, 5 mins late. So when she arrived, I talked to her briefly and headed out, just 5 mins behind schedule.

Anyone remembering that it was Fleet Week in SF? there are those sounds of Doom again.

The 20-30 minute trip took me 50 minutes. I got there at 2:59 for a 3:00 service. My heart was in my throat. At least, for once, I didn't have to beat myself up for running late. I did have to remind myself to breathe a few times. I also went a different way than usual and was quite proud of myself for not getting lost. Phew!

The service was very nice. K did an incredible job welcoming folks from all walks of life, Christian and not. I was really impressed. She guided the service so well and subtly. When it came time for folks to speak, many of them got up and shared wonderful vignettes, some so touching, others so very funny. A couple came in late, through the side door, and I got up to get orders of service for them. My friend R kidded me about being a minister's wife. Yeah, maybe! We ended by singing "Marching in the Light of God," which really is fun to sing. A great way to end.

Downstairs, there was lots of food and I threw together my famous Melted Brie With Green Salsa. It just didn't want to melt (I think I leave the brie out of the fridge before I do it), so we just put it out as is, with a fork to dig into it. One guy actually approached me and shook my hand, he enjoyed it so much. I chatted with several people, including a woman who is part of an every-Monday dinner group (I want to do that!) in the city the mom and her lover live in. K and I passed in the middle of the room and held hands briefly, me being completely unaware that she really hasn't done that in front of her congregation before. Oh, well, it felt natural.

After a while, we headed out to have dinner with the mom and her family at Delancey Street. They were there before us, and had sat so we couldn't be side by side. I was really quite thrown by that. Afterward, we realized it was the right thing: no need to be lovey-dovey at a post-memorial service dinner. At the time, though, I stretched out my foot and curved it around K's for a bit, just for the contact.

Dinner was really good; I had a BBQ combo plate, complete with collard and mustard greens, and a slice of sweet-potato pie, which was placed next to my dinner with a solemn, "This is not dessert." Everything was so, so good. The greens were somewhat spicey (the mom's sister asked to try them and I loaded up her plate with greens and a big slice of the pie; she really appreciated it!) and I think disagreed with me later. They actually tasted mustardy! The pie was perfect. I'd had SPP before and hadn't liked it. This was just sweet enough and just spiced enough. Yum.

Afterward, K drove me to where my car was. We held each other for a while and then parted, as she needed to be ready to run church services the next day.

Sunday:
We got to church just in time to run through the anthem for the last time (a great, welcoming song) and get my robe on. I knew we were leaving early that day, so I cautioned G that he would not be going to Sunday School. He took it well. We sat through the service until the anthem. When it was time for me to go up to sing, he wanted to come with, so I let him, with the caveat that he needed to be quiet and not bug me (from experience, sigh). He did OK until the very end, when he decided it would be a great idea to look up my dress (what possesses a child...?!?). Overall, the anthem went fine. Next was time for Children's Time, which G participated in with gusto (kind of fun to see!). After that, I changed out of my robe and we took off for San Jose.

Google Maps had said it would take 49 mins to get from Alameda to the chapel, and thank God it didn't! We were there barely on time. I was glad to get to see Val baptized, but poor G barely made it through. He was so hungry! We finally left and went downstairs to where the food was to see if there was something he could munch on. The gal there kindly gave us some Cheezits so he could make it through. Phew!

We stayed at the reception long enough to eat some yummy food and see our present opened. Val liked it--I knew she would; I had fun playing with it in the store! It's a 3-segment caterpiller thing with a shiny-mirror butt (hey, it's a kid's toy) and you can twist the sections to make different animals and also to feel a bump-bump-bump kind of sensation. Can't go wrong!

We headed back home to videos (G) and my lovely GF stretched out in my bed (me!). After a while, we packed up and headed to my game, the first of the season with my new team. One of my teammates said she thought we had an unusually strong team. I agree! I still feel like I robbed a candy store. Despite this, we still had a 1-1 tie even after 5 mins of overtime. A great game! Beautifully matched, lots of action, lots of good plays, and not plagued by offsides calls, as is the tradition of first-Green games! I had tons of fun even though I still cannot get over the boards without bruising my inner thighs (any hints?). After stopping at Wendy's, we headed home to bed.