Trifecta

Thanks to high humidity, a bad head cold and early on-set of SAD, my head feels like a block of compressed dryer lint. Nothing's getting in....or out, really, and it feels so fuzzy and dense in there. I really wish humans could hibernate.

A mother's pride, a mother's guilt

Uni High isn't typically known for it's athletics. It hasn't had a football team since the early part of last century. But for the second year in a row, the boy's soccer team has made it to the state sectional championships. Last year was exciting for our family because Bethany's boyfriend Michael was one of the star players. It was also the year that Carter broke his wrist requiring surgery and sitting out for the entire soccer season. So THIS year was a big deal for Carter. In preparation for the season he and some friends started playing pick-up games with U of I students during the summer. He got new cleats. He dribbled a soccer ball around the house and showed off his moves to me and whoever else would watch. I'm guessing the other players did similar things because the team played pretty well this season, even though there were a lot of new and younger players.

George and I dragged the mini-muffins to as many of the home games as we could. At first the games were a little boring. If you've ever watched a soccer game, you know what I'm talking about. But then we got to know each of the players by name, and we would marvel at the intricate footwork, the way these boys could go from 0 to 60 in just a few seconds. And, of course, I just loved seeing my beautiful son play, his lanky arms and legs everywhere. I could tell he loved every minute of it.

Last Friday Uni won the regional title against a school they had beat once before. It was a nail-biting game, one that stayed 0-0 until nearly the end when Uni scored, sort of by accident. Who cares?! Now they're going to sectionals! Yesterday we packed up the little guys, lots of snacks, jackets, etc. and expectantly trekked down to Monticello for the game. It was a little cooler than I had expected and the wind had definitely picked up. We watched the first half, me dancing around to stay warm, Brennan and Logan chasing each other, seemingly oblivious to the weather.

The opponents scored twice soon into the first half. Disappointing. Then it started to rain. And the wind picked up even more. It became pretty miserable, prompting the little boys to hide their heads in our legs and ask to be picked up. By the end of the first half, the rain had become a downpour which flipped the "whine" switch....not the "I'm vaguely dissatisfied, make me happy" whine, but the "I'm so miserable, please help me" whine. I was filled with maternal angst, torn between the needs of one child and the needs of the other children. We went ahead and skedaddled back to the van, thinking "they're probably going to lose."

Well, they did. The final score was 3-2. One of those goals was made by CARTER. I missed my son's great moment, the one where he helped save his team's pride by keeping the game from being a shut-out. The one where all his athletic effort and focus culminated. Big sigh. Laced with lots of guilt.


On the left you can see him (white jersey) scoring with a "header." Those are really hard to do. On the right, the goalie and Carter after the game. ( got these pics from the Uni website.)

Thank GOD he's a junior and has another year to play. Perhaps next year we'll invest in rain gear for everyone. And stay no matter what.

Stocking up on basics

I try to grocery shop once every 2 weeks, but I noticed we were getting low on some very important items so the boys and I went to the store while George worked on the basement. We came back with

chocolate syrup
chocolate Teddy Grahams
chocolate chips
Ghirardelli Double Chocolate coffee

Hmm. I'm noticing a theme.

Not to worry, folks. I also came back with 100% juice, whole wheat bread, almonds, dried apricots, prunes, reduced fat Wheat Thins (with 0% trans fat!) and Kashi Pumpkin Spice Flax crunchy granola bars. We eat pretty healthy most of the time, but a girl's gotta have her chocolate!

The "up" side of Global Warming?

I guiltily admit --


I'm enjoying the prolonged warm weather.

NOT a morning person

While Brennan was climbing into the van this morning to take Carter to school, Logan said "Hi!" to him in his cheery, toddler way. Brennan grimaced at him and barked "No saying 'hi!' You're in trouble!"

Two things you can always count on

Last Friday I went to a symposium at the University of Chicago. My colleagues/friends/landlords (not in that order) Tim and Joanna made up the three-some and we cleverly called it a "retreat" because we planned to have dinner together afterward. The symposium was an oral festschrift for one of the biggest scholars/clinicians in my field -- a woman who studies, writes about and incorporates into her practice spirituality, diversity and family resiliency. This sounded like something we'd be willing to shell out $120 plus traveling expenses and loss of a day's income for.

When we got to the campus and walked the short distance to the School of Social Service Administration, I was briefly charmed by the stately, gothic buildings and all the young, mostly bright faces of students hurrying to class. There is something magnetic about a university campus, especially an old, rich, famous university like U of C. Sometimes, just every now and then, (pretty rarely actually), I see myself on a campus teaching again. This past Friday was one of those rare occasions.

But it only took 5 minutes into the first presentation for me to remember why I left academia in the first place......the rampant narcissism. Oh, and the agonizing tedium of the academic process of doing anything -- by committee and very slowly. The folks involved in this Symposium would make their academic mamas proud because the introducers of the presenters had introducers.

You read that right.....it went like this: there was a peon-type person in the field who introduced a middle tier person in the field who then introduced the big-whig speaker. Sadly, the 8 presentations themselves, with the exception of 1 or 2, were disappointing, with lots of droning on and on about "my study this" and "my study that." This goes to show that some things never change.

After 7 hours of sitting on a backless bench and trying to stay awake, we "retreated" uptown to Lincoln Park for a little S & P (shopping and people watching). Then we went a little further north for dinner at a new Italian restaurant called Il Fiasco (except for a red wine incident, it wasn't). The restaurant had been recommended by a friend of Joanna's and we weren't sure exactly where it was. As we looked for the address, I realized that we were in my old stomping grounds. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped as I took in all the changes that had taken place since I left the City 8 years ago. A trendy restaurant? In my old neighborhood?? And look at that new place! And THAT new place!! Those look really cool!

I probably sound like one of those people that thinks when they move the place they left becomes frozen in time, as a sort of memorial to their presence. I know that doesn't happen. It was just a lot of change in what seemed like a short time. So, along with my very pricey 6 CEUs, I brought home a lingering wistfulness for certain parts of an old life, but a bigger sense of gratefulness that things are always changing.

Mood Lighting

When George and I got married in Santa Fe, we saw this really cool lamp in one of the stores on the Plaza. It gave off a soft, golden glow and revolved so that shadows of images were enlarged on the wall. That particular lamp was WAY expensive, as things in Santa Fe are, and not quite right for our personal decorative tastes -- if I remember right, the images were of cowboys and cacti.

Since then (about 5 1/2 years) we've been looking for a lamp for our bedroom that would give a similar feel. We've found various lamps along the way but nothing that really "WOWed" us in a joint way. We try really hard to get stuff that we both really, really like and we keep looking until we find it.

Before Bethany left for the year she gifted us with a special date. We went to Allerton Park during the day to walk around the grounds and try to get a feel for the 5.5 mile trail that I'm planning to run later this month. Then we strolled around downtown Monticello before we had dinner at Montgomery's on the Square. Sadly, most of the stores were closed except for a new toy store and a specialty shop with blown glass items. The doors were open even though the hours indicated the store should be closed. Music and the beautiful items pulled us to the shop windows. We could see a man towards the back of the store blowing glass. Turns out he was the owner/artist of this gallery. He was gracious enough to educate us about glass blowing and to help us put together a lamp for our bedroom.

You can see it's pretty stunning on it's own:

The blue, green, yellow swirls sort of remind me of the Van Gogh Starry Night. Very, very beautiful and unique.

But look what happens when the lamp is turned on.....

This definitely "WOWed" us and as you can see, it has taken a place of honor in what I call the "George and Lisa shrine." It's where we keep everything with special meaning to us: a kaliedescope I bought when we were on our second date, our wedding photo, our traditional Native American wedding pot, a picture of us on our honeymoon, a crystal heart given as an anniversary present, and a picture of us right before we found out we were pregnant with Brennan. Oh! and the big box George bought for me to keep all the cards, notes, letters, etc. that we have given each other. It's practically full.

I could see why some of you might feel nauseated by this post. Well I'm sorry, I'm just not going to apologize! Ain't love grand!