melted smoosh

  1) basketball. the last month of the regular season for basketball started with a bang, with JV games on March 1st, 4th, 6th, and 8th, and developmental games on March 1st, 5th, and 9th. there was lots of drive-thru dinner and many, many snacks for the babies. this month, Cece really found her groove after a joint practice with the developmental and JV team. she told us afterwards that she had been frustrated all day after not getting a turn to play in a classroom game (the bell rang just before it would have been her turn), and she channeled that emotion into playing more aggressively during practice. as a second grader, she defended the ball and stole it a few times during the scrimmage against fifth and sixth graders! of course the coaches praised her for her determination, and that just fueled her fire to continue to make them proud of her. every game thereafter, all of us parents were in stitches watching her on the court and we nicknamed her The Enforcer. it's going to be f...

  recently I've been reflecting on little moments of connection with complete strangers. I'm fortunate enough to have a life full to bursting with the love of family and friends, but these interactions with people I've encountered for a few minutes and probably never will see again have left an indelible imprint on my memory.  the most ordinary yet unexpected encounter of this sort happened about ten years ago at a busy traffic intersection. every time I turn left at this light now, I remember it! at the time, I was following a new route to work due to construction. I was first in line in the left turning lane which requires a green arrow to proceed. the light was red as I approached. I pulled up behind a faint white line and stopped the car, about one car-length behind the first car in the right-hand lane. I waited, and waited, and waited. the traffic light cycled through completely for each lane except for mine, which I thought was strange, but again I wasn't used to ...

  1) wine tasting. we kicked off the New Year with a blind wine tasting at Blair's house, featuring a $7 bottom shelf grocery store selection, a $35 midrange bottle, and a $200 Groth Reserve Cabernet from the wine cellar at the liquor store. not a one of us would ever have dreamed of purchasing a $200 bottle of wine before, but Blair had the inspired idea to get together for this little party with some of the money from her mom's estate, and I think her mom would have approved.  I have never been to an actual wine tasting and have no idea what to look for or how to describe wines. my other friends have much more experience in this regard than I do, and I had to laugh at our varied notes!  B was actually the cheap wine, C was the expensive one, and A was the midrange. my spare notes are on the far right! to absolutely no one's surprise, three of us guessed wrong about which wine was the high roller. Blair and Caleb both got it right, but only Caleb liked the expensive wine...