September 30, 2003 2:25:39 PM

OK, I'm bragging again. Here is my precious Kindergartener, Leila. Her art teacher took this picture in the art studio at her school.


Brrrrrrrr! There has been a definite nip in the air the past two mornings. I am wearing pantyhose and closed-in shoes for the first time in months and my feet are not happy about it. Fall is creeping in. October has always been my favorite month (aside from May). I love the autumn season.

It's sweater weather now, and we've been sorting through clothes to put away the summer things and bring out the winter clothes. Over the weekend the dryer died, so we had to go to the laundry-mat to do laundry. It was crowded, so I left the girls home with Brianna. Daryll read the paper and I worked on my knitting. I got some strange looks from people as I sat and worked on my little cape/scarf thingie. It's the first design I've tried from my favorite little knitting site called, knitty. One lady even asked me if I'd teach her to knit. I said sure. She went up the road to CVS to get some snacks for her kids and she didn't get back befroe we had finished and left, so I never got her number.

A New Project

We live in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, which is a solid, working-class neighborhood in the District. There are no good, safe palygrounds closer than an eight-block walk from our house. The park closest to our home is run down and it has old, dangerous equipment in it. We were so spoiled living in Cambridge where we had several beautiful parks within a three-block radius. I have taken on the mission to re-habilitate this little playground. I've already spoken to the Deputy Director of DC Parks and Recreation about it and I'm beginning to do some research about what kind of funding is available for urban parks restoration. My husband doesn't think that I'll get much support in the neighborhood, but I hope that I do. All I can do is try.

September 26, 2003 9:35:22 AM

It's been an incredibly stressful week. Part of my job as a Legislative Aide is to do constituent services work. Basically, that means that I do research, write letters, make phone calls and take phone calls from our constituents who are having trouble navigating through District Government.

This week our telephones have been literally ringing off the hook with people calling because their power has still not been restored from hurricane Isabel last week. Pepco, the local electric utility has been working 24 hours a day to try and restore power to 500,000 homes that lost power in the storm. There were hundreds of trees that fell on homes and across roads that have brought down power lines. People call our offices to vent their frustrations about not having electricity for five, six, and now seven days. They are angry at Pepco, but they take it out on us. We keep telling them that there is nothing that the Councilmember can do at this point. Pepco is a private company and we have to believe that they are doing all that they can to restore power to their customers.

It's been really hard on the staff to sit and listen to people griping and complaining all day. Each day this week I've gone home with a stress headache. The other night I had nightmares, which I usually only get when I'm under undue stress.

I've started to do deep breathing exercises, stretching and yoga at my desk because I was getting so tight and tense. I keep praying for peace and to learn to allow all of this vile negativity to just roll by me, but it's hard to sit and listen to people *itch at you all day. Thank God its Friday has taken on a whole new meaning for me today.

September 19, 2003 10:15:39 AM

Isabel is gone now. The hurricane passed through the DC Metro ara last night with 65 mph winds and horizontal rain. The walls shook, winodws rattled and there was a muffled, low rumble as it passed through. We had some branches down and lots of debris, but we didn't lose power on our street. However, 81,000 people in the District are still without power this morning, there are over 300 trees down, and many streets are closed due to deep standing water. I am at work this morning, but things are pretty quiet here. Because the schools are still closed today, I brought Leila to work with me. Daryll is home with Jordan and Brianna. The government is closed, so we are not getting many calls. I think they may send us home early. I am so thankful to God for seeing us through safely.

September 18, 2003 7:58:02 AM

It's all about Isabel today. The whole DC MEtro area is bracing for Isabel's onslaught later on today. Her presence has already been felt at Ocean City, MD, where they already have high winds, horizontal rain and huge, crashing waves.

I learned yesterday that I am considered 'essential personnel,' so I had planned to come in to work today, but I got a call from my Chief of Staff, who said that the Mayor closed the government today, so I could stay home. Joy! I plan to get in as many naps as I can today to try to catch up on lost sleep. The girls and I may make soap this afternoon, and then I'll probably get a little painting done. THe storm is supposed to hit this afternoon by 4pm and continue until tomorrow morning.

We are well supplied, and unless we lose water I think we'll be in fine shape.

September 15, 2003 12:32:14 AM

Both of the picnics that we were supposed to attend this weekend were cancelled due to rain. Leila came down with a little cold, so she was not even able to go to her new friend's birthday party. So, my weekend was pretty quiet. Daryll arrived home on Saturday afternoon, still feeling sick from the food poisoning, and in pain because not only did he lose a filling, but the tooth cracked.

A friend from my old church was in town, so she came to Reid Temple with us. It was so great to see her again. The service was wonderful and she had a great time. Thank the Lord that Jordan slept in my arms during the entire sermon, so I was able to enjoy it.

Last night, the girls went over to Daryll's mother's house and Daryll and I hung out in the basement while I worked on artwork. He and I finally got a few moments to just hang out together. He says he's done travelling for work for this year, and I'm glad of that. I am just so thankful that God has kept him safe through all of his travels thus far. God is good.

September 12, 2003 3:41:48 PM

I just got a call from my poor, dear husband, who is away on a business trip in Dallas. Last night he got caught in a wicked rainstorm where he got soaked to the skin. When he arrived in his hotel room he had an asthma attack and did not have his atomizer with him. This morning, the filling fell out of his tooth! My poor baby. He is now coming home so that I can take care of him.

September 11, 2003 9:16:03 AM

What a somber day. It's a bright, crisp, clear morning, not unlike the one two years ago today. As I emerged from the Metro, I heard distant church bells slowly clanging. It was a mournful sound. Everyone seemed to be in an introspective mood--quite different from the normal morning hustle and bustle of downtown Washington, D.C. I guess it's stil too fresh and we're all remembering.

September 8, 2003 3:51:22 PM

OK, I had to include this link. The anniversary is coming up this week. I'll either go to the Prayer Service at the Pentagon, or the one at my church.

September 8, 2003 3:43:19 PM

I had a full, fun weekend. The weather here was absolutey wonderful. Not a drop of rain or cloud in sight and there was no humidity. It felt like springtime, which we sort of missed out on this year because of all of the rain.

After the typical Saturday chores, I took the girls and my niece down to the National Mall for the Black Family Reunion. It is an annual festival with lots of great music, food and activites for the whole family. We stopped of at the music tent and listened to some Reggae music while Brianna and Leila made little dolls and decorated them at a craft exhibit. We also learned about the new Dr. Martin Luther King Memeorial that is still in the planning proccess. On our way out of that tent we met a Park Police officer on a horse. I hoisted Leila up so that she could touch his warm skin. She got a kick out of that. Our next stop was at another music stage where we listened to the tale end of a lecture about black hair care that was very interesting. Now that I am growing locs, I have so many questions about how to care for my hair, what to put in it, etc. I am so fascinated when I see women with long, established locs, and I look forward to the day when mine look that good. The whole process takes sometimes over a year, and I am only four months into the journey.

After the hair lecture we saw belly dancers, who were beautiful Black women of every age, shape and size. They and their dances were so beautiful and not at all seductive of suggestive, unlike other bellydancing I've seen. At the end of the performance they passed out cards and they offer classes! Brianna and Leila and I want to take lessons. It looks like so much fun and great exercise. Following the belly dancers was a local troup of hip-hop dancers. The girls enjoyed that. We walked around for awhile and then Leila started to whine because she was tired of walking and wanted to go home, so we did just that.

Daryll came home from Reserves to get his sea bag for inspection. As he packed that bag up in the middle of the living room floor it made me remember two years ago in the days following September 11th, when he had to have his bag packed and prepared to ship out to wherever they were going to send him. Thank God he was not deployed overseas, but stationed here at Naval District Washington. WHen he hoisted that big bag up on his shoulder and headed out I gave him a big kiss and in my heart I thanked God that he was here and safe with me and our family.

On Sunday morning I got on the Metro to go to the Takoma Park Folk Festival to sit at our knitting group's booth and teach knitting. Brianna agreed to stay home and keep the girls for me. Takoma is kind of in the hinterland of the DC Metro area, and it's a stop I've never been to on the Metro. WHile I was sitting on the train, a young guy came up from behind me and whispered in my ear asking if I would give him 75 cents for the train. First of all, he startled me and I drew back instinctively, but I was so startled and my hearing is so bad that I didn't hear what he said at first, so I said, "Excuse me?" and he repeated it and I said, "No." He darted from the train as the doors opened and I was relieved. Apparently, homey did not get off the train, rather he just jumped into the car just ahead of the one I was on because when I got off at Metro Center he appeared and came up to me and said, "You know I just asked you a simple question. You didn't have to answer me so ugly." I assured him that I meant no harm and went on about my business. It kind of freaked me out a little bit that he would approach me again, but I dismissed it. I wandered around Metro Center to find the train going in the right direction and then I got on it and settled in for the ride. A few stops later, guess who I see in the car just ahead of mine peering into my car? At the next stop, homey gets out of his car and gets into the car I'm sitting in a few rows away from me and just sits and stares hard at me. O.K., so now I'm kind of annoyed that this little punk thinks he's going to intimidate me or make me afraid of him. I pretended not to see him and planned to get off the train at the next stop and let him go on, but he jumped out just as the doors were closing so that I'd be sure to see him. What a loser. I can't believe that not giving him 75 cents was worth all of that mess.

The festival was so much fun. I walked around and saw all of the exhibits and then I found our table. The one downside was that we had no umbrella and the sun was high and bright. We gave out flyers and offered free knitting or crochet lessons. I worked with one young girl who wanted to knit and Wallace and Maria worked with some other girls who wanted to crochet. It was fun, and I am finding that kids pick it up so quickly. I think it's because they are not so busy telling themselves that it's hard like adults do. They just do it. After a few hours in that hot sun I had to say goodbye so I headed home.

I got home to find that Daryll was home early from Reserves. I bathed the girls and braided Leila's hair and then got ready for church. Daryll was so exhausted that he decided to stay home with the girls and I went to church alone. It was a wonderful service and I had communion, which I messed last month. It felt so amazing to be able to give all of my attention to worship rather than to keeping Leila and Jordan occupied and quiet.

September 3, 2003 3:21:07 PM

We had a busy Labor Day weekend in our household. I only worked a half day on Friday, so when I got home I enlisted the girls to do a top to bottom housecleaning. It felt good to get rid of some of the lingering clutter. Saturday was my stay in my jammies 'til noon kinda day. I didn't even leave the house because in the afternoon we had torrential downpours. Daryll and I snuggled up and worked on knitting while he watched the 'All Martin Lawrence Movie Marathon." On Sunday, we went to church and then did some more back-to-school shopping in the afternoon. On Monday, I sewed clothes for Leila for about eight hours. I cut a bunch of outfits form a Simplicity "2 Hour" pattern (I can't recall the pattern number) which had a jumper, a vest, skirt, pants and jacket. I amde a lined, fleece jacket from some yummy fleece fabric in autumn colors with an all over leaf design. I made a red plaid jumper and a green flannel jumper, green pants, a khaki skirt and vest and a red plaid skirt with the fabric left over from the jumper. I also finished a denim skirt that I had started a few weeks ago. Now all of these little garments are draped over the chair in the dining room waiting to be hemmed. My girl is going to be a well-dressed Kindergartener.

Yesterday, Daryll and I met with Leila's teachers and the other parents for a conference. I just love her classroom. I distinctly remember my first day of Kindergarten, and I can't believe that was 31 years ago! Anyway, she is going to love her classroom because they have four guinea (sp?) pigs and several different kinds of birds and fish and frogs. There is wonderful artwork everywhere and it's in the 3rd floor, so when you look out the windows all you see is trees. It's an project-based, student-led program and it's a Charter school, so I'm hoping that she will have a positive experience that will not squelch her inquisitiveness and excitement about learning.

While I was waiting for my turn for our one-on-one conference with her teacher, I sat in the teacher's lounge knitting. The art teacher came over and introduced herself and asked what I was making. I was working on a square for a charity blanket that my knitting guild is making to donate to Warm Up America. She admired it and then told me about how her mother and sisters are expert knitters, but she somehow never really kept up with learning how to knit. One of the student teachers came over and said that she crochets, but she always wanted to learn how to knit. They asked if I would come and do a staff knitting workshop and I said sure. I told them about the Knit Out on the Mall on September 21, and how I am going to be teaching knitting there. they said they might come down and check it out.

Daryll and I have been dealing with trying to find a new child care situation for Jordan. After some unfortunate circumstances, we have had to take her out of her current home day care and now her grandmother is keeping her until we find a new sitter. I am at the point where I don't want to trust anyone with my child after what she and we have been through. I am praying that God will continue to guide us and reveal where we should go next. I also praying that I can learn to be more forgiving. I always give people the benefit of the doubt and I err on the side of trusting rather than being suspicious. Consequently, when people display their human frailty and don't live up to my expectations, I don't do well with forgiving and forgetting. God says that we should forgive those who sin against us if we expect him to forgive us. There should always be grace. I need to learn to forgive as much I would want to be forgiven. I've been here before and it's easier said than done.

Yesterday, Brianna had her first day of high school. She came home grinning broadly because she has been placed in the advanced 9th grade class. She was perplexed because she had carefully laid out her back-to-school high-school debut outfit only to discover that almost all of the girls were also wearing red.

Today was Leila's frist day of Kindergarten and she was so excited she got up at 6am and wanted to get dressed right away. I dropped her off and she seemed eager and excited and not a bit nervous. I love my courageous child. I can't wait to get home and find out how her day went.

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