Affirm peace, affirm life, affirm spring!

Hello, everyone!

Feliz Cinco de Mayo.This post is basically an excuse to share with you a ton of photos. But you should really go to my Picasa page for even more. Anyway...

Beautiful sunset in Washington at Daniel's grandparents'

I’m writing from Café D where I am sipping a beer (their newest addition to the menu, though it should be a margarita today, right?!) and enjoying some SUNSHINE streaming in from outside. Since I “unofficially” gave up Café D for Lent, it has been awhile since I’ve been here. It’s nice to be back. It’s nice to be blogging!

Easter. Accidentally color-coordinating...

I’ve written some pretty heavy stuff lately, so I’m going to keep it light today. Really, I just want to check in and—finally!—share a few cute Easter photos and some other pictures from the last couple of weeks. April, although too rainy for my taste, was really a month full of blessings. The first weekend, José and I went to California to visit his friends and family. Also in April, our house went to Washington to hang out at Daniel’s grandparents’ cabin for a few days. It was so beautiful in both rain and shine. Easter was a wonderful celebration, complete with Mass at St. Ignatius, a Skype session with many of you, and a delicious brunch with Colleen’s family and almost all of my housemates. Lizzie’s family was around for several days around Eastertime, and it was wonderful to see the Olsens again. We walked around Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden (my favorite Portland park thus far) and had lunch at the delicious Lucky Labrador brewery. And then I spent the final few days of April in Spokane, WA, where Lindsay and I hung out on Gonzaga University’s campus and ran Bloomsday, the famous (and hilly!) 12k, which we finished in a respectable though not amazing 1:02:49 (8:23 min/mile pace). So, it has been busy and I have been gone several weekends, but I am doing so well!

Jillian and her Haggada and the Seder feast she made!

We are now entering my last quarter of this JVC NW adventure. Hard to believe! While there is much to look forward to (my job at Casa, being close to my family, living with Molly, etc.), there is so much that I am seeking to savor here in Oregon. I really have fallen in love with the Northwest, despite the months and months of rain. And I can’t believe the community that I’ve established in just nine months. Today, I had a chat with one of my favorite clients, Arturo (he’s the one who brings all of his mail in and periodically plops it on my desk and asks me to read through it). He apparently just needed to chat with somebody, so he went on and on about how he lives on his social security and he has so many medical bills but when he has even a few dollars to spare, he sends it to his daughter, a single mother, much to some of his friends’ and family members’ dismay. “Life is hard,” Arturo told me. And he certainly knows that is true. “It’s also beautiful,” I reminded him. How could I deny that when, even as he spoke of hardship, this 63-year-old man sat before me with the broadest smile and the most adorable dimples I’ve ever seen? He spoke candidly and sincerely, and I told him he has a big heart and that he is a wonderful dad who has obviously figured out what matters in life. He said thank you (about fifty times—his M.O.) and then shuffled his way out of my office. He’s exhausting and working with him requires a lot of energy, but Arturo is also one of my favorite people because he never fails to brighten my day.

Seder Meal and Colleen's birthday

Likewise, I get a lift from Ketzaly, my favorite 5.5-month-old. She is still hanging out at the office on an almost daily basis with her mom, Sara, and she is jus the cutest thing I have ever seen. The other day, we stood in front of a mirror and she was SO fascinated by her reflection. She was even trying to mimic the faces I was making. She would just stare and laugh and wiggle. What a wonderful break from the work day. This has been a long week because I had to come in early on Monday for the Dental Van (which starts at 8) and then I had to stay late on Tuesday for a public hearing regarding the Community Development Block Grant that EPH uses to fund the work that I do in our drop-in area. Still, there have been these wonderful moments of life and energy. At the senior center yesterday, we had a Cinco de Mayo celebration. I watched a silver-haired man “get the party started” (his proclamation, not mine) and I couldn’t help but smile.

In the gorgeous rhododendron garden!

There is so much going on in the world—I think on a daily basis about Japan and Haiti and Libya and all of the places that have recently known destruction, violence, and death. It’s overwhelming. And I have felt uneasy and unsettled about the news of Osama Bin Laden’s death, not because I don’t understand the justification for it but because the way the news was received in Manhattan, D.C., and elsewhere was disappointing, distasteful, disgusting, and disrespectful. I couldn’t believe the frat-boy antics I read about and saw in the news. Drunken people, wrapped in the American flag, chanting “USA!” and gloating… something is wrong with that picture, no matter how tyrannical, inhumane, and downright heinous the deceased may be. Am I glad that Osama will no longer harm his own people or people in this country? Absolutely. But it just feels wrong to approach the situation with jubilation, especially considering how much it has cost us—financially and in ways, in lives, that we cannot quantify. The deepest part of me, the human part of me, was still moved when I read that Osama’s adolescent daughter watched her father be killed, and I think that’s an okay reaction to have. It scares me to see people rejoice over violence, killing, death, etc. I don’t think it’s our nature to act like that. Anyway! I said I would keep this light, and look what I’m doing.

Post-Easter egg hunt with Colleen's sister. Look at those PJ's!

It has been an interesting week, and I’m still trying to process large-scale things like our killing Osama and also the smaller things, like Arturo’s off-the-cuff chat. I read a wonderful poem written by an Arab woman, post-9/11, who ended her gorgeous, emotionally complex piece with the words “affirm life.” At all costs, that’s what we’re here to do, right? Affirm life. Affirm peace. Affirm love. It’s all around us on a daily basis, and it too overwhelms me…

I hope that your spring is full of joy and that you take a few moments to smell the flowers. Perhaps your boyfriend, if he’s as sweet as mine, will even send some to your office?

Happy Easter from Gresham (minus Linds)!

Post Bloomsday, 12k

Happy early Mother’s Day, Mom. I love you and admire you more than I know how to say, and all of Gresham eagerly awaits the arrival of Vernice (and you too, B!). I wish I could be there to give you a hug in person, but know that I am grateful for you everyday of my life.

And an early congratulations to Molly, Mara, Carly, Cara, Jessica, Bridget, etc. etc. etc…all of my favorite, beautiful graduating seniors! In a special way this month, I keep 3West close to my heart. I can’t believe you babies are wrapping up your MU experience. I’m so proud, and I wish I could be there for the celebration.

I love you all,

Me and my lovely 8th-graders. We finished our year together.

Amanda