Last Stroll

We had to say goodbye to our "Strolling to Fitness" class today, which was especially difficult since I can't seem to remember any of the moms' names -- only the babies'. I'm sure there's a word for this sort of memory loss, but I forget that, too...I must say, I never found the class to be getting anywhere near fitness, but the teacher -- I do remember her name, Liz Wilson -- did take us on some picturesque walks.

Jon Rocks

Like most of us Daillaks, my brother, Jon, has his quirks. His most notable ones relate to hair care, vanity plates, the post office and -- the one at issue here -- gift-giving occasions. You see, Jon tends to skip them, not on principle, not because he forgets, not even because of a lack of funds (though he tries to use this as an excuse from time to time.) He just doesn't give gifts very often. And we all know this well enough by now that it doesn't even cause hurt feelings or warrant an apology. He's basically trained the expectation out of us. Here's the thing, though: when he does give gifts, they are the kind you find yourself talking about, and appreciating, for years.

Last week he gave me a Flip video camera. It's a no-nonsense, palm-sized, cordless wonder of a thing that holds up to an hour of footage & sound and plugs right into your computer (or tv) for uploading. Even though I didn't know such a fabulous piece of technology existed, now that I do, I can't think of anything I might've wanted more this season. Well-done, brother man.

Here's a little sample. Not very exciting, I admit. But I'm practicing. You'll see.

p.s.

Lots of folks have said they've already seen us in the news about the Obama roundtable. Do let me know if you run across any particularly fun clips! Here's my favorite press about the event so far, though...Just the ego boost every single-mom-of-a-6-week-old needs. Thanks, Brock.

http://sfist.com/2008/01/17/obama_kicks_wit.php

Also, I forgot to mention Jacinda (the woman wearing the colorful headscarf in the Obama roundtable photos below) has a son nicknamed Dj, too. Her "Dj" stands for Djivan -- named after the famous Armenian duduk player Djivan Gasparyan, she explained. And here I thought my Dj's reference to Django Reinhardt was obscure!

Political Prodigy

Ok, this is one for the history books. I think Django may be the youngest participant in a political roundtable, ever. It wasn't on an issue before the Neighborhood Association or the City Council or even the State Assembly. Nope. He started straight at the top, with none other than 2008 Democratic Presidential-hopeful, Barack Obama. I got to go along for the ride, of course.

We got invited to the roundtable—thanks to Julian, and his campaign connected friend, Erin—along with 3 other single moms in their 30s with incomes less than $75K/yr. The purpose was to discuss Senator Obama's plan to help working families make ends meet.

We first had an opportunity to greet Obama privately. (That's when Obama won my vote by kissing Django on the forehead and knowing of his namesake, Django Reinhardt.) But then we spent 45+ minutes asking and answering questions about Obama's policy initiative in front of a gazillion news cameras and reporters. There were a few Obama staffers and some Secret Service agents in the room, too, but the event itself was closed to the public. I swear, I have never looked down the barrel of so many lenses in my entire life. I didn't really think much about how I looked or sounded at the time, because I was too busy thinking about when Dj might perk up from his position wrapped against my chest and start putting in his 2 cents. He cleared his throat and certainly considered it a few times, but a concerted bit of rocking and bouncing worked to keep him mostly quiet. [Of note: they gave me a hand held microphone, instead of a lapel one, no doubt because they were afraid of the tough questions Dj might ask about why the government isn't helping him figure out how to use his hands, and who's responsible for the build up of gas in his belly?]

We missed most of the after-event media frenzy, because we had to sit right down and nurse as soon as the thing was over. But, boy, was it a morning to remember. You can find links to various bits and pieces of our performance online. Here are an early few, found by MDN and Tori – thanks, you two!

http://video.nbc11.com/player/?id=206516

http://cbs5.com/video/

If you happen to be more interested the policy issue than our 45 minutes of fame, you can read more about it and download Obama's policy statement at http://www.mothersmovement.org/features/07/12/w-f_proposals_intro.html

Mary & Sadie's Prayer Bench

My family here on the Central Coast has made it no secret that they would love it if Dj & I moved closer—like, say, down the street. They've pulled out all the stops in terms of showing us love, support and a good time. The love and support happen day-to-day, of course. But last Saturday my sister and two of her boys took us on a lovely hike to a special perch up on a hillside near their house. The trail was mostly that soft, cool kind of sand that you know would feel so good between your toes on a hot summer day. It wound through various brambles and scrubbrush with all sorts of lichen clinging for dear life. Chase found one skeleton of a bush that he tried to trick us into thinking was a porcupine. Steven entertained us by poking a big stick into the banks of the trail to make dirt all along the way.

Our destination was a bench—installed by one neighbor and her dog, loving labeled by other neighbors: Mary & Sadie's Prayer Bench. It's a place to rest weary bones, lap some water and admire a panoramic view of the environs. You can see Morro Rock and the full outline of Morro Bay, as well as many of the nearby communities and a number of the surrounding peaks. It's such a peaceful and reflective place. Mary & Sadie even keep a journal there so visitors can log their thoughts, whether they're the appreciations of an accidental tourist or messages between neighbors playfully keeping in touch.

Dj and I shared a quiet moment on the bench, as you can see, thankful that we had such wonderful guides to show us the sights.

Baby's First Sports Bar

Nevermind Xmas and New Year's. Every baby has a 'first' one of those in her or his first year of life. Yesterday I took Django to his first NFL Playoff game at a sports bar. As you can tell from the photo, he was riveted, absolutely on the edge of his seat the entire time...Or maybe he was just exhausted from the ordeal of getting there, since we left home before kickoff but didn't arrive until a few minutes into the 3^rd quarter...See, it's like I was saying about this 'whole other country' of parenthood, you do NOT know where the hell you're going even if you'd swear you've been down that one particular street a thousand times before.

We started our search for a nice place watch the football game here in Atascadero. Hoover's 101 Cafe had the right NFL Happy Hour signs out front but seemed too brightly lit inside (plus the Hoover people own a place called Hoover's Beef Palace, too, and something about that just didn't sit right with me.) We went on to try A.J. Spurs Dining Hall in 'historic' Templeton. The horse print on the curtains was invitingly ridiculous, but A.J. Spurs looked too much like a ghost town inside. So we drove back to Hoover's. I started to feed the little man in the back seat of the car, giving us both a chance to get fortified for the rest of the experience. But midway through I decided I just couldn't step into Hoover's. The two words, 'Beef Palace,' echoed hauntingly through my brain.

Then, I remembered a place I'd walked by in downtown San Luis Obispo called Mother's Tavern. Has a nice ring, right? When I called, they said they had the game playing on 3 different tvs and a full menu. Great, I thought, just the place for us. No problem that Dj was screaming at the top of his lungs for having his lunch so rudely interrupted. Not gonna let the torrential rain and gale force winds set us back, either. Also, no big deal that Dj had also just peed all over his outfit; I brought a backup. Ditto with regard to the new spit-up all over his tiny fleece jacket. And so what if in my haste I wedged the stroller in the back seat in such a way that one or another of us was whacking into it at every turn as I finished nursing. Dammit, I was determined to get us to Mother's Tavern! As it happened, though, what the people at Mother's Tavern neglected to mention when I called was that they also had a live swing band playing at a volume that qualified as deafening no matter where you were in the place.

By the time we found out Mother's was a bust we were 20 miles from Nana's house, successfully outside of the parked car, bundled in clean clothes and a comfy frontpack, quietly holding hands and walking down the misty street. There simply had to be a good end to the story. So we walked on, and on. Finally, I spotted a stroller outside of the Black Sheep Bar & Grill. And as we approached the entrance there was a very nice man leaving, who encouragingly ushered us inside to the bar stool closest to the warm-but-fake fireplace. We sat – and breathed a deep sigh of relief.

The Black Sheep Bar & Grill turned out to be perfect – good food, Guinness on tap, dimly lit with twilight streaming through the windows. The game was on. The fans were enthusiastic but not dangerous. I wrote thank you notes during commercial breaks, and Dj squeezed me every time there was an exciting play and somebody whooped, clapped or hollered at the tv. There was also a buxom, blonde barmaid serving us. I desperately wanted to ask her for a photo op with the boy. But at the last minute I realized that was probably one 'first' Dj'd be happier to have at a later date without his mom around.

Highlights of 2007

Django, Death Valley Trail 30k w/ MDN, Django, Yosemite w/ MDN, Django, birthday dinner at Garcon w/ Jen & Mokes, Django, Spring Break at Tad's w/ Jon, Django, my mom offering Bunny Camp again, Django, Steep Ravine field trip w/ Brad & the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy 1st graders, Django, Pageant of the Masters w/ Dad & Laura, Django, swimming in La Jolla Cove w/ Michael Daligdig, Django, the nice view from my new classroom at Paul Revere, Django, making my Star-Belly Sneetch costume for Halloween, Django, hilarious conversations with small children about how babies get out of bellies, Django, Brad & Joannie throwing the perfect baby shower for me, Django, the overwhelming generosity of my family & friends & even strangers with regard to baby gifts and hand-me-downs, Django, Tori & her folks rescuing me from a disastrous Thanksgiving weekend, Django, Brad & Andi as the best birth-coaching team ever, Django, all the people who came and/or stayed in the hospital with me (especially Jenny and Brad who slept in that tiny chair-bed,) Django, my mom taking such good care of us these first few crazy weeks, and of course Django -- for showing up and rocking my world.