so much fancy

I’m exasperated because I wrote a really nice post about a storycorps feature that made my carpool friend and I cry on the way to work last week, but then I did a wrong keyboard shortcut and lost the whole thing. It’s my own fault for writing straight into MT, but still. I don’t have the heart to write it again, so just check out Annie and Danny on the storycorps website. Or listen to a nice excerpt from the first interview they gave storycorps. Danny is dead now, but sharing the story of his love for Anne has ennobled and immortalized him.
This weekend had me thinking a lot about the large and small gestures we make to let people know we love them. I went to my mentor teacher’s wedding at the oldest African American church in Portland. It was at four in the afternoon, and the rain-diffused light softened even more as it filtered through the stained glass windows. The theme song for the wedding (if there can be such a thing) was At Last. The officiant was a close friend of the bride and groom, and he made lots of references to the winding road they walked to the alter. Their newborn baby snuggled in the arms of the bride’s son attested to that. So, yeah. The wedding was a long time coming, but the love was there all along. And it’s cool when a wedding is just an acknowledgment of a union that is already strong. Not a monument as much as a milestone. Anyway, it was cool.
That night HMS ARK ROYAL (whose pseudonym may soon be abandoned) and I attended a black tie event at the Convention Center. The fancy school where I work was holding their annual auction, hoping to raise a couple hundred thousand dollars. Or maybe half a million. Anyway. All kinds of Portland royalty were there, dressed to the nines, bidding bazillions of dollars on doggie parties and racecar vacation packages. Middle-aged moms were dragging their husbands along by their hands, angling for some hot silent auction item. Maybe a dress worn by Paris Hilton. Maybe an autographed Cal Ripkin baseball glove. Everyone was tipsy and having a good time. I started talking to one student’s parents- this girl is having a real tough time in first grade- and next thing I know the mom was crying, and the dad was telling me how emotional they both are right now. I just wanted them to know that I cared about their kid, and that other kids and teachers do too, despite the rocky road. I guess it was the wrong time to bring up a touchy subject, and I feel bad that I put a damper on their evening. But it’s amazing how vulnerable such powerful people can get when it comes to their kids. All parents do, I guess. Love. The large and small ways it reveals itself.
HMS ARK ROYAL and I are in a nice, tender place. We’re both busy, busy, and it can be a strain. But we’re working on our relationship contract, setting a date schedule, and doing lots of ichat check ins. HRS ARK ROYAL points out that this is all just code for “communicating.” It’s nice to be with someone who likes structure in a relationship as much as I do. Things feel strong right now.

Am I lucky or what?