Yesterday

Some days, you lose and some days?  Well some days, you win.

And yesterday, my friends, I was a winner.

My day started at the dog park where in addition to the regulars (of which I am now a member), I met an older couple who have just moved to this area.  They brought their two Westies to the park just as the rest of the regulars were leaving (they get there much earlier than I can because of Mac's school bus pick-up time so they always leave before I do).  Leo and the Westies had a great time playing and running and playing some more.  

I found out that the woman's mother is from Michigan so I asked if her father was Brazilian.  She told me he was (he's passed away now), so then I asked how they met.  Her father was a doctor who came to work for awhile in a Chicago hospital where her mother was a nurse.  They met and fell in love and way back in the 1940s, her mother followed this man back to Rio Grande do Sul in the south of Brazil, where she went on to live and have seven children.

Can you even begin to understand how cool that whole thing is?  In the 1940s, she took a chance on love and followed a man to what was then a very remote part of the world.  She wasn't able to phone her parents, but could she at least send them letters?  How long did it take for the mail to even go from Rio Grande do Sul to Michigan?

I remained inspired by her carpe diem attitude all day long.

After the dog park, I went to Pilates where I worked hard and even got to try this crazy trapeze-esque pose.  And my Pilates instructor figured out what was wrong with my Whatsapp app, so it was a win on all fronts.

After Pilates, I caught a cab over to Copacabana Beach where the International Federation of Volleyball is hosting the Beach Volleyball World Tour Rio Open.  I watched Americans Walsh and Ross in the distance beat Italians Momoli and Cicolari, and I watched up close Americans Summer and Carico beat Canadians Broder and Valjas. 

I also met American Brittney Hochevar who was supposed to play yesterday afternoon with her partner Jen Fopma.  Jimmy met both of these women when they came to the Consulate on Wednesday for a meet and greet and I was so bummed I couldn't be there, so I was thrilled to get the opportunity yesterday.  Jimmy learned that Hochevar has been an Olympic alternate twice and that she's trying her hardest to qualify for the Rio Olympics and was using this competition as a qualifier.

Hochevar and her volleyball partner Fopma learned yesterday morning at breakfast that Fopma's father went into cardiac arrest that morning in LA.  By the time I spoke with Hochevar, they knew that the father had stopped breathing and was on a breathing machine.  They forfeited their game so Fopma could concentrate on getting home to her father.

Hochevar, who had just lost another opportunity to prove herself worthy of a spot on the Olympic team, seemed genuinely and only concerned for her partner and her family.  It was so moving to see her place value on what's most important in life.

As an aside, and much later in the conversation (so you don't think I'm totally insensitive), I asked if she needed a substitute partner because I was available.  Without missing a beat, she said absolutely.  I told her I wasn't sure how those bikini bottoms would fit and that I might not look like much of an athlete, but I was sure I could fill in, all in the name of serving the country and all that. She was super cool and played along.   I really, really like this lady.  Class act all the way around.

While at the volleyball, I also negotiated for a job!  I'm going to be working remotely for one of the offices I worked for in DC over the last year.  The job offer called for full-time, but really, how am I supposed to enjoy beach volleyball tournaments, I mean take care of official responsibilities for Jimmy's job if I'm working full-time?  So I told them that I just couldn't manage it but to see if the program office could come down in the hours required.  And they did. So it looks like I'll be working 25 hours a week starting at some point in the near term.

I left the volleyball and came home to cook Mac's requested dinner for the first Gamecock football game of the year:  Argentine empanadas, chicken wings and steak fries.  Not super well-balanced, but what tailgating meal is really all that balanced?

Dinner was cooked and served in front of the television on which I managed to get ESPN to stream via my iPhone using a VPN, which is all pretty remarkable since I'm the least tech-savvy person in the universe.  I should be granted a PhD from Stanford for figuring that out. Seriously. 

Exercise for Leo and me?  Check. 

Watching world-class beach volleyball?  Check. 

Getting a job?  Check. 

Cooking awesome football dinner?  Check. 

Getting football game to show on our tv? Check. 

Put one in the W column.