The Classics

I joined The Classics the year I was eligible to, thus being the baby of the group of women who had been playing soccer with each other for as long as twenty years or more. I was a newbie to the sport, starting to play with the Fairfax Women’s Soccer Association only the year before, following a long break after playing the sport for the first time during the first year of my marriage while trying to establish an identity in a new environment (new country, new state, new marital status, new employment status, new uncertainty). I was welcomed with open arms and introduced to indoor soccer and soccer tournaments and non-soccer trips and outings, things that I enthusiastically participated in and very much enjoyed. Over the years, the group contracted and expanded as the team went through changes, large and small. We lost some members to cancer, but their spirits live on and a core of spirited, strong-willed, fun-loving women remains. As they aged, so did the age group of the team. As the team lost older members, we gained younger members. I am no longer the baby of the group, except when counted among the core. I think of the core as The Classics. They still have fun. They still go on tournaments and trips. They meet regularly to socialize and have fun. The core is still there, playing and being the role models for younger players, many of whom say they want to be just like these women when they grow up. 

Collage 20

I’ve played cards with Alice in Wonderland

Greeted the White Rabbit holding a watch in his hand

Tamed all the dragons and made them my friends

Fed Dote the Goat living near a lion’s den

I’ve swung far and wide on a breezy day

Built fortresses where I’d keep enemies at bay

Perched on Daddy’s high shoulder totally unafraid

Sat on the railroad track while the wind blew at my face

I’ve precariously hung upside down under a sink

Traversed the land by hanging on ropes and links

Conquered the world fearlessly like a mighty king

Snuggled up with Dene the Dragon with whom I shared many things

When I am weary at the end of my journeying

I need a touch of magic to keep the fire within burning

When the quests are all done and my feet are hurting

I come to Mommy who gives kisses and feeds my yearning

Tết and Snow

My hundred-word essay on Ngày Mồng Một Tết Ất Mùi 2015:

Tết is what we call the Lunar New Year and its celebration, marking a new beginning when everyone puts the past behind and moves forward with a promising future. We settled debts and wish each other health, wealth, happiness, and blessings in the year to come. Tết is associated with Spring, colorful blooms, and warm weather. Looking out my window, I see no flower buds and grass is covered with snow. I did not think Tết and Snow would go together. But on this Tết’s First Day, the glistening white snow promises a return of Spring. I count my blessings.

Birthday Present

Today my husband handed me a wrapped present for my birthday. He told me the present was from our daughter Lan. This is what it looked like:

He asked if I liked the wrapping. He must have wanted me to think that he had wrapped it. Then he asked “Do you know who wrapped it?”

“You?”

“No.”

“Lan?”

“No.”

“Drakeson?” (grandson)

“No.”

It was getting harder. It was taking me longer and longer to come up with a next guess.

“The store where this was bought?”

“No.”

“George?” (son-in-law)

“No.”

“Thal?” (son who’s living close by)

“No.”

“Liên?” (daughter who’s living in Hawaii)

“No.”

This was getting ridiculous.

“A random person?”

“No.”

“It came that way.”

“No.”

I gave up. Who on earth would have wrapped my birthday present?

It turned out it was Tim, our neighbor. My daughter had texted my husband, asking him to intercept a gift package and to wrap it. My husband happened to be out of town that day. He forwarded our daughter’s request to our neighbor, including the instruction to wrap the present. Voilà. It was done.

This is what it looks like unwrapped:

It is a lovely necklace of a string of pearls holding a dragon with a pearl on its tail. If you did not know, my name Trân means Pearl and our grandson’s nickname is Nhỏ Con Rồng or Little Dragon.

I will wear this many many times.

Thank you everyone involved for a lovely present and a fun story to tell.

The Blue Knobs of Life

My dear little one,

I have a feeling

You will conquer

The blue knobs of life.

Nothing is to fear

Though everything appears

Not on a straight line

Not on a flat plane

That you look down on.

It takes some finesse

And some fearlessness

Plus a determination

And a thirst for a quest.

You are ready I see

To embark on a journey

Where the unknowns stay out of sight

To be unveiled

To the true and brave

Who do not sit idle

But take risks to find

The beauty of life.

So my dear little one,

I encourage you to go

For

Without risks there is no reward

Without failures there is no success

Without pains there is no pleasure.

I love you so much,

And I want you to know

I am so happy

That part of my journey

Is with you.

This poem is written for Nhỏ Con Rồng in response to his picture and note:

A Wrinkle in My Commute

I usually enjoy taking the bus to work when it’s freezing outside and the bus is warm with its heater on. But at times the commute is far from ideal. Yesterday morning as I was waiting for the 5:20am bus at 5:10a.m., having missed the 5:10am bus by at most a minute, I talked to someone who had taken the 5:20am bus the week before as I had. However we differed in our version of what bus we took. I thought only Bus 950 runs at 5:20a.m. and commented that we’d need to move to the Bus 950 bay as I had to last week, whereas my companion said she took Bus 980 at 5:20a.m. So we checked the posted bus schedules and were floored when neither schedule showed a 5:20am departure. That meant we’d have to wait 20 minutes in the freezing weather for the next bus. I was glad I was dressed for a place like Alaska in the winter, though I could feel the wind bore through my long johns. As the posted schedules were correct, no bus came at 5:20a.m. Bus 980 came eventually on its scheduled time of 5:30a.m. and took us to the Silver metro line where I got on the train and promptly went for a nap. At East Falls Church, the last train station whose platform is exposed to the elements, I was awaken to an announcement that the train I was on broke down due to mechanical problems. We were to leave the train and wait on the platform for another train to come. I checked the time and saw that it had taken the train 40 minutes to get to this station instead of the usual 25 minutes. So the train must have been idled or slow prior to stopping completely, while I was in and out of my nap. Again, I was glad I had more clothes on myself than I would truly need otherwise. I got to work about 30 minutes later than it should have taken me if things went smoothly. The way home was better, although I had to wait for the Silver train longer than normal. I’ve never seen the electronic postings on the platform be wrong before until yesterday. The train that pulled away as I walked down the stairs to the platform was the Orange train. The electronic sign posted that the next train would be the Silver line. That was wrong. In fact, two Blue trains and another Orange train came before a Silver train finally showed up. Well, it was not as bad as bad could be, but it still put a wrinkle in a commuting day.

Collage 19

Yesterday I turned two. It was a great way to close my second year, spending time with family in Austin and Seattle, and seeing the great Northwest.

Mama was sad

When I turned two

For she thought that

I’d leave baby things behind

What is the difference

Between two years and

Two years plus a day

Or two years minus two days

Or two years plus three days

Or two years minus four days

I have to admit

The difference gets bigger

If I keep adding days

Or go back to when I was born

On the continuum

Of time

But I’ve digressed

Mama don’t you know

Some baby things will never

Be left behind

You are forever

Mama

And

Loved