Martin Luther King Day

Ramona and I have had a very fun and educational MLK Day. We also had a good family day yesterday with Justin's family in Bellingham.

The visit to Bellingham couldn't have been on a better day. The sun was out, and it was crisp and clear out. Justin's mom just moved to an apartment which is right on the water near downtown, and with a bike/walking path connecting it to Fairhaven. Justin's grandma was over, and she seemed to be very healthy, and happy. Ramona was a little wary of her at first, but after watching her play the harmonica, she seemed to warm up to her. Justin and his mom cooked us a hearty lunch, and then we went on a walk downtown. It was hard to restrain myself from going shopping, as she lives near a lot of cool shops.

Today I didn't have to work (I usually teach on Mondays), because of MLK day. So, I got the pleasure of taking Ramona to her Spanish Immersion class. Sounds heavy, but it is really just a music/story time done all in Spanish. The teacher was a joy, and Ramona was captivated. Now, I just have to brush up on my spanish. I met a Kindergartner who has taken these spanish classes since she was Ramona's age, and she apparently translates NPR for her dad. I have enough trouble listening to NPR in English, so maybe I can get Ramona to translate Top Chef or 30 Rock instead.

After class, I met up with Sabrina, Jenny, and their kids (Myla, Ainsley and Maddie), and we picked up trash in one of the parks we play in for MLK Day as a service to our community. This was especially cool for Ainsley who is 2 and a half and who told us she was volunteering, and that Obama and Biden had asked her to. Maddie and Ramona did participate as well, picking up a few things and putting them in our trash bags. It was SO cute. We rewarded ourselves by going to Veraci Pizza for lunch. Yum. Too bad I don't have pictures of this day, it has really been the best MLK Day I've had. I can hardly wait until Ramona is old enough and we can go to the MLK parade.

Ramona has been practicing saying Obama, though it sounds more like Ama. We are all very excited for tomorrow, and some friends are coming over in the morning to watch the speech together. I feel very lucky to have had a child in a time when we have such an inspiring person to lead us. It really does feel like we finally have a positive community feeling in America again, now we'll just see if it lasts.