The L.A. Dime

Today, in perhaps my second most stressful daddy-care moment (the first being when I cracked my knee cap a year ago), I dealt with an international technical support agent to fix my Linksys wireless router, while also trying to keep Sophie entertained during the hour-long call, where my most frequently spoken phrase was, “Could you repeat that, please?”

In a strange coincidence, amidst the chaos, I slipped off the exact same stair on which I cracked the aforementioned knee cap, then spilled to the floor, shouting a loud curse into the poor agent’s ear (which even she understood — she gets that a lot, she said). Sophie was not in my arms during the fall, and was safe across the room, but the sight of her daddy going “timber!” down the stairs, plus the thud and resulting curse, startled her to hysteria. Lovely.

The router is now fixed. And the only damage I sustained was a sore foot.

We’re lucky in Cali (save for the air quality and earthquakes), or at least in the part of it where I live, because we’re not subjected to the barrage of political ads the rest of the country is forced to endure. I don’t know why that is. In a 48 hour stop in Cincy/KY last weekend, not spending much time in front of the TV mind you, I must have see ten ads for McCain and Obama. Struggling to find his own story and create momentum, McCain is now attacking Obama’s “celebrity,” even calling him “The One.” I thought I’d post this excerpt from a pretty tough interview in the August 4 edition of Newsweek:

NW: You wrote in your first book about the seductive nature of talking to big crowds, getting them moved by your words. How does speaking to 200,000 people in Berlin not go to your head?

OBAMA: [Laughs] Because most of them can’t vote in a U.S. election. My overriding mood during the course of this trip is a sober one. When you look at the very difficult problem of Iran, the very difficult problem of Afghanistan and Pakistan, continuing difficulties in Iraq, the challenges of Middle East peace, the next president is going to have his hands full. And that’s before you start talking about climate change, the economy, relationships with Russia, China and North Korea. The point is it doesn’t take much to puncture any euphoria you may feel because of a speech you’ve given.

A home is typically the place where you are surrounded by your favorite things, people and memories; where you feel completely comfortable to let down your guard and a refuge after a hard day in the world. I am fortunate to have 3 homes…one that Brad, Sophie and I are building in LA. I really love our place, we’ve made it just how we like it and I still feel so lucky to have it every time I pull into the garage. We have such fabulous friends here and it’s the place where Brad can make his dreams become a reality. Then, I also have a home with my parents in Florida…it’s not the house I grew up in, but I love waking up there in the mornings, hearing my parents discuss the plans for the day, the German-cooking my mom treats us to and the long after-dinner conversations that always cover such a variety of topics. And then, there’s KY. Every time we touch down at CVG, I am immediately surrounded by this calm, peaceful feeling like this is the place I am supposed to be in. It might seem silly considering I haven’t lived there in 8 years, but it is where my oldest friends are, Brad’s family lives, all of my junior high, high school & college memories happened and I actually know my way around without ever having to ask for directions. Seeing Sophie play with her cousins is also something Brad and I always talked about looking forward to. Finally, the seasons are something else I miss all the time.

We were fortunate enough to visit both Florida and Ky in July. In Florida we helped celebrate my parents becoming US citizens by hosting a traditional 4th of July party and in KY we surprised Pops for his 60th b-day and helped welcome the newest baby Riddell with a shower for Tasha and Brian. Airline tickets are where our “discretionary” income goes and it is always worth it to us. We often take red-eyes and traveling with little Sophie-Bophie is interesting, but getting out of our daily rut, catching up with family & friends in person and taking in the sights and smells of “home”, is something I so very much cherish.

Who knows what the future holds for us and where our next address might be, but I have learned that home really is “where the heart is” and while I sure like all the LA experiences we are constantly exposed to, I will never let go of my roots.

Sophia had a day-long play date with our good friend Lupita and her family on Thursday.  Here’s our diva playing dress up with her pal, Cassandra.