More

Today is Memorial Day but I wanted to share some other things.

Friday night my daughter got to practice with the Rose City Roller's Travel Team. http://rosecityrollers.com/index.php It is probably unusual for someone passing thru town to ask to practice but my daughter is an animal about practice and hates to go more than a day or two without practicing. So they let her come and my friend, Linda and I tagged along. It was so great for us. I have never seen her skate in an official bout. Although I have seen some great videos of her and there is a grunge band on You-tube featuring the Central Coast Roller Derby girls.

I think the practice was so great because you see how technically great skaters these girls are. It isn't just about going around and knocking people down. It is about skating fast and close and moving your teammate thru the pack - maybe you sacrifice your speed to do it. We watched them practice whipping the girl behind and we watched them speed skate to get from the beginning to the end of the line of girls skating. Then we watched them scrimage. It was great seeing my daughter in her usual position of pivot and controlling the pack to get that jammer thru.

It was definitely the highlight of my holiday weekend and it happened Friday night. Those girls are very good and they get that way because they work hard at it. People should embrace these girls in Portland and support them! Next bout is June 21st!

The other thing is that yesterday May 25th was my parents 57th wedding anniversary. What a blessing their marriage has been to me personally. My Mom talks about times when there were big struggles in their marriage and they might have done something rash but then God and providence intervened and they worked it out. How great is that! These two people have shown me what it is like to grow old gracefully and to grow in love. May the next 20 years be as special as the last 57! DKU