Bellaaaaaaaa!

Bella spent a good part of the day with me today. It had been five months since we had a day together—perfectly understandable. People who are fourteen have school activities, good friends, places to go and things to learn. But today we re-visited many of the old places we frequented when she was little, enjoyed basking in the memories.

First I made pancakes. Then we went out for Boba tea (she still loves it, and I made my photos at the tea shop). Then she wanted a slice of Escape from New York Pizza, and she told me she’d really like to Escape from Oregon and go live in New York. Back at my place she showed me Fourth of July photographs made at her friend Haley’s house; she told me the story of The Hunger Games; and she played music on her phone—Charli XCX and Cardi B, but she says “I’m not into any one genre, I like a lot of different kinds of music.” We played cards till she was hungry again; then we went to the Mexican restaurant she has loved since she was two, and we rounded it off with a scoop of ice cream. Five hours flashed by.

I asked questions and she educated me: 1) “Volleyball is more about angles than strength; you have to know how to hit the ball, and you have to stay in control of your force.” 2) The Hunger Games are a metaphor for our time. She has a friend whose parents have been kidnapped abducted by ICE, nobody knows where they are now, and her friend is staying with a cousin. 3) If you have the skills, you can use your phone to find the names of plants, the costs of possible gifts for people you love, websites for almost anything, and the exact locations of people who have shared their locations with you. Her friend Yanni is going to Alaska in a week or so with his cousins, and he’s worried he might be eaten by a polar bear. She's doubtful of that, but she hopes he’ll send photos, bear or no bear.