The crew

Arsenal played Man City in an exhibition game at the Meadowlands this weekend, and of course, my family full of Arsenal fans was in the stands, all of them decked out in Arsenal gear. If you doubt their passion, peep the matching Arsenal cannon tattoos sported by my son and one of his best buds. I didn't go. I loved imagining my loves together at a stateside premier league soccer game, enjoying themselves, but for me, the trains, the stairs, the heat, the crowds, it sounded a bit like one of the circles of hell. Mitigated by the fact that I would have been with beloveds, of course. Still, I was very happy to have a peaceful day at home writing. I took a break to sit in the gardens for an hour with my friend Jane, who is struggling with vertigo right now. It's hanging on way long. We commiserated on body betrayals before moving on to more cheerful things. Then I went back home and finished the hardest chapter of the book so far. 

My kids and their loves sent me lots of photos, knowing it was my absolute preferred way to take in that game. My husband forgot his phone at home, and got separated from the kids twice among the 80,000 people in attendance. The first time was at the train station. Fortuitously, he ran into our nephew Matthew, who had traveled down from Toronto with friends to see the game. It was so random, he had no idea Matthew would be there. Luckily Matt has our son's number in his contacts, because my husband doesn't know it by heart, he only uses speed dial. I later observed (very unhelpfully) that this is why I never use speed dial, so I'll remember everyone's number in a pinch. 

The second time my beloved got separated was in the concession area soon after the group arrived at the stadium. My man bought himself and our daughter yet another Arsenal jersey each, then looked up and realized he could see no one he knew. They hadn't gone to their seats yet, so he had no idea where to go, as my son had all the tickets. My son finally found him, and scolded him, "Pops, you can't keep wandering off! Remember, you don't have your phone." The man and I were in stitches when he recounted this story to me later. Oh, how the wheel has turned. 

They all had a wonderful time. I did, too. I snapped the picture of our garden's back yard as I was walking home from where Jane and I had sat in the courtyard in front of her building. Everything is in full flower and a little bit wild. And now it's the end of July already, and the orange one may well be indicted for his insurrection activities this week. As a woman I know likes say, "It's a good day to have a good day." May that be true for us all.