I will do my best...

Today the Buddhist Peace Fellowship joined the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice in circumambulating the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) offices in southwest Portland, silently protesting the deportations and the current ban on refugees and immigrants. The crowd (see extra) was quiet, somber, and full of love for the people who come to this building for "processing" and (often) deportation. Bella went with me. It was her first protest, and she loved the sign-making. Marching quietly in single file in the blasting sun was not so appealing to her, however.

I leave in the morning to fly to Kansas City to meet my sister who I have never met, and her three children. She found me this past January through DNA testing. I'm full of emotion, heart bursting. I have three days to catch up on the 47 years of her life I've missed. She was born three years after my first child. Our father had no commitment to either of our mothers, though their lives were never the same after he passed through. We never met him, but we're about to meet each other.