Life Keeps Getting in the Way

My apologizes for disappearing off the grid for a time. As my title suggests life keeps getting in the way. Typically May is a very busy printing month for me. I do the invitations for the Friends of our library annual meeting, several local newsletters, the programs for the annual Veterans Memorial Day etc. etc. I think you get the drift. It all seems to happen this month.This past week I needed to get ready for a visit from my parents (as well as work my regular job). They came yesterday and will be leaving Thursday morning. One of their motivating reasons for visiting is that Derek has a percussion ensemble recital tonight and a jazz recital tomorrow, which brings me to my next distraction.

I alway thought when the kids were little how busy life was and that it would get better at some point. I'm still waiting. Yes, some things are better. Everyone can bathe, feed and dress themselves and use the potty. All very important things. Having teenagers/young adults has introduced me to a new kind of busy. Worry seems to be my theme, will they be happy, be able to financially care for themselves one day, fine a career and survive college to name a few things.

Derek is very focused at college and doing very well. He wanted to get out of the dorm for next year having grown tired of other kids all night parties and going to the bathroom to find that someone threwup at some point. He and 3 other guys found an apartment very close to where the majority of his classes are. I was happy about that. He's had to trudge at least a mile each way to classes in some pretty nasty weather this past year and through heavy city traffic. Any way on May 1st the lease was signed and the guys moved in. Derek typically comes home for the weekends because he wants to see his girlfriend, get a break from campus living and get his laundry done. On Satuday he received a call from one of his roommates letting him know that there had been some problem Friday night and they had been beaten up by a hispanic gang and were leaving the apartment. The details are vague. It sounds like his roommates had been having a party of some sort and the gang accused them of wrecking their car. I don't know that we'll ever fully know the details. I'm thankful Derek was not there. One of the kids got beat up pretty bad, broken nose, messed up jaw. Understandably the kids and their parents are very shaken up. Now we have to figure out what to do about next year and hope they can get out of the lease. I'm looking back now on the days when they were little and realizing how easy it all was back then.

On My Own

Yesterday was such a beautiful day. I've slowly been getting back into my walking routine. I have this wonderful 2 mile course that's in the next town. It's a classic New England road with beautiful pastoral scenes and stone fences. I walked it for years with the dog I've had at the time. We still have our chocolate lab but her years are catching up with her. She'll be 13 next month and has lost much of her hearing. I don't dare to take her on the road now. My first few times out on my own felt very strange. I've substituted the company of a dog for my ipod shuffle. At least I don't have to towel it off before it gets in the car.

Summer in April

What a fantastic weekend. Saturday and Sunday were well into the 80's and it felt great. Greg took Friday afternoon off so he could enjoy the weather. On Friday we picked Derek up at 6 p.m. He wanted to stay at school a little longer so that he could continue to practice. His girlfriend Sarah has been in Germany for the past week with the German club and will be gone for another week. I know he's missing her especially because they can't even talk on the phone. He only has a few weeks left of school so he seems very intense now trying to pull it altogether in his head and on paper.

We woke up Saturday to two Mallard ducks lazily floating in the culvert in our back yard. There's a fair amount of water in it from the recent rains we've had. Greg and I hit the road early to go to Sam's Club to replenish stock items. The rest of the day we were outside as much as possible, me doing yard work and Greg doing his annual repainting of the deck railings. He even put the hammock up in the area Mark has built by his gazebo. Mark likes to chop wood in his spare time. I sense that he is homesteading on the property. He took off early to Maine in his search for land. It has been his long time dream to live in Maine with scenic views. He saw a lot of views but still isn't ready to take that plunge.

Emily had her boyfriend, RJ over for the day. They walked into Topsfield and enjoyed ice cream and the wonderful day. Yesterday we got a few groceries first thing. We had an early dinner so that Derek could eat with us before he went back. The grill is up and running and we enjoyed Century House steaks. They are the best. Prior to dinner Emily had a friend over to work on her environmental project. They have been monitoring a vernal pool all year and we paid our final visit to it. While they were taking photos I did a trail walk. I took Derek back to school after the meal was cleaned up and Greg went with Mark to look at trucks. Mark's other dream is to get a truck but he still hasn't found the right deal.

As always the weekends go fast but the beautiful weather and being able to be together made it ever so special. It didn't hurt that the Red Sox swept the Yankees either... the icing on the cake.

Rivalry and Great Weather

What a great weekend ahead. They are predicting record temperatures with low humidity, I don't have to work, school vacation is almost over and the Yankees are in town. It's always big news when the Red Sox and Yankees go head-to-head. The lucky fans will also get to enjoy some of the best weather we've had in a long time.

I love when the weather is like this because we get to turn the heat off, put the screens in and enjoy the fresh air. It's such a welcome change from all the doom and gloom in the news.

The Boston Marathon

Today is the 113th running of the Boston Marathon. It's a cool day for spectators but a great day for runners. The start time has changed somewhat. When we first came here it started at 12 noon with the wheelchairs starting slightly ahead. Now the wheelchairs start at 9:22, the elite woman 9:30, the elite men and wave 1 at 10 and wave 2 at 10:30. The number of participants has grown so over the years that this is their attempt to maintain a level of control over the race. Here is a link to the official website: http://www.baa.org/BostonMarathon/113thMarathon.asp

You can find all kinds of history and info if so inclined.

The marathon always has some great stories but one of the best is that of Rick and Dick Hoyt:

Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who together compete just about continuously in marathon races. And if they’re not in a marathon they are in a triathlon — that daunting, almost superhuman, combination of 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America.

It’s a remarkable record of exertion — all the more so when you consider that Rick can't walk or talk. For the past twenty five years or more Dick, who is 68, has pushed and pulled his son across the country and over hundreds of finish lines. When Dick runs, Rick is in a wheelchair that Dick is pushing. When Dick cycles, Rick is in the seat-pod from his wheelchair, attached to the front of the bike. When Dick swims, Rick is in a small but heavy, firmly stabilized boat being pulled by Dick.

At Rick’s birth in 1962 the umbilical cord coiled around his neck and cut off oxygen to his brain. Dick and his wife, Judy, were told that there would be no hope for their child’s development.
"It’s been a story of exclusion ever since he was born," Dick told me. "When he was eight months old the doctors told us we should just put him away — he’d be a vegetable all his life, that sort of thing. Well those doctors are not alive any more, but I would like them to be able to see Rick now." This expert was taken from Team Hoyt at http://www.teamhoyt.com/history.shtml

To see a clip about them check out:

http://multimedia.boston.com/m/22114033/hoyts-ready-to-run-in-boston-marathon.htm

Can't Judge a Book By It's Cover

You've probably heard about Susan Boyle by now but if you haven't please follow this link to YouTube.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_xFNa7YKDw

So often and I include myself in this, we look at something and someone and form an immediate response. Susan is a wonderful reminder to all of us that it is a mistake to do that. She is also a triumph for the ordinary person. Enjoy, I did.

The Lines of our Lives

I'm pondering life today and how we are all traveling on parallel roads, sometimes they come together for a bit like the last few days with Amanda and the kids visiting. I'm thinking how nice it is to spend time with family even if it's only for a little while before the roads separate again. It's so easy to go along every day in the same old routine. A big thank you to Amanda for taking the initiative to come and visit us. I really enjoyed their visit. It's nice to get outside our little box for awhile. I hope that more parallel lines in all of our lives will travel together. Hopefully we can again this summer.