<p>Sometimes, as the case may be, they are very much over HS by this time. D2 was definitely not into it, and then for some reason the last two weeks or so she was… go figure. S had definitely moved on but had a GF who was all into the end of year stuff and so he went along. Had she not been in the picture, I am sure it would have been much different.</p>
<p>S forwarded me his correspondence between the college pres and himself… If his initial impressions are what goes into the rec, S is a lucky boy indeed. I also sent his TV, video games and his pillows/some bedding. He sent me a little video of his room. These are the little things he does that emphasize how difficult it is for parents to believe their kids are ever “grown.” </p>
<p>That’s wonderful, Moda!
Missy…enjoy that hs grad stuff even if she isn’t into it that’s one thing about having an only child…you only get to do this stuff once! (All that wasted learning curve…)</p>
<p>So, mcson and gf are NOT home for Easter…gf had a schedule mix up and miscommunication with mcson, so to make a long story short, I just told him to try to pick his shifts back up since he’d really planned the visit as more of a “couple” visit/getaway and was just home two weeks ago.</p>
<p>To console myself, I took my employee out yesterday afternoon for a hookey-pedicure-then-wine-on-a-sunny patio. She was delighted (her folks are a plane trip away so she too is missing the Easter-family phenom.)</p>
<p>My retail therapy bill was a bit steep because I then bought myself two new pairs of sandals, two adorable dresses, and two new spring tops. Quite a little debach but I really want to celebrate the coming of spring after such a rough winter!</p>
<p>My sister, niece and nephew are en route later today, so I now get to run out and play Easter Bunny some more and stock the larder.</p>
<p>McGf’s Aussie opal I’d ordered for her graduation arrived yesterday and is stunning. I hope she likes it.</p>
<p>kmc, sounds like you really take charge of your life and make sure you enjoy it. I admire that. </p>
<p>Moda, I’m sure the rec is very well deserved.</p>
<p>I have a few hours with everyone gone, so I decided to skip yoga (bad, I know, but I still have a cough that would annoy the class) and tackle the fridge. As I have mentioned before, H is biologically incapable of throwing away food, so having been gone so much of late, I have quite the job ahead of me.</p>
<p>My to do list is overwhelming and my energy is limited.</p>
<p>Nice on the rec and no doubt deserved, Moda. </p>
<p>ShawSon saw the doctor and the nose is not broken. Just bruised and swollen. It happened the day before his business school interview, so he neither looked nor sounded his best, but he was admitted nonetheless. </p>
<p>Shaw is this a different school? Or is this a program within the school? </p>
<p>I too admire KMC take charge attitude and definitely tip the hat to the day of hooky. I too would enjoy some retail therapy, but instead I took some pieces of my mom’s to the jeweler for repair and/or sizing. Some things he said he would call with the estimated cost. I went in on Tuesday… went back in on Friday because I realized that I hadn’t gotten a receipt for them. So that I still haven’t heard book is a little bothersome to me.</p>
<p>Happy Easter to all who celebrate! We’re looking forward to a day of family, food, and fun! The “family” part is from H’s side – we go to his brother’s house in central MA. It’s basically the same crowd as the Thanksgiving gathering. </p>
<p>S showed up here in Cambridge yesterday evening – haven’t seen him since Christmas. It seems like he’s getting more used to all things Air Force, if not wildly enthusiastic. He joined a CrossFit gym near the base, which seems to provide some social support outside of the AF. I’m sad for him that things didn’t turn out the way he was expecting, but so very proud of the way he’s getting through it. He’s pretty much decided not to reapply for a pilot slot, since that would mean a longer term commitment. I’m OK with that.</p>
<p>The puppy is not proving to be a good car traveler. I’m hoping she’ll outgrow this, since never riding in the car is not an option. </p>
<p>It’s a beautiful morning here, and things are finally starting to bloom and flower. Long time coming this year!!</p>
<p>Happy Easter to those who celebrate. We’re going cycling this AM with a friend of ours – distant cousin of ShawWife whose board I served on until he sold his company. He then spent a couple of years in India doing yogic philosophy and then decided to become a rabbi. He’s now in his fourth (?) year of rabbinical school. Wonderful human being and outdoorsman extraordinaire. Just came back from a week of cat-skiing and heli-skiing in Western Canada. His GF will also come, though she’s not a strong cyclist, which is just as well for me as it is my first trip of the season.</p>
<p>Good Morning! Back from the lake and up cooking and cleaning for festivities later today. Went to church services last night so I could be hard at work this morning. Had a few days relaxing with H at the lake where we were snowed in for an evening. 12 inches of snow Wednesday night and Thursday. I was happy to read three novels! ; </p>
<p>Had our tasting appointment with the caterer before we left on Wednesday. It went well but I am still pushing D2 to get busy on invitations. It is making me very nervous. It appears the ceremony will be very short and sweet…no unity candle, no sand ceremony, no vocalists. Not even sure if there will be readers! sigh… D2 did get out and look at apartments yesterday. They found two that they are very interested in.</p>
<p>sending hugs to dte! I truly appreciate the nurses!</p>
<p>Happy Easter to those who celebrate it! H and I are just going to go out to brunch, then take a drive to Colonial National Park ( National Park admissions are free this weekend). Sons went to Nashville with friends for the weekend so no Easter with them and no family around. But the weather is nice today so the day should be pleasant.</p>
<p>Now that we no longer have college tuition, we are getting to some much needed work on the house-new windows, siding, and gutters. So far, so good. The crew is very good and easy to work with. Should take another week or so before they’re finished. Hope everyone has a nice day!</p>
<p>Whew! Just got back form PR and will have 12 for Easter late lunch/early dinner. S is with GF’s family but D is on the train for a short visit. She hasn’t been home since she moved to the city. H and I miss them both!</p>
<p>Shaw did you read Tom Friedman’s article this AM? He mentioned Behavioral Economics and I thought of your son. The article is a follow-up to “How to get hired by Google”. (It’s OK but Friedman has really dropped the ball over the years as far as I’m concerned. Actually, starting with his hawkish insistence on the Iraq War… )</p>
<p>I am at the stage where I am sick of all things Passover. I don’t want to see any more chicken soup, or matzoh balls, or chicken, or brisket…I want pasta, and pizza, and macaroni and cheese …while there are “substitutes” I really don’t like them, and my sons years ago convinced me that to go to 'substitutes" subtracts from the meaning of the holiday, so we just don’t go there…</p>
<p>I do love having the Seders, though…and I will miss it when the next generation takes over the Four Questions from my youngest son, who has been the youngest in the family for so many years.</p>
<p>Hi, everyone! Had a nice but a little exhausting day yesterday. Brunch at church, then worship. Music was fabulous: 4 trumpets, 3 trombones, euphonium, tuba, and also a violin (played separately from the brass). Home for a brief rest, then headed the other direction for Easter dinner with H’s family. Warmer weather was so welcome!</p>
<p>Good morning, all. We had a nice Easter - first one witthout older D. I made a leg of lamb for the first time - it turned out well.</p>
<p>CBB, so glad your son is pushing through. I’m proud to “know” him.</p>
<p>Forgive this Presbyterian question, but how many Seders are there during Passover? I always thought there was just one. Is there one every night?</p>
<p>Older D and her roommate went to Krakow this past weekend. They really liked the city. Their destination was Auschwitz-Birkenau, which they toured on Saturday. (Is that a sign of emerging maturity? She certainly wouldn’t have been interested in high school.) They had a scary/annoying moment on Saturday night…were returning to their hostel at 3 am, looked both ways, no cars on the street, and jay walked…a police van pulled up and gave them tickets. D didn’t have any Polish money left to pay the fine. The cops (the girls asked to see their badges) kept wanting them to get in their van, to drive D to an ATM. The girls said they would walk to an ATM and the cops could drive beside them. They engaged the cops in quite a bit of conversation, D’s friend ended up paying her $33 ticket, then D later reimbursed her for half. They know it was very sketchy, but I think they did the best they could under the circumstances. At least I know that my D will not be getting into anyone’s van!</p>
<p>mp – after reading your post, I Googled “Tickets for jaywalking in Krakow” (out of curiosity) and the first article that popped up said, yes, indeed you can and will be ticketed; that jaywalking is a big no-no in Poland. Who knew? At any rate, glad they played it smart and stayed safe, even if it cost them money.</p>
<p>MP. In the US, Conservative and Orthodox (and Reconstructionists) have two seders and Reform have one. In Israel, only one. Judaism’s calendar is lunar. In the very old days, if one were far away from Israel (say Babylon), one couldn’t know precisely when the holiday would start in Jerusalem. So, they decided to celebrate twice. Jews in the US also have two days of Rosh Hashanah and a number of other holidays but somehow decided they only needed one Yom Kippur day (not clear why the logic applied above fails for YK except that two days of fasting would be problematic – but I’m sure some brilliant Talmudic scholar has created some far-fetched explanation that all accept about why we don’t need two days of YK). Given that we now know precisely what time the sun will set in Jerusalem, the second day seems unnecessary, but logic never seems to be dispositive in religion.</p>
<p>Speaking of which, ShawWife and I just saw the Book of Mormon yesterday. I hate musicals and it was very good. Really funny – probably even funnier as ShawWife and I spent three days with a gathering of Mormons when I did a favor for them and were really taken in and learned a lot about the religion as they practice it and may have gotten some more the esoteric jokes – but its main point was that a) the stories that underly all religions are at best silly; but b) that somehow religion (when the story was made applicable to people’s lives – albeit in hilarious ways in the play) really helped people. So, simultaneously hilarious, cynical and uplifting. </p>
<p>MP, also glad to hear that your D behaved with good sense and self-preservation.</p>
<p>We saw Book of Mormon last summer. I agree about the stories underlying all religions sounding silly. The phrases from “I Believe” are really funny, but substitute just about any kids’ Sunday School story, and it sounds just as far fetched.</p>
<p>Good Easter here as well. We have great weather although I didn’t really get out to enjoy it. D, her BF, S, and DIL arrived at 10:30 for brunch and hung around with the grand-dogs until about 4:00. I cooked, cleaned and then all of us played a couple of games. Fun and we enjoyed it but if we had had the deck set up I probably would have suggested playing the games outside. Would have been nicer for me. In the process of spring cleaning. I should finish the downstairs next weekend and then still need to tackle the upstairs. Need to get through our bedroom suite as I think that there must be dust because my alergies have been kicking up every night!</p>
<p>One other really interesting thing. Unlike other religious groups who run around and get offended and tell their followers to boycott, the Mormons launched an ad campaign. They have numerous ads in the Book of Mormon Playbill saying something like, “Now read the real Book.” Not critical or derogatory or defensive. Brilliant.</p>
that’s one thing about having an only child…you only get to do this stuff once! (All that wasted learning curve…)</p>
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