Otto: When you grow up, you might have a mustache.
Max: No. I won't.
Otto: Oh. (Long Pause.) I might.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
More on Living in the Moment
I've been thinking more about how precious and short and unbelievably sweet our lives are.
Last night I got a card from my Uncle Bob, who has been diagnosed with lymphoma and told his time is very short, a year or less. They tried surgeries and other treatments, but the cancer is very far along. They have decided not to do any additional treatments and instead to focus on living well the time he has left.
Bob and my Aunt Marianne have been so amazing throughout the whole difficult ordeal, his attitude has been so positive, and even now, with this very sad news, he is light and happy and taking each day for what it has to offer, thankful for all the time he has had and has left. They have made a "Bucket List" of things they want to do in the next months. Their list includes big trips, such as going to Paris in April, and visiting the Grand Canyon, and the Outer Banks. They are going on a more local trip to Brandywine Falls, not far from their home in Ohio. And they are going on some smaller trips to visit family. They recently traveled to Washington D.C. to visit my cousin and to Connecticut to spend some time hanging out with several of my aunts and uncles (and my parents). They are going to visit my parents in Tennessee in March, and they plan to visit many of the battlefields in Franklin, as Bob is very interested in the Civil War. They are planning a party for Bob's 65th birthday in August.
The list also includes some simple things Bob wants to do, like going to the zoo with his two grandchildren, going to a fish fry, and varnishing his pond bench. They have done a lot of work by their garden pond, planting many varieties of hostas there and creating a beautiful spot for being together, and I hope they will spend a lot of time there enjoying that spot, as well as all the other big adventures they have planned.
The card he sent me last night had this quote:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Around this quote, Bob had written me a note, thanking me for something I sent him. This simple gesture of sending me a card, when he has so many other things he could be doing, touched me very deeply. I am very bad about sending thank you cards, or any mailed correspondence at all, actually. I felt so happy to receive this card, and it seemed like such a perfect day to receive it.
I thought about Bob, whom I love, and Lisa, whom I hardly knew, but who was very loved indeed. I thought about how sad it is to lose people before we or they are ready. But I also thought about the attitude of acceptance and joy that both of them have about their lives, and it gives me so much comfort.
I think Lisa knew how to live a life full of breath-taking moments. And I think she knew how important it is to take long deep restorative breaths and to appreciate the small moments, the moments that might not be considered breath-taking if viewed by an outsider. Like sitting in the kitchen drinking tea, and listening to your children play together, their voices excited and filled with laughter. Eating breakfast on the warmest seat in the house. Making pizza dough from scratch and squishing it around in your fingers. Looking at the latest Lego ship your six year old created, entirely in red. Watching your three year old fall asleep in mid-sentence, holding a bowl of chocolate chips in his hand. Kissing the impossibly cute feet of a child. Receiving a beautiful card from someone you love. Sitting on a newly varnished bench by your favorite pond. (After the varnish has had a chance to dry, of course.)
I put Bob's card on my wall, to remind me of all the breath-taking moments in my life.
Last night I got a card from my Uncle Bob, who has been diagnosed with lymphoma and told his time is very short, a year or less. They tried surgeries and other treatments, but the cancer is very far along. They have decided not to do any additional treatments and instead to focus on living well the time he has left.
Bob and my Aunt Marianne have been so amazing throughout the whole difficult ordeal, his attitude has been so positive, and even now, with this very sad news, he is light and happy and taking each day for what it has to offer, thankful for all the time he has had and has left. They have made a "Bucket List" of things they want to do in the next months. Their list includes big trips, such as going to Paris in April, and visiting the Grand Canyon, and the Outer Banks. They are going on a more local trip to Brandywine Falls, not far from their home in Ohio. And they are going on some smaller trips to visit family. They recently traveled to Washington D.C. to visit my cousin and to Connecticut to spend some time hanging out with several of my aunts and uncles (and my parents). They are going to visit my parents in Tennessee in March, and they plan to visit many of the battlefields in Franklin, as Bob is very interested in the Civil War. They are planning a party for Bob's 65th birthday in August.
The list also includes some simple things Bob wants to do, like going to the zoo with his two grandchildren, going to a fish fry, and varnishing his pond bench. They have done a lot of work by their garden pond, planting many varieties of hostas there and creating a beautiful spot for being together, and I hope they will spend a lot of time there enjoying that spot, as well as all the other big adventures they have planned.
The card he sent me last night had this quote:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.
Around this quote, Bob had written me a note, thanking me for something I sent him. This simple gesture of sending me a card, when he has so many other things he could be doing, touched me very deeply. I am very bad about sending thank you cards, or any mailed correspondence at all, actually. I felt so happy to receive this card, and it seemed like such a perfect day to receive it.
I thought about Bob, whom I love, and Lisa, whom I hardly knew, but who was very loved indeed. I thought about how sad it is to lose people before we or they are ready. But I also thought about the attitude of acceptance and joy that both of them have about their lives, and it gives me so much comfort.
I think Lisa knew how to live a life full of breath-taking moments. And I think she knew how important it is to take long deep restorative breaths and to appreciate the small moments, the moments that might not be considered breath-taking if viewed by an outsider. Like sitting in the kitchen drinking tea, and listening to your children play together, their voices excited and filled with laughter. Eating breakfast on the warmest seat in the house. Making pizza dough from scratch and squishing it around in your fingers. Looking at the latest Lego ship your six year old created, entirely in red. Watching your three year old fall asleep in mid-sentence, holding a bowl of chocolate chips in his hand. Kissing the impossibly cute feet of a child. Receiving a beautiful card from someone you love. Sitting on a newly varnished bench by your favorite pond. (After the varnish has had a chance to dry, of course.)
I put Bob's card on my wall, to remind me of all the breath-taking moments in my life.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Living in the Moment
Today my heart is aching for a family I don't really know. A woman in the unschooling community died on Monday, leaving behind her two daughters and husband. Her name was Lisa.
I cannot even say I met her, but I remember her from last September's Live and Learn conference. I can see her in my mind—her smile, her curly blonde hair, her glasses, something about her presence captured my attention—but in my shyness, I never moved out of my comfort zone to approach her. One afternoon, as she was walking into the lecture hall, she stepped over my children's chalk drawings and said something kind. I don't even remember what it was, but she smiled at all of us, and the sun was shining in her hair.
Obviously, I did not know her well enough to contact her family when I heard she was very ill, nor do I feel I can offer them anything at this moment, when they are finding their own ways of dealing with their loss. But her death is a reminder to me that I need to be more mindful of each precious moment with my own family. I know this, and I am moving ever toward living a joyful mindful life, but I still have some work to do.
I have been in a sort of funk for the last month. We have had days where I feel like I am just trying to get through them, like we are just marking time until it the weather warms up or until we are not sick or until Martin gets home or whatever. But when they are over, I often feel like they went by so fast, I wonder what we even did all day, I wonder how the apartment is in such a state of chaos when we didn't even "do" that much, I try to think of what memory we could possibly have of that day, and I feel some sort of regret for "wasting" a day. That is not at all the life I am striving for. I want to be more present with my children, I want to be able to embrace our days, live them fully, whatever they are, quiet or loud. I don't want to feel that any day was wasted, but I want it to be okay to have days when we don't do anything of note, to know that those days are filling us all up with love, as much as the bigger days, where we are making more apparent memories.
By all accounts, Lisa was an amazing person, someone who lived joyfully in the present with her husband Larry and her daughters Roxy and Fire. I don't know how you go on when your mother or father dies, or how you handle this as the spouse. But I think the fact that the life they lead together was so beautiful might help with accepting Lisa's death. I hope our children will not have to find that out at such a young age. But we never know how much time we all have together. We need to make the most of this very sweet life. I am so sad for this family, and I will keep them in my thoughts.
And with thoughts of them and the short and sweet life we lead, I will go cuddle up with my boys.
I cannot even say I met her, but I remember her from last September's Live and Learn conference. I can see her in my mind—her smile, her curly blonde hair, her glasses, something about her presence captured my attention—but in my shyness, I never moved out of my comfort zone to approach her. One afternoon, as she was walking into the lecture hall, she stepped over my children's chalk drawings and said something kind. I don't even remember what it was, but she smiled at all of us, and the sun was shining in her hair.
Obviously, I did not know her well enough to contact her family when I heard she was very ill, nor do I feel I can offer them anything at this moment, when they are finding their own ways of dealing with their loss. But her death is a reminder to me that I need to be more mindful of each precious moment with my own family. I know this, and I am moving ever toward living a joyful mindful life, but I still have some work to do.
I have been in a sort of funk for the last month. We have had days where I feel like I am just trying to get through them, like we are just marking time until it the weather warms up or until we are not sick or until Martin gets home or whatever. But when they are over, I often feel like they went by so fast, I wonder what we even did all day, I wonder how the apartment is in such a state of chaos when we didn't even "do" that much, I try to think of what memory we could possibly have of that day, and I feel some sort of regret for "wasting" a day. That is not at all the life I am striving for. I want to be more present with my children, I want to be able to embrace our days, live them fully, whatever they are, quiet or loud. I don't want to feel that any day was wasted, but I want it to be okay to have days when we don't do anything of note, to know that those days are filling us all up with love, as much as the bigger days, where we are making more apparent memories.
By all accounts, Lisa was an amazing person, someone who lived joyfully in the present with her husband Larry and her daughters Roxy and Fire. I don't know how you go on when your mother or father dies, or how you handle this as the spouse. But I think the fact that the life they lead together was so beautiful might help with accepting Lisa's death. I hope our children will not have to find that out at such a young age. But we never know how much time we all have together. We need to make the most of this very sweet life. I am so sad for this family, and I will keep them in my thoughts.
And with thoughts of them and the short and sweet life we lead, I will go cuddle up with my boys.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Seven More Days
Well, after I finally moved the car last Sunday, it sat another seven days, due to a combination of more snow and ice AND a pretty debilitating flu bug that struck the whole house. I can confirm the suspicion I had in my other post: it is definitely worse to be stuck at home because everyone is sick than to be home because our car is stuck. Last week, we were home for both reasons. But luckily, the weather was cold, the boys were still very much in a homeward spin, and we all managed to survive it (well, it's still not completely gone) by watching movies, playing games, building Legos (we built the sandcrawler that Otto picked out the previous weekend, our biggest Lego set yet), and eating chicken noodle soup.
Martin had to travel to Boston and back with his flu, and he is still the one who seems to be suffering the most from the illness. His cough just will not go away, and he still seems to be achy and tired. He continues to trudge on to work, despite feeling sick and tired, and I think he's just not getting better because of that. Tonight, he has a ukulele concert with his class, and I hope we will all make it out to see him. Of course, there's a nice new blanket of snow that threatens to keep us inside, but I intend to stand up to that snow and show it that I am not afraid. Hee hee.
We did go out yesterday while the weather was relatively warm. We went bowling, which was really fun. Max had a great game, and scored a 98. Max rolled a strike and a couple of spares, so it was really thrilling for him. And Otto had a pretty good day too, with only one ball slowing to a stop in the lane and needing to be rescued by a staff member (usually we have several of these). In the end, he scored a 71. The gutter rails make the game so much more fun for them. If only I had them, I might have been able to break 100.
Also of note, the bowling alley has undergone a transformation since we last visited. It now has a karaoke bar, a renovated restaurant, and a bigger bar with a billiards table. The arcade games have also been revamped, and the games seem to be of higher caliber than they were before. Otto was really excited to discover Ms. Pacman, although he was quite disappointed how quickly the game (and our quarters) went. It would be fun to play this game at home on the GameCube. I remember we used to have it, or something similar to it, when I was a kid. I should look into this, as I think some really simple video games like this would be fun.
After the bowling alley, we made a big grocery trip, knowing that snow was coming again, and we should be well-stocked. It did snow, starting as we were driving home, and we got another several inches. We will probably have to dig the car out, so in a couple of hours, we'll have to head outside and get to work, so we can make it to Lincoln Square before it gets too cold, too late. Luckily, Lincoln Square has lots of fun things to offer us to spend our afternoon.
Martin had to travel to Boston and back with his flu, and he is still the one who seems to be suffering the most from the illness. His cough just will not go away, and he still seems to be achy and tired. He continues to trudge on to work, despite feeling sick and tired, and I think he's just not getting better because of that. Tonight, he has a ukulele concert with his class, and I hope we will all make it out to see him. Of course, there's a nice new blanket of snow that threatens to keep us inside, but I intend to stand up to that snow and show it that I am not afraid. Hee hee.
We did go out yesterday while the weather was relatively warm. We went bowling, which was really fun. Max had a great game, and scored a 98. Max rolled a strike and a couple of spares, so it was really thrilling for him. And Otto had a pretty good day too, with only one ball slowing to a stop in the lane and needing to be rescued by a staff member (usually we have several of these). In the end, he scored a 71. The gutter rails make the game so much more fun for them. If only I had them, I might have been able to break 100.
Also of note, the bowling alley has undergone a transformation since we last visited. It now has a karaoke bar, a renovated restaurant, and a bigger bar with a billiards table. The arcade games have also been revamped, and the games seem to be of higher caliber than they were before. Otto was really excited to discover Ms. Pacman, although he was quite disappointed how quickly the game (and our quarters) went. It would be fun to play this game at home on the GameCube. I remember we used to have it, or something similar to it, when I was a kid. I should look into this, as I think some really simple video games like this would be fun.
After the bowling alley, we made a big grocery trip, knowing that snow was coming again, and we should be well-stocked. It did snow, starting as we were driving home, and we got another several inches. We will probably have to dig the car out, so in a couple of hours, we'll have to head outside and get to work, so we can make it to Lincoln Square before it gets too cold, too late. Luckily, Lincoln Square has lots of fun things to offer us to spend our afternoon.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Why I Love My Friend Meme
I realize the title of this post is confusing, as it sounds like I am writing about my dear friend Meme. In fact I don't know anyone named Meme or even a Mimi. But I do have a friend named Nancy, and she sent me this game to play. The game itself is called a meme, and I finally learned what a meme is on this site.
Anyway, here are the rules:
(1) Link to the person that tagged you.
(2) Post the rules on your blog.
(3) Share six things you love about a friend, doesn’t have to be the same friend who wrote about you, really!
(4) Tag other random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
So, on with it...
I love my friend Jodie because:
1. I am so comfortable in her company that when I'm with her I don't want the time to end. And luckily, our children feel the same. We laugh and have profound discussions, sometimes in the same breath. I could talk to her for hours, and I often have.
2. She left Chicago for Sterling to live a life that I like to live along with her, vicariously. She started an organic vegetable farm with her sister and her dad, selling vegetables at the local market and raising chickens for eggs and for eating. And she always welcomes me for a visit and a taste of the farm life.
3. She is as interested to dissect the latest episode of Curious George as she is to discuss our latest book club read. And yet, she has read almost everything. I don't know how she finds the time, but she is the most avid reader I know.
4. She donates her time willingly and enthusiastically to great causes, and she makes a difference in her community.
5. She has found balance in her life that I am still striving to achieve.
6. She will probably never read this because she doesn't know the first thing about reading a blog, much less maintaining a blog; she barely keeps up with email. She is more likely to be found doing all the things I mentioned above. (See number 5.)
And because I have learned in the last year that I can have online friendships that can be as sustaining as (or even more fulfilling than) the ones in my neighborhood, I also want to mention my long-distance, mostly phone and blog/email exchange friendship with my friend Gillian, and of course her entire family. Here's to more time spent in person with her...
I love my friend Gillian because:
1. She is a new friend, and yet I feel like I've known her for years.
2. She has the most unruly and wonderful hair. It's usually tied up, but when it's down, it just makes me smile.
3. She has called me at a moment when I'm sick, exhausted and cranky, and had me laughing and feeling great about everything in minutes. She uses all those relaxing Canadian phrases, like "eh?" and "right?" at the end of her sentences, and the smooth rhythm of her speech just makes me happy.
4. It seems she is always up for an adventure with her children, even if the adventure is often conducted in her pajamas.
5. She is so genuine and insightful that it's sometimes startling (in the best possible way) to talk to her.
6. She sings to me on my answering machine. I love the messages so much I cannot delete them.
Okay, I tag Madeline, Kelli, and Shuyler because they are all amazing women who write beautifully and seem like they must also have amazing friendships. I want to hear all about them.
Anyway, here are the rules:
(1) Link to the person that tagged you.
(2) Post the rules on your blog.
(3) Share six things you love about a friend, doesn’t have to be the same friend who wrote about you, really!
(4) Tag other random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
So, on with it...
I love my friend Jodie because:
1. I am so comfortable in her company that when I'm with her I don't want the time to end. And luckily, our children feel the same. We laugh and have profound discussions, sometimes in the same breath. I could talk to her for hours, and I often have.
2. She left Chicago for Sterling to live a life that I like to live along with her, vicariously. She started an organic vegetable farm with her sister and her dad, selling vegetables at the local market and raising chickens for eggs and for eating. And she always welcomes me for a visit and a taste of the farm life.
3. She is as interested to dissect the latest episode of Curious George as she is to discuss our latest book club read. And yet, she has read almost everything. I don't know how she finds the time, but she is the most avid reader I know.
4. She donates her time willingly and enthusiastically to great causes, and she makes a difference in her community.
5. She has found balance in her life that I am still striving to achieve.
6. She will probably never read this because she doesn't know the first thing about reading a blog, much less maintaining a blog; she barely keeps up with email. She is more likely to be found doing all the things I mentioned above. (See number 5.)
And because I have learned in the last year that I can have online friendships that can be as sustaining as (or even more fulfilling than) the ones in my neighborhood, I also want to mention my long-distance, mostly phone and blog/email exchange friendship with my friend Gillian, and of course her entire family. Here's to more time spent in person with her...
I love my friend Gillian because:
1. She is a new friend, and yet I feel like I've known her for years.
2. She has the most unruly and wonderful hair. It's usually tied up, but when it's down, it just makes me smile.
3. She has called me at a moment when I'm sick, exhausted and cranky, and had me laughing and feeling great about everything in minutes. She uses all those relaxing Canadian phrases, like "eh?" and "right?" at the end of her sentences, and the smooth rhythm of her speech just makes me happy.
4. It seems she is always up for an adventure with her children, even if the adventure is often conducted in her pajamas.
5. She is so genuine and insightful that it's sometimes startling (in the best possible way) to talk to her.
6. She sings to me on my answering machine. I love the messages so much I cannot delete them.
Okay, I tag Madeline, Kelli, and Shuyler because they are all amazing women who write beautifully and seem like they must also have amazing friendships. I want to hear all about them.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Eleven Days
That's how long the car sat in front of the house, frozen to the road, and a sheet of ice beneath it. On Sunday, we had a major warm up, it got up to 55 degrees. The sun was shining, it gave us hope that the long snowy winter will really be over someday soon. We knew it was the moment to get that car moving, because the afternoon was bringing rain, and the evening was bringing a cool-down, back to below freezing.
Even though it was warm, there was just so much snow and ice beneath the car that it hadn't melted. Pushing it wasn't working. We put rubber mats under the front tires. Still no luck. Finally, our neighbor came jogging by in the abundant sunshine, on a run with her dog. She waved at us and asked where we were headed, and when we told her it looked like we weren't headed anywhere, as we were still stuck in the ice, she waved again and wished us luck, then said at least it would hopefully melt soon.
Something must have clicked for her about our situation, because she suddenly turned around and offered to help push. She tied up Rufus, her dog, to the fence. Thank goodness, and thank you Michelle, or I think the car would still be sitting in its spot.
We were out in a minute, and I zipped off to the grocery store to buy the makings for chicken noodle soup. Martin stayed home with the boys, and also with a very bad cough. It was the first trip to the "real" grocery store in almost two weeks, so it was very exciting and very necessary. As soon as I pulled into the grocery store parking lot, the sky turned completely dark, and rain started pouring down. We had gotten the car out just in time. And when I came home, I did NOT park in that same spot. I am sorry for the poor person who does park there, as the freezing temperatures have returned, and that spot only got worse with the recent rain.
Martin left town with his cold on Monday morning, but somehow part of that cold lingered behind, and now it seems like both Otto and I have it. Max remains healthy, thank goodness. I was just thinking how lucky we had all been, that we had gotten through most of winter with no illnesses. It's a beautiful sunny day today, but just now, at 12:20, probably the warmest time of the day, it's 14 degrees. We're staying inside, even if we can move the car.
Even though it was warm, there was just so much snow and ice beneath the car that it hadn't melted. Pushing it wasn't working. We put rubber mats under the front tires. Still no luck. Finally, our neighbor came jogging by in the abundant sunshine, on a run with her dog. She waved at us and asked where we were headed, and when we told her it looked like we weren't headed anywhere, as we were still stuck in the ice, she waved again and wished us luck, then said at least it would hopefully melt soon.
Something must have clicked for her about our situation, because she suddenly turned around and offered to help push. She tied up Rufus, her dog, to the fence. Thank goodness, and thank you Michelle, or I think the car would still be sitting in its spot.
We were out in a minute, and I zipped off to the grocery store to buy the makings for chicken noodle soup. Martin stayed home with the boys, and also with a very bad cough. It was the first trip to the "real" grocery store in almost two weeks, so it was very exciting and very necessary. As soon as I pulled into the grocery store parking lot, the sky turned completely dark, and rain started pouring down. We had gotten the car out just in time. And when I came home, I did NOT park in that same spot. I am sorry for the poor person who does park there, as the freezing temperatures have returned, and that spot only got worse with the recent rain.
Martin left town with his cold on Monday morning, but somehow part of that cold lingered behind, and now it seems like both Otto and I have it. Max remains healthy, thank goodness. I was just thinking how lucky we had all been, that we had gotten through most of winter with no illnesses. It's a beautiful sunny day today, but just now, at 12:20, probably the warmest time of the day, it's 14 degrees. We're staying inside, even if we can move the car.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Magnificent Mile
We spent the weekend in one of the most fabulous cities we know, Chicago.
We had tickets for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Carnival of the Animals on Saturday, and our friends Pat, Eamon and Pierce were coming in from Sterling for the show. We decided to join them for a night on the town.
We booked rooms at the Hotel Intercontinental, which is a fabulous hotel with an even more fabulous pool (this was a top requirement from Eamon and Pierce, who relish any opportunity to swim). It was conveniently located in the heart of the shopping district on Michigan Avenue, famously known as the Magnificent Mile. Convenient, I say, because it was literally across the street from the Lego store, and that was the best hotel feature for Max and Otto (although I have to say, Otto had quite a lot of fun in that lovely hotel pool, plus it had a Starbucks and many ballrooms to explore).
Addendum: Martin wants me to point out that we booked the room through Hotwire, and thus got this very posh room for only $99...we aren't completely out of our minds.
On Friday afternoon, we checked into the room and immediately headed across the street. We had decided to give the boys each $100 to buy whatever Lego set they wanted, and Max had been planning to buy a big Indiana Jones set we had seen recently at Target. Upon arrival, however, we were disappointed to learn it was sold out, and they only had a smaller set. Max was remarkably okay about it, and since his set only cost $20, he gave a significant amount of his money to Otto, who picked out the Star Wars Sandcrawler, priced at $140. His only request was that he would get to play with one of the Jawas. Otto found this agreement totally acceptable, and off we went to the hotel to begin construction.
I thought it was so funny that even in this big city of possibilities, the thing that Max and Otto wanted to do was be inside building Legos. It worked out well, though, because we were waiting for Martin to join us after work and for Pat and the boys to drive in from Sterling. Plus, it was still cold outside, so the nice clean and pretty empty hotel room was the perfect place to build.
Once Eamon and Pierce arrived, we all played in the room for a while. And then, they went for a swim with their dad while we built for a while longer. Once Martin joined us, we joined up with our friends again and went for a walk along Michigan Avenue, in search of a good spot for dinner. After learning the place we all wanted to visit had a long wait, we settled on California Pizza Kitchen, a quick and mostly easy dinner. (How "easy" can a dinner be with 4 young boys who are wild to see each other? But I think we would be welcomed back.)
Back in the hotel, Otto and Martin decided to go for a swim, while Pat and his boys headed off to bed. Max and I stayed in the room and played a game where he jumped from bed to bed, with my assistance (he was "flying" and "leaping"). He loved this game, and we played for almost 45 minutes. I can still feel the remains of this game in my upper arms. It was loads of fun.
We stayed up too late, considering we would be getting up with our friends early the next morning (they went to bed at around 9, and we were up until 11, but we were all up before 7 the next morning). We all headed out for a quick snack at Starbucks and then some serious hotel exploration.
There were so many wonderful ballrooms to be seen, and Pierce was dressed in his knight costume, so he got many delighted responses from other hotel guests. We took the elevators, we took the grand staircases, we explored the gift shop, we found a fountain, and the boys all made wishes. First, they all wished for money. Max wanted $100,001 (a hundred thousand and one dollars, he said). And then, their wishes took a different turn, as I heard Eamon wish for a blue horse, then Max wish for a red horse, and then Otto, who was out of money, took a penny out of the fountain and thought long and hard about it, then threw it in and said, "A cow." They happily ran off in search of more delights.
There was an Empire Ballroom, but, as Martin joked, there was no Darth Vader to be found. Must be a different Empire. And there was a King Arthur Court, which resembled a castle and was decorated with family shields and a knight's armor. Pierce was very excited about this room, as were all the boys.
Max still didn't want to swim (I had forgotten our swim vests, which was a big oversight), but Otto wanted to swim with me, so the two of us joined Pat and Eamon for a swim while Martin played with Max and Pierce. The pool was very impressive, apparently a Junior Olympic pool, and it was often visted by Tarzan star and Olympic gold-medalist Johnny Weissmuller. We learned that many guests have tried Tarzan's signature yell in that great room, although now that it is trademark protected, they might think twice about that. The room is very ornately designed, and the light streaming in through the windows made the water sparkle. It was really magnificent.
After swimming, we all got dressed and headed out for the walk to the symphony. It was a sunny but cold day, and we walked the entire 9 blocks. We crossed the river, which had big chunks of ice floating about. We admired various buildings, and we all eventually got very tired (Otto fell asleep, in fact, giving my arms another little workout) and wished we had taken a bus or a trolley. But we were almost there, so we forged on.
The symphony had all sorts of pre-show activities, including a samba session. Max really liked this part and played the bells (?) with the band while Otto and I visited a live turtle and played a some music games. The concert was good, although there was a piece of music before Carnival of the Animals that was a bit less captivating. I understand that they are trying to fill out the show, but given the age of most of the kids in attendance, I think going with just Carnival of the Animals would have been enough. As last time, the boys were interested at first but became more bored, and I think starting with something that is a bit less musically interesting is possibly a mistake, because by the time the main show came on, I saw lots of kids who were losing focus (including my own). Eamon and Otto fell asleep, and Max was so hungry he didn't really enjoy the last half of Carnival of the Animals. John Lithgow was narrating, and he did a really fantastic job bringing it to life. Two high school students played the dueling pianos, and they were both amazing.
Martin and I were joking that probably half the parents in the audience were so taken with those boys and had similar dreams for their own children, that one day those children would be performing with the CSO as high school students. After the show, we heard the mother behind us talking to her (maybe 7 year old) son, "Wouldn't you like to do that someday? You're going to have to practice a whole lot more! Every day, for a long time!"
We all made our way back toward the hotel (this time with the help of a bus). We stopped by the Lego store (again for us, but the first time for Pierce and Eamon). And then to Potbelly, in the food court upstairs, for some much needed nourishment.
After this, and another stop at the hotel to collect our luggage (and for some more exploration), we were all spent. We said goodbye to the hotel, quite literally—if you stand in the center of the mosaic star on the lobby floor, there is a great echo. We called out to the hotel, and probably anyone else who happened to pass by. Then Pat and his boys headed out for the long drive back to Sterling, and we hopped in a cab (a last decadence for our weekend of posh vacationing in the city). As we were parting, Max said he wanted to move to Sterling so he could be closer to Eamon. Pierce said he missed living in the city. We contemplated some sort of switch, but not in any serious way. It was good to see our friends, as always.
We had tickets for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Carnival of the Animals on Saturday, and our friends Pat, Eamon and Pierce were coming in from Sterling for the show. We decided to join them for a night on the town.
We booked rooms at the Hotel Intercontinental, which is a fabulous hotel with an even more fabulous pool (this was a top requirement from Eamon and Pierce, who relish any opportunity to swim). It was conveniently located in the heart of the shopping district on Michigan Avenue, famously known as the Magnificent Mile. Convenient, I say, because it was literally across the street from the Lego store, and that was the best hotel feature for Max and Otto (although I have to say, Otto had quite a lot of fun in that lovely hotel pool, plus it had a Starbucks and many ballrooms to explore).
Addendum: Martin wants me to point out that we booked the room through Hotwire, and thus got this very posh room for only $99...we aren't completely out of our minds.
On Friday afternoon, we checked into the room and immediately headed across the street. We had decided to give the boys each $100 to buy whatever Lego set they wanted, and Max had been planning to buy a big Indiana Jones set we had seen recently at Target. Upon arrival, however, we were disappointed to learn it was sold out, and they only had a smaller set. Max was remarkably okay about it, and since his set only cost $20, he gave a significant amount of his money to Otto, who picked out the Star Wars Sandcrawler, priced at $140. His only request was that he would get to play with one of the Jawas. Otto found this agreement totally acceptable, and off we went to the hotel to begin construction.
I thought it was so funny that even in this big city of possibilities, the thing that Max and Otto wanted to do was be inside building Legos. It worked out well, though, because we were waiting for Martin to join us after work and for Pat and the boys to drive in from Sterling. Plus, it was still cold outside, so the nice clean and pretty empty hotel room was the perfect place to build.
Once Eamon and Pierce arrived, we all played in the room for a while. And then, they went for a swim with their dad while we built for a while longer. Once Martin joined us, we joined up with our friends again and went for a walk along Michigan Avenue, in search of a good spot for dinner. After learning the place we all wanted to visit had a long wait, we settled on California Pizza Kitchen, a quick and mostly easy dinner. (How "easy" can a dinner be with 4 young boys who are wild to see each other? But I think we would be welcomed back.)
Back in the hotel, Otto and Martin decided to go for a swim, while Pat and his boys headed off to bed. Max and I stayed in the room and played a game where he jumped from bed to bed, with my assistance (he was "flying" and "leaping"). He loved this game, and we played for almost 45 minutes. I can still feel the remains of this game in my upper arms. It was loads of fun.
We stayed up too late, considering we would be getting up with our friends early the next morning (they went to bed at around 9, and we were up until 11, but we were all up before 7 the next morning). We all headed out for a quick snack at Starbucks and then some serious hotel exploration.
There were so many wonderful ballrooms to be seen, and Pierce was dressed in his knight costume, so he got many delighted responses from other hotel guests. We took the elevators, we took the grand staircases, we explored the gift shop, we found a fountain, and the boys all made wishes. First, they all wished for money. Max wanted $100,001 (a hundred thousand and one dollars, he said). And then, their wishes took a different turn, as I heard Eamon wish for a blue horse, then Max wish for a red horse, and then Otto, who was out of money, took a penny out of the fountain and thought long and hard about it, then threw it in and said, "A cow." They happily ran off in search of more delights.
There was an Empire Ballroom, but, as Martin joked, there was no Darth Vader to be found. Must be a different Empire. And there was a King Arthur Court, which resembled a castle and was decorated with family shields and a knight's armor. Pierce was very excited about this room, as were all the boys.
Max still didn't want to swim (I had forgotten our swim vests, which was a big oversight), but Otto wanted to swim with me, so the two of us joined Pat and Eamon for a swim while Martin played with Max and Pierce. The pool was very impressive, apparently a Junior Olympic pool, and it was often visted by Tarzan star and Olympic gold-medalist Johnny Weissmuller. We learned that many guests have tried Tarzan's signature yell in that great room, although now that it is trademark protected, they might think twice about that. The room is very ornately designed, and the light streaming in through the windows made the water sparkle. It was really magnificent.
After swimming, we all got dressed and headed out for the walk to the symphony. It was a sunny but cold day, and we walked the entire 9 blocks. We crossed the river, which had big chunks of ice floating about. We admired various buildings, and we all eventually got very tired (Otto fell asleep, in fact, giving my arms another little workout) and wished we had taken a bus or a trolley. But we were almost there, so we forged on.
The symphony had all sorts of pre-show activities, including a samba session. Max really liked this part and played the bells (?) with the band while Otto and I visited a live turtle and played a some music games. The concert was good, although there was a piece of music before Carnival of the Animals that was a bit less captivating. I understand that they are trying to fill out the show, but given the age of most of the kids in attendance, I think going with just Carnival of the Animals would have been enough. As last time, the boys were interested at first but became more bored, and I think starting with something that is a bit less musically interesting is possibly a mistake, because by the time the main show came on, I saw lots of kids who were losing focus (including my own). Eamon and Otto fell asleep, and Max was so hungry he didn't really enjoy the last half of Carnival of the Animals. John Lithgow was narrating, and he did a really fantastic job bringing it to life. Two high school students played the dueling pianos, and they were both amazing.
Martin and I were joking that probably half the parents in the audience were so taken with those boys and had similar dreams for their own children, that one day those children would be performing with the CSO as high school students. After the show, we heard the mother behind us talking to her (maybe 7 year old) son, "Wouldn't you like to do that someday? You're going to have to practice a whole lot more! Every day, for a long time!"
We all made our way back toward the hotel (this time with the help of a bus). We stopped by the Lego store (again for us, but the first time for Pierce and Eamon). And then to Potbelly, in the food court upstairs, for some much needed nourishment.
After this, and another stop at the hotel to collect our luggage (and for some more exploration), we were all spent. We said goodbye to the hotel, quite literally—if you stand in the center of the mosaic star on the lobby floor, there is a great echo. We called out to the hotel, and probably anyone else who happened to pass by. Then Pat and his boys headed out for the long drive back to Sterling, and we hopped in a cab (a last decadence for our weekend of posh vacationing in the city). As we were parting, Max said he wanted to move to Sterling so he could be closer to Eamon. Pierce said he missed living in the city. We contemplated some sort of switch, but not in any serious way. It was good to see our friends, as always.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
What a Difference a Day Makes
Or perhaps I should say, what a difference a pair of snow pants makes.
As if on cue, a big box of snow gear arrived the same evening I wrote my last post. Snow bibs for Max and Otto, long underwear for me. Since the car was still quite stuck, we donned our new warm gear and headed out for a walk to Target, which is actually a nice walk from our house (yet another reason to convince our favorite Canadians to come and visit us), and has organic milk, as well as a modest amount of decent groceries, and Star Wars toys (the aforementioned being the reason we needed to go out, the latter being the reason the boys wanted to go out).
It took us almost an hour just to walk a few blocks, mostly because the boys were having so much fun exploring all the big piles of snow and collecting icicles that were hanging from various cars in the neighborhood.
Max would roll down a big pile of snow, make snow angels, climb around on his hands and knees and happily exclaim, "I'm not cold!" or "I can climb up this hill in my snow pants!" The snow bibs were a big success, and we all had a lot of fun.
After a lengthy detour and a bit of a warm-up at Starbucks (quite the opposite direction of Target), we completed our errands and came home with dinner and new toys.
Today, in celebration of Valentine's Day, we made heart-shaped blueberry muffins. Yum. And we received news of what would be a fabulous present for all of us—it's supposed to warm up to 38 degrees! If we can move the car, we might even make it to the Nature Center or something else inspiring.
Happy Valentine's Day!
As if on cue, a big box of snow gear arrived the same evening I wrote my last post. Snow bibs for Max and Otto, long underwear for me. Since the car was still quite stuck, we donned our new warm gear and headed out for a walk to Target, which is actually a nice walk from our house (yet another reason to convince our favorite Canadians to come and visit us), and has organic milk, as well as a modest amount of decent groceries, and Star Wars toys (the aforementioned being the reason we needed to go out, the latter being the reason the boys wanted to go out).
It took us almost an hour just to walk a few blocks, mostly because the boys were having so much fun exploring all the big piles of snow and collecting icicles that were hanging from various cars in the neighborhood.
Max would roll down a big pile of snow, make snow angels, climb around on his hands and knees and happily exclaim, "I'm not cold!" or "I can climb up this hill in my snow pants!" The snow bibs were a big success, and we all had a lot of fun.
After a lengthy detour and a bit of a warm-up at Starbucks (quite the opposite direction of Target), we completed our errands and came home with dinner and new toys.
Today, in celebration of Valentine's Day, we made heart-shaped blueberry muffins. Yum. And we received news of what would be a fabulous present for all of us—it's supposed to warm up to 38 degrees! If we can move the car, we might even make it to the Nature Center or something else inspiring.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Ah, February
We've been snowed in since sometime last week. Well, we are not technically snowed in ourselves, just our car. It's stuck on a big patch of ice, and Martin shoveled, hammered and could not clear it. We pushed, we salted, we just can't seem to get the car to move. It's not like we were going out and about all that much, since the last two months have been quiet months for us, and we've been staying at home a lot anyway.
Our neighborhood has lots to offer, and we have taken a few walks and some treks for sustenance, but it has been so cold that we've mostly been happy to stay inside. We had a scrumptious dinner at Hachi's Kitchen on Sunday evening; we love any excuse to go there. But we don't really have to go out. We probably have enough food in our pantry and freezer to survive the rest of the winter. It's not that I really want to eat most of it (I guess that's the most likely reason there are so many cans there in the first place), but it certainly will do in a pinch.
We ventured out on an errand yesterday with public transportation, and although it was REALLY cold, and the waits for the bus were long, we had a good time. Today the snow is coming down (and down and down), and it looks so beautiful, but the boys have absolutely no interest in going out. Yesterday was quite enough, thank you very much. I hear some other cars in the same plight as ours and wonder if it will warm up enough tomorrow to make any progress.
One realization: we just don't have the appropriate clothing for this weather. We all need snow pants, and Max needs new boots (his feet must have grown since the start of winter, and his snow boots hurt his feet so much he doesn't want to walk very far). It would make things so much more comfortable to be better outfitted. But without our car, the prospect of trying to get to any outdoor supplier is too daunting.
This stint indoors has mostly been wonderful, although at times I have felt like we all need to get out, and it's usually around 4, just as it's heading toward evening, and it's colder than it was earlier. When the boys are having fun together and in agreement about what to do, it has been so nice. The days have flown by, and Martin has come home to wonder why everyone is in such a good mood. But the days when one of us has felt a bit cranky, well, there have been some less harmonious moments.
We've done a lot of baking and cooking, we drank much hot chocolate, we thumbed all our popcorn off the cobs and popped it up. We finished up the boys' jet packs (well, mostly finished them, I think). We painted. We played Legos. We made robots out of boxes and other recyclables. We played with our dominoes. We built tall buildings with our Kapla blocks (condos for the Lego minifigures, actually). We put together puzzles. We played new games that I had put in the closet for a rainy day (snowy days work just as well). We got out toys that we had forgotten, such as all the little cars that used to be the main activity around here. Both Max and Otto are playing the beginning of Star Wars on the piano, and Max has been playing the piano in general quite a lot, often very late at night (luckily, we have very late-night downstairs neighbors).
We watched Arctic Tale, very appropriate for the snowy weather, and it made us feel like we lived in the tropics, comparatively. The boys played so much GameCube they seem to be sick of it, and they haven't touched it the last two days. We read all of the board books that we haven't read for...years, maybe. (There is a large stash of books in the "kids' room," and since we have a large stash of books in the actual bedroom where we all are, we usually just read those. Otto just kept pulling them off the shelves, excited at the new discoveries. We should check out books from our personal library more often!)
Martin spent an entire day last weekend hooking up the boys' computers so they are also online. We now have four computers in our office! The only downside is that because their computers are so much older and have older operating systems, they can't play many of the games they are used to playing (the PBS kids games, for instance, where you need a recent version of Flash). So that was kind of a bummer after all that work. They prefer to play on the newer computers.
I spent a lot of time online: many hours reading other people's blogs, many of them blogs I don't usually read; many hours shopping for new music and appropriate snow gear (see above for more on that); and an entire morning watching YouTube videos of ImprovEverywhere because I saw a link on Rue's blog and then couldn't stop watching these hilarious videos. Sometimes those long hours on the computer were fun, but sometimes I felt almost depressed reading about all the fun things other people were doing, somehow feeling like we were not doing much, or maybe just feeling trapped (which of course, we aren't, we can take public transportation to virtually anywhere we want to go, but I just haven't been very motivated to do so). Or I would feel a twinge of envy as I'd read an email from my friend Pat, who spent 3 hours out hiking in his (big) backyard with his boys over the weekend.
Of course, when I look at all that I just typed, I realize that we have been having a pretty good time, and I know this is just, well, February. The joy of the snow is starting to fade, and the cold weather is not nearly as charming as it was just before the holidays. I want to live in the present and accept each day and what it has to offer, but on the other hand, I am really looking forward to seeing the little crocuses sprout up and for spring to fill the air.
Our neighborhood has lots to offer, and we have taken a few walks and some treks for sustenance, but it has been so cold that we've mostly been happy to stay inside. We had a scrumptious dinner at Hachi's Kitchen on Sunday evening; we love any excuse to go there. But we don't really have to go out. We probably have enough food in our pantry and freezer to survive the rest of the winter. It's not that I really want to eat most of it (I guess that's the most likely reason there are so many cans there in the first place), but it certainly will do in a pinch.
We ventured out on an errand yesterday with public transportation, and although it was REALLY cold, and the waits for the bus were long, we had a good time. Today the snow is coming down (and down and down), and it looks so beautiful, but the boys have absolutely no interest in going out. Yesterday was quite enough, thank you very much. I hear some other cars in the same plight as ours and wonder if it will warm up enough tomorrow to make any progress.
One realization: we just don't have the appropriate clothing for this weather. We all need snow pants, and Max needs new boots (his feet must have grown since the start of winter, and his snow boots hurt his feet so much he doesn't want to walk very far). It would make things so much more comfortable to be better outfitted. But without our car, the prospect of trying to get to any outdoor supplier is too daunting.
This stint indoors has mostly been wonderful, although at times I have felt like we all need to get out, and it's usually around 4, just as it's heading toward evening, and it's colder than it was earlier. When the boys are having fun together and in agreement about what to do, it has been so nice. The days have flown by, and Martin has come home to wonder why everyone is in such a good mood. But the days when one of us has felt a bit cranky, well, there have been some less harmonious moments.
We've done a lot of baking and cooking, we drank much hot chocolate, we thumbed all our popcorn off the cobs and popped it up. We finished up the boys' jet packs (well, mostly finished them, I think). We painted. We played Legos. We made robots out of boxes and other recyclables. We played with our dominoes. We built tall buildings with our Kapla blocks (condos for the Lego minifigures, actually). We put together puzzles. We played new games that I had put in the closet for a rainy day (snowy days work just as well). We got out toys that we had forgotten, such as all the little cars that used to be the main activity around here. Both Max and Otto are playing the beginning of Star Wars on the piano, and Max has been playing the piano in general quite a lot, often very late at night (luckily, we have very late-night downstairs neighbors).
We watched Arctic Tale, very appropriate for the snowy weather, and it made us feel like we lived in the tropics, comparatively. The boys played so much GameCube they seem to be sick of it, and they haven't touched it the last two days. We read all of the board books that we haven't read for...years, maybe. (There is a large stash of books in the "kids' room," and since we have a large stash of books in the actual bedroom where we all are, we usually just read those. Otto just kept pulling them off the shelves, excited at the new discoveries. We should check out books from our personal library more often!)
Martin spent an entire day last weekend hooking up the boys' computers so they are also online. We now have four computers in our office! The only downside is that because their computers are so much older and have older operating systems, they can't play many of the games they are used to playing (the PBS kids games, for instance, where you need a recent version of Flash). So that was kind of a bummer after all that work. They prefer to play on the newer computers.
I spent a lot of time online: many hours reading other people's blogs, many of them blogs I don't usually read; many hours shopping for new music and appropriate snow gear (see above for more on that); and an entire morning watching YouTube videos of ImprovEverywhere because I saw a link on Rue's blog and then couldn't stop watching these hilarious videos. Sometimes those long hours on the computer were fun, but sometimes I felt almost depressed reading about all the fun things other people were doing, somehow feeling like we were not doing much, or maybe just feeling trapped (which of course, we aren't, we can take public transportation to virtually anywhere we want to go, but I just haven't been very motivated to do so). Or I would feel a twinge of envy as I'd read an email from my friend Pat, who spent 3 hours out hiking in his (big) backyard with his boys over the weekend.
Of course, when I look at all that I just typed, I realize that we have been having a pretty good time, and I know this is just, well, February. The joy of the snow is starting to fade, and the cold weather is not nearly as charming as it was just before the holidays. I want to live in the present and accept each day and what it has to offer, but on the other hand, I am really looking forward to seeing the little crocuses sprout up and for spring to fill the air.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
Happy Birthday, Martin!
Martin celebrated his 45th birthday on Saturday, February 2. This lovely self-portrait of him is not from his birthday, it's from September, when the weather was quite different from today. But it is such a festive shot, and it's so typical of Martin (he is known for his self-portraits, which all look very similar—someday I want to compile a book of all these photos he has taken of himself), that it seemed like it should accompany his birthday.
Martin's birthday is also groundhog's day, so we began the morning with the news that Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter. Otto laid down on the floor and cried, saying he was ready for it to be spring.
But spring was nowhere in sight this weekend. We are blanketed with so much snow that here in the city it is shockingly beautiful and also getting slushy and dirty and everything that snow in the city can quickly become. Because we wanted to focus on the beauty part, we packed up and headed to Sterling, Illinois, where much of the snow is still white and entire fields are waiting to be explored. The occasion of our trip? Yet another birthday: our friend Eamon, who turned six last week, was having a party.
Martin's birthday got sort of buried in all the other activities, but I hope he felt appreciated despite all the other things we did. Before we even left for Sterling, the birthday weekend had begun. Martin took the day off work on Friday for some pre-birthday activities. Actually, it involved getting a new drivers' license for himself and getting the boys' German passports at the German Consulate (this is a big activity all by itself). We took the train downtown and spent the day doing these errands (mixed in with a little stop at the Lego store and at Vosges Chocolate).
Look at these boys in the above photo! It's hard to imagine they are about to indulge in gourmet chocolate. They look so forlorn, as though they have been told they are never allowed to eat chocolate again.
The boys and I made a birthday cake for him on Friday night, and we actually lit the candles and sang and ate it that night, which is quite an exception from his normal birthday operations (he usually won't open cards or presents or accept any birthday wishes until his actual birthday). We made him a Lego cake, which was supposed to look like two Lego bricks stacked atop each other, but in the end just became a ship of some sort for all the Lego minifigures to ride.
On Saturday morning, Martin's actual birthday, we packed up the car and headed to Lula for breakfast. We opened presents at the table. The boys had picked out a small Lego set (what a surprise!) for their Papa, and so we spent the breakfast putting together the little kit. He also got a couple of books and lots of new music (some with recommendations from Craig, and some with recommendations from Sound Opinions).
After breakfast, we headed to Sterling, about a 2 hour drive. It was a beautiful drive, with lots of countryside, some actual hills (such a rare site in Illinois) and lots of cows to be seen—they looked so pretty against the white snow.
We arrived (early!) at Eamon's party, which was at Chief Shikshak's Bison Ranch. We played in the snow, throwing snowballs and climbing on big piles of it. We tried to get the fire going, but it never really caught on. We collected sticks for it, and Max spent as much time near it as he could (he really does love a fire). We visited all the animals (red deer, highland cattle, turkeys, guinea fowl, peacocks, and of course, the bison). We took a tour of the property in a Humvee (my first time ever riding in such a vehicle, and I can say this is someplace that actually uses it as it should be used). We drove over the snowy hills and fields, we went off-road over some "Humvee bumps" and we observed the bison from the safety of the vehicle (and through the fence). We ate cake and looked at all the artifacts in the little "lodge."
It was a great experience, and it was a fantastic way to spend Martin's (and Eamon's) birthday.
We spent the night in Sterling with Pat and Jodie and Eamon and Pierce. Luckily, they are as interested in Legos as Max and Otto, so the evening and next morning were spent building some of Eamon's new Lego sets.
And then we went out to their back yard, which is like stepping into a forest presevere. We played in the snow and went on a hike, checking out the frozen pond and walking a big on a frozen river. We found evidence of the coyotes which frequent the land, and Pierce got very worried we would see a coyote on our walk, so we headed home. Otto was so cold that he had actually abstained from the walk altogether—Martin and Otto built a snow wall with some brick molds for snow and then headed into the house for warmth and recovery until we came back too. And Max was getting really cold and tired as we were out (we are definitely not as equipped for the cold as our friends—we need snowsuits and long johns and better boots and warmer mittens to make the whole outing more fun).
We all had some hot chocolate before it was time for us to head home. Another winter storm was just getting started, and we made it home just as the snow really started to come down.
Today, the boys and I are hiding out at home, playing with our Playmobil and Legos and looking at all this pretty snow from the warmth of our living room.
I was thinking about how lucky our friends are to have so much nature right in their back yard. Every time we visit, I feel somewhat envious of all that beautiful land, of being out in the country, where they are so much more in touch with the outside. Jodie's dad is a farmer, and Jodie helps her family run a farm stand at the local market (in addition to so many other volunteer jobs that I can't even keep up with them!). But we are really lucky to be able to visit them and experience it as much as we do, and we thank them for hosting us as often as they have.
In two weeks, they will come into the city and hang out with us—we are all going to the CSO for a children's concert. Then they get a chance to soak up the city life they left behind for the country. Both lives are so good, and I'm really happy we keep sharing them.
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