Waltham

This was my first and third home.  My parents brought me home from the hospital to the second floor where we lived for a year or so.  Then after a stint in Hunts Corner, Maine trying to "get back, Honky Cat" we moved into one of the basement apartments, "still broke and out of work" as my dad says.  I remember living in the basement apartment.  There was a lady across the hall who was nice and we watched Rocky and Bullwinkle. Her boyfriend had a glass eye and one time he tried to unlock OUR apartment door thinking it was his. He was drunk.  I think it was in the bathroom here that my step sister (who was not yet my step-sister), Raina, was playing "store" all wrong so I pushed her.  Another time some other kids came to visit (maybe Richie and Jimmy) and they made a huge mess in my room.  That unsettled me.  I think these are both characteristics of an only child.  And I think it was in the kitchen here that I saw my mom cry because Bob Wills had died.  I knew right then that she was deep. It was from here that my parents sent me to an amazing and progressive nursery school.  The head teacher's name was Zen and her son, Finnegan, was my very first boyfriend.  Zen drove a Volkswagen Beatle.  I wrote my name in crayon on the church wall (the school was housed in a church) and blamed a friend.  A teacher named Andy wouldn't let another friend up from nap one day to use the bathroom and that boy peed on his matt.  I could tell, even at 4, that Andy felt terrible.  The teachers really loved us there.  They were all hippies.

I'm pretty sure this was the last place my parents lived together.  I remember seeing my dad cry once here, his head on his dresser.  Other than that, I didn't much notice that they split up, but my dad and I moved to Lexington and then my mom took me out to lunch every Thursday and we spent weekends together on the south shore.  To be honest, there was some tension amongst the grown-ups for a little while, but it was ok because I knew I was loved and very important.  I had a mom and dad, a step-dad, an exceptionally involved gram, some other nice grandparents and lots of kind aunts and uncles.   And Camp and soup.  I think I always felt very secure.

Moving to fancy Lexington was okay.  But I'm glad this is where we started out.  It's simple and sweet and hasn't changed.  That's a comfort.

Patrick and the Grands by Guest Blogger, My Mom!

Grammie and Papa Wayne took Patrick to see Monty Python's Spamalot at the Company Theater in Norwell.  I don't think this qualifies as a "spoiler", as the show is a decade old.  Near the end of the show, King Arthur and the very silly knights are still on their quest to find the Holy Grail.  They stumble on a clue that says "A101" and try to sound out what it can possibly mean, one idea is aioli, "a delicious garlic mayonnaise".  No, that's not it, so they get on their knees and ask God what it means.  A giant finger comes down from the "sky" and points to a seat in the front row, seat A101.  It's Patrick!  Patsy, King Arthur's assistant, the one who claps the coconut halves which sound like horse's hoofs as they pretend to ride, comes down from the stage, tells Patrick to stand up and "finds" the Holy Grail under Pat's seat!!  He brings Pat up onto the stage and King Arthur asks his name.  He then proclaims to the entire audience that Patrick Favreau is the peasant who found the Grail!  They give him a trophy and thank him profusely!  Pat was up on the stage at least 5 minutes, and handled it all beautifully.  The audience roared at how cute he was and Grammie and Papa were just thrilled.  When we later got autographs from the actors, they told us how pleased they were when they first noticed a kid was in that special front row seat, as kids usually handle it better than adults!  The lesson for us grandparents is that you can try and try to plan something memorable for your grandkids, but sometimes it's serendipity!!  It was great fun!