Time

Time for a new post.  It's been an amazing summer.  How can anything be less than wonderful with this weather? Girls Cousin Week was so much fun.  Having 3 teenage girls together was just such a privilege.  They are good (and privileged) girls.  All the bounty of veggies and time (to run and bike and sleep and eat) make summer perfect.  And finally a weekend at home to allow me to reflect on the goodness, to run long and leisurely, to sit on a blanket in the shade in my beautiful backyard and read a magazine.  To play WAR LIVE loud while cooking dinner.  To watch a movie with Neil and the kids and Dad, anticipating a Sunday morning of rest and coffee and trails.  The light in the evening, in the morning and during the heat of the day. These are the things for which I am grateful and anything I want for  (more time with the babies, Nia and Losada, more time with my mom, more time to sniff the woods and my kids' heads) will be along eventually.

Use It or Lose It

My dad is in Montreal for 3 weeks taking the french language class that I took two years ago.  Well of course he'll be placed in a much higher level class, but it is the same immersion program.  Last month we spent 2 weeks in real France and Dad's ability to really speak the language was incredibly helpful, especially when we had problems like a flat tire and a dead battery.  I mean I can order in a cafe and ask some basic questions, but nothing compared to Pops.  Anyway, Dad impressed us all, including himself, by doing a lot of walking on our trip and I encouraged him to keep up with his higher level of exercise now that we're back in North America.  I also encouraged him to take this 3 week class and I'm real proud of him that he decided to do it and proud of myself for pushing him because I think he'll have a lot of fun and, as we all know, with exercise and our brains, we need to keep challenging ourselves as we get older and occasionally do something out of our comfort zone.


When Dad was contemplating signing up for the class he was most worried about getting to the classroom so early in the morning.  Anyone who knows David Gascon knows that he is NOT a morning person (though since we returned from real France he's been getting up pretty early, taking lengthy advantage of the time difference between Europe and North America).  A few months ago I offered to do a test run with him the day before classes began and I think that was what really pushed him to go ahead and sign up.  Unfortunately I bailed on him and decided to stay home this weekend, but he did his test run anyway and wrote this in an email:


I decided that today I'd do a test run of getting to metro station by 8:00 in order to have plenty of time Mon. to make orientation at 8:45. I was walking to the station when I looked at my watch & saw that it said 6:45 - I had mis-set my clock radio an hour too early, so alarm had actually gotten me up at 5:00!  Made the station a hair before 7:00. Took a somewhat longer route back to condo, so had gotten in app. a mile of walking before real 8:00. No wonder I wasn't ready to take a crap before leaving.


Dad up at 5:00 A.M. and an hour early.  It love it.  I hope he has a fabulous time.

Training Begins!

The official start of 17 weeks of marathon training began today with a rhapsodic 8 miles on the most beautiful of Northeast Kingdom mornings.  Sunny and cool, birds chirping, wildflowers blossoming, sweet fresh air and happiness.  I think I'll keep my training log here as I've done in the past.  Mount Desert Island Marathon, October 16th.  This will be my 6th.

Morels!

Grammy Robin Showed Us How

When I was little, my gram taught me about family; not with words, but with how she lives and loves.  I happen to be her birth grandchild, but that is not why she loves me.  She adopted one of her five children and harbors anyone else who needs her. She calls us all her kids.  Her love is big, unlabeled and unconditional.

Tonight my son's birth family hosted us for a birthday dinner.  Patrick turns 12 next week.  His little siblings, Kylie (5 soon) and Matthew (almost 3) adore him and their big sister, Harper.  

Patrick and Kylie (Kylie calls him "Little Pat" which is funny since he is twice her size!)

 Kylie and Matthew

 Pat and Kylie

 Little Pat, aka, Big Manny and Matthew, aka, Little Manny

 Sisters by any other name...

 Mommy Sherry made Patrick a delicious and beautiful homemade birthday cake.

Not pictured are all of Pat's four parents, 4 of his grandparents and an uncle.  Sherry and Big Pat served a delicious, home-cooked meal.  We make a funny sort of family, all of us together.  We come together regularly because we love our little, growing bigger boy.  But over these almost 12 years, we've come to love each other, too.  I'm humbled that the Barretts have shared their lives with us. Big Daddy Pat is a self-proclaimed redneck who likes to go mudding and Grandpa David is an undeniable academic planning his trip to France and adjusting his solar panel.  Yet everyone is happy to be together, eat good food and get full and chase the little kids and make them laugh.  Together we marvel at this incredible musician/artist/funny-man/kind, good boy who is our son, brother, nephew and grandson.  Some kind of just right luck, mixed with lots of uncertainty, and, to be honest, loss and pain, brought us all together.  I'm so glad.

Family.

Lordy Lordy

I turn 40 on Friday.  It feels a bit surreal.  Turning 40, then starting a new job after nearly 12 years at the same, wonderful place.  Any minute I'm going to have lots of profound things to say about these facts.  But for now each day comes and goes and is filled with busy and mostly happy moments.  The weekend will bring celebration with my best friends and my sweet family. 
Fucking forty.  Wow.

Right Now

With apologies to all of you who have grown tired of winter and snow and such, this blizzard sure was a pretty one.  And there is something extra sweet about the light when the snow finally stops and it is March so the sun hasn't yet set at nearly 6:00PM.  Just lovely outside my doors.