Grins and pride

Let's start this letter with three cheers for mothers!  A week late, but maybe it should be mothers' month instead of a day.  We did a Zoom mother's call, and of the four frames on the screen, two were quiet and civilized; the other two seemed a little hectic, trying to keep up with one-year-olds.  Pretty amazing how fast they can move. And fall.  One of the photos here is of Thomas with a cast after he hurt his leg (no breaks) falling off a jungle gym awkwardly.

And next, we'll shout out birthday greetings to Sean and Elliot.  How great are May birthdays?  Hope your days were special.

Speaking of birthdays, I came across a social security report for the top names of 2020 – for girls, it was Olivia, Emma and Ava and for boys it was Joey Votto, Johnny Bench and Tom Brady.  What!  Didn't fool you?  OK, for boys, it was Liam, Noah and Oliver.  No Simon or Joao/John, but there was a James (number 5).  And we did check the box with Oliver, slightly ahead of his time.

We were home on Mother's Day, but only by a day or two, following our week-long trip to parts south – Washington and Asheville.  It was great to get in a car and drive without worries, but even greater to get to our destinations and see everyone – Margaret, Andrew, Simon, Annie, Sankar.  Pleased to report that everyone is healthy – Annie and Sankar got their second shot while we were there, as did Andrew.  Did I hear Mel Gibson shout "Freedom?"

I certainly felt positively giddy with the maskless news this week, and a little awkward on my walk, not having to step aside when people passed by or mask up.  And the signs of a return are certainly evident on the road, as we sat in our first, genuine parking-lot traffic jam in Delaware in over a year.  It was almost fun. 

Asheville is nice, and I know a few of you have already experienced its charms.  Annie took us to the Biltmore, which makes Cunningham Road look like a shed.  The gardens were magnificent, and we had a great day for the visit, after a day of rain which saw us wander around the shops downtown.  I think Annie and Sankar like it so much, we heard them dream a little about real estate. 

Signs of spring around here and the coming season means jobs.  May is job month – started cutting grass, Mary is raking the beds, I rototilled the garden, and this week our dump truck of compost arrives.  Our own small compost pile gave me four wheelbarrows full of black stuff, but that's not enough to feed everything else.  And, we set up our new hammock, so if you hear screaming from up here, it's Mary and me wrestling for naptimes outside.

Food was a topic of our conversations, with grilled fish out in Illinois, Joe taking on grilling fish covered in salt (not sure I have that right), Annie making falafel (delicious), and our annual Mother's Day steak dinner here.  And, of course, we shared wonderful food stories and pictures of Simon and Baby John trying out different delicacies, wearing and dropping more perhaps than the amounts actually entering their mouths.

My weekly letter project has me jumping around the years 77, 78 and 79.  Reliving these momentous years, with big changes (first year at Pomfret with weekly visits by David and Paula, Peter's clerkship, Andrew's graduation from Ripon, first mention of Mary), a heart attack and then, sadly Ann's demise.    Here's a selection about attendance at the Ripon graduation:  "But the highlights were the comments about Andrew!  The stern and old fashioned Dean of the College said that Andrew was "a fine, decent, friendly gentleman": and he obviously meant it.  Andrew's History advisor normally has a reception at his home one evening for his history seniors, but this year asked only Mom and I to join Andrew for a visit after one of the concerts.  And the President had some great words about Andrew's soccer and lacrosse exploits.  Now can you imagine our grins and pride?"

And, of course, we all know now the feelings of grins and pride that children bring, at all ages.

Love you all!