Days are getting longer

I finally figured out why February went by so fast. It's the shortest month. (Hand to forehead and Homer Simpson "duh!") Especially welcome when the pension shows up on the first of every month.

But, despite its shortness, there's a lot of Dickson news. 

Birthdays are always a good place to start. Luisa turned one year old, yesterday. We had a celebratory call, and she hammed it up, applauding for herself and doing her best Queen Elizabeth wave, and showing us how she stands and crawls and withstands two older brothers running around her and squirting her with water guns.  Must have been where my sister Ann got her resilience, from two older brothers. 

And later this week, Kiernan will turn one. Growing up fast.

Back down in Brazil, we had the first family member, and maybe the last, to report from Rio de Janeiro during Carnevale week. I can't do justice to Joe's first hand description, but he and Leonor braved the crowds, the all-night reverie, the noise, and bacchanalia (sp?) and, go figure, really enjoyed themselves.  Leonor's mother was back in Brasilia with the children and a schedule of round-the-clock nannies and helpers. Their return flight was cancelled, and they had to struggle to get a new reservation, but they made it back the next morning. Nice to live vicariously, as I'm fairly confident that this is not in our cards, not this lifetime. We have not heard of Sankhar's experience, up the coast near Recife.

Wanna hear about our Mardi Gras blowout? In bed by 8:30, succumbed to a cold and hoping Mary doesn't get it.

Annie packed for a different climate for her weekend and headed out to Tahoe for a weekend of skiing. Another on my ain't gonna happen list but love to live vicariously list. She, by the way, is nursing a cat right now, who had gotten hit by a car and required surgery. Sounds like it will pull through, but with the loss of an eye. Poor kitty.

Out in Illinois, baby Theo is home, and it looks like Jen's photographer Mom had a chance to get some great "studio" shots. Also, Andrew continued his concert tours, this time taking in a blues guitarist recommended by Daniel – Eric Gales.  And Daniel went with him to the concert.  A must see is the review from the two Dicksons.

In Rochester, Paula has been struggling with a lingering cough, and David is contemplating jumping back into a couple of projects on insurance and housing for seniors. 

Mardi Gras wasn't the only holiday, but also there was President's Day.  We enjoyed the holiday in the President's home town, and to visit Margaret, Andrew, and Simon. Margaret was still struggling with shingles, Andrew had a bad cold when we got there (recovered quickly), and Simon was his usual last-man-standing. A lot of fun.  Walks and playgrounds and smoothies and "muffin-mans" and races, but no naps.  Not for Simon anyway. He's been adjusting (or not) to new sleep routines, and now that he's no longer in a crib, so his escapes occur at all times of the day and night.

We left scarily early spring weather in DC, with daffodils, crocuses and tree buds out, to come back here to seasonal cold and snow. Just in time for our trip this week, to points west, and then even farther west.

And, so our next weekly letter will have a different dateline.  Love from snowy New England  

Birth Day

This month there was a birthday.  A real birth day.  One where Jen gives birth to a baby boy, Theodore Edward Jones, on February 1.  Congratulations. There's some wondering about his name – will it be Ted or Teddy. We've already seen Theo.  Or Theodore? Sounds wonderful any which way.

I used to say that the world stops for a new baby, but out in Illinois, nothing stops Auden, who appeared in a play shortly after her little brother's birth. 

Speaking of pregnancy, how many of you can claim that you were serenaded by Rihanna on your birthday?  Privately, I may add. Yes, Rihanna sang on my birthday, just to me. And 130 million other people, but I had the distinct impression that she was singing just for me. If only I recognized any of her songs. 

Still, it was a super birthday. Charlie and Annie were here with Josh and his friend, Rodrigo, a political scientist from Mexico who is spending the semester at UMass. We went for a long walk, took long naps, had a long, never-ending meal, and watched a long game.  And we had a nice Zoom-in with folks from Brazil to Oakland to DC. 

On that call, we heard about Margaret's case of shingles. I remember weekly letters from the distant past where Pop mentioned his bout and how painful it was. I remember it so well, that I have had three different vaccine shots.  Well, they don't give the vaccine to people under 50, and Margaret got it.  And she can confirm how painful and uncomfortable it is.  And it lasts for way too long.

When I mentioned to David that she had shingles, his first response was, "She's too young."  He's right, but apparently this vestige of chicken pox can come out in times of stress. And Margaret has her fair share of that in her new job. She, by the way, was involved in the recent release of Nicaraguan political prisoners to the U.S., and was on hand when they arrived in DC.

From the Pop's Weekly Letter archives is this note from 1993 – "We talked to Margaret, and we learned that what she wanted for her birthday was snow and 'scabs'. It seems that Joseph, Margaret and Annie all have chicken pox, and they are all anxious for the scabs to appear, signaling the end of the darned thing." (01-11-93)

So, the moral is – watch out for stress.  And see if you can get the vaccine before 50.

On the health front, Timmy had an operation, on his neck, to clear a carotid artery, something that might run in the family as Johnny had that done a few years ago. And, down in Florida, Marilyn is training for a mother-daughter marathon. You go! 

Winter has been kind to us, at least as far as snow shoveling. We have not gone skiing yet, but Charlie and Annie were so desperate we went on a 90 minute search of Pittsfield for snow.  We finally found a little in a nearby park, and for 45 minutes of trudging through slush and across fallen pine branches, we did manage about 30 yards of nice skiing.  It looks like that may not be the case out in upstate New York and Everett and Donald have found plenty for sledding.

Looking ahead, we have some one-year birthdays on the horizon – Luisa and Kiernan are fast approaching that day. Luisa is pulling herself up to standing position, and there was a great shot of Kiernan holding on to a dog leash, ready for his walk.  Joe and Leonor will be heading to Rio for Carnevale and Sankar will be in the Recife area, where he says they have already started.

Right here, we can't wait for Lent to start. It's past time to cut back. I saw in the newspaper that Super Bowl Sunday is replacing Thanksgiving as a family get-together, but I see Super Bowl as an opportunity to eat all those things you don't eat the rest of the year. In this house, that means Fritos. We went through two bags here.  There is some debate whether Fritos are vegan.  Annie says they may be accidental vegan food. If that's the case I might go on an accidently began diet, along with Oreos, she says. 

And on that note, love from up here.