Home again

Lots to report this half of June.  And first off, birthdays.  It’s Leonor’s birthday today.  Parabéns.  (Look it up and practice your Portuguesa!) And Melodie also had a birthday, celebrated on the Delaware beaches.

Second off, Annie’s home. Well, not exactly home here in Pittsfield, as she has been on the move, to Boston, DC, and now in Colorado, visiting friends and family.  Sure wish Sankar could have joined her. He did get a visa for the UK and the EU so he and Annie are planning to meet up at the end of her US visit over there, perhaps even in Blackheath, London, with the soccer-mad segment of the family. Down in DC, she met the latest addition to the family, Darcy, and saw Simon who has graduated to the junior swim team.  

Next, we’re also home, from a week in Daytona where we sped off as Timmy landed back in the hospital and then hospice. We were told by a nurse to get down there quickly. He has since rallied, but is still in hospice with no good prospects. A tough week for everyone, but obviously hardest for Timmy.  Marilyn was, once again, a wonderful host.

David and Paula are also home, after a “bucket list check-off” excursion to an Antiques Roadshow filming. Paula wrote up a great account of their time and the four pieces they took for evaluation. Now I wish I had gone. We had to turn down the opportunity as I did a talk on my book that drew a large crowd at Arrowhead, Melville’s home. When we get to the Poconos, I plan on doing a reprise, every night, maybe even a couple of times every night.

And Peter and Janet are also home after heading up to Southport for Aunt Janie’s celebration of life. David and Paula watched on YouTube. It was a wonderful send-off with a lot of excellent messages about a life well-lived. Everyone called her the connector, and she was at it again, as we reconnected with Jay and Diane and her family.  The last time I saw Diane (Moopy) was at our wedding in 1980.  She has also had a full life. I must have heard before, but she told me she named her first child Ann, who also had a heart problem and passed away after only a year.

And guess who else is home? Andrew and Lur, of course. They spent the week, their annual vacation, at Green Lake in Wisconsin. Claire came down with a friend for one day, that included a boat ride.  They seemed to have missed a lot of the bad weather descending on Illinois and Wisconsin and the rest of the Midwest.

Anyone else return home? You betcha. Billy and family are back in Colorado after a drive back to Chicago to visit both sets of grandparents and the children’s old friends. They weren’t back home for long, as we see them on Facebook at some camping adventure.

And Matthew and Tina and the boys also went camping, at Chenango Valley State Park. I think they are going to sample all of the state parks in New York. And why not?

Perhaps Paul Simon is home. He had come to Tanglewood for two sold-out performances, and we had tickets - thank you Joe, Margaret and Annie.  At first, it was discouraging since he had lost his voice, but he pushed through and, with his songbook of tunes and messages, I found myself ready to accept any old voice. He responded well to the enthusiasm of the audience, and kept coming back to give us more. I should add that on our refrigerator is a ticket stub from his concert in Durban that we went to in 1992.

On to July which means we’ll see you all in the Poconos soon.  Love from up here.

 

 

June swoon

Summer’s a week away!  And we’ve already had summer weather, and loving every bit of it. We’re also basking in the fruits of our yard work over the last few months. Simply glorious.

Summer means graduation time, and there’s a photo here of Miles 8^th grade graduation. What? Looks like a college graduate to me.  When did that happen? And Margaret says Simon is only six, and he’s already had three graduations. I wonder if he’s gone to any reunions. Then there’s Donald who was selected as student of the month in his middle school, as a “community builder.” Way to go Donald!  We need community builders now.

Mary’s not the only one on a swim team. Simon got a signing bonus to join his pool’s team, and he spends most afternoons there. There’s a photo here after practice with one of his many fans. Move over Michael Phelps.

Billy and his family trekked across the country to visit parents and friends in their old Illinois neighborhood. A long drive, but I know a couple of grandparents who were thrilled to see everyone.

Back to DC where we are told that Johanna stopped on her way down to North Carolina. She stayed with Jeff and Melodie and paid a visit to the newest member of the Dickson family.

Over in London, there are a few people geared up for the World Cup. Truth be told, I learned more about international soccer in my one week there than I have since I was, well, ever.  We watched the first US game, as well as some of the NBA finals. Better than baseball right now.

No birthdays yet, except for Pop’s who would be 103 this year. A couple later in the month.

Some sad news. Janie, Uncle All’s wife, passed away after a stroke. She was 91 and had joined us at the Poconos for a few years, along with Susan, her daughter, and Fernando. Paula remembers her dancing at Jeff and Melodie’s wedding. Also, Mary’s been sorting out the decision for Timmy to go into hospice. He had another fall in his home, the third this year, with the accompanying organ failures.

On the happy front, Annie should be in the air at this writing, on her way home for a good long stretch. Sankhar got his visas for England and the EU, so they’re planning on meeting up after her sojourn in the U.S.

We’re hoping to take Annie, and anyone else, on some bird walks. Mary and I are taking a birding class through the life-long learning institute and hope to recognize more birds than just a robin, a crow, and a goose. Today, we saw and studied a …. What was it called? Some gray wax wing something or other. Beautiful, if only I could remember the name. I think “cedar” was in there somewhere.

I did a quick over-to-Boston and back visit last week for a check-up and the start of my second year of injections. All on track, especially the test results.

Look for a Poconos message in your in-boxes soon, with cabin assignments!  Right around the corner.

And then we’ll see you all.  Love from up here.