Skipping Town

 Happy 14th birthday to Greta!  We had a great day of celebrating. We had balloons and flowers and her birthday sign at the table in the morning. She opened one gift: an amulet from her favorite show, Supernatural. Andrew made pancakes for breakfast, then the girls and I went to Starbucks for Greta's free birthday drink, and to Dunkin so she could get donuts for her advisory.  We had a bigger birthday dinner tonight than expected, since Molly and Jeremy were in town. Greta had requested Mom's gnocchi, which was delicious. Andrew made a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling. Greta loved all of her gifts, especially a framed print of an Irena Aizen painting of a rabbit standing on an armadillo, a Garmin running watch, a manatee Warmie, a Sad Rat Jellycat, and a pigeon-watching guidebook.  It was a great birthday, and now she is not a new teenager anymore.

On Saturday evening, we had Greta's birthday party. She invited six friends to a hibachi dinner at Ichiban, and then we drove them all to our house for cake. Andrew made a beautiful four-layer birthday cake--a victory for him, since the kids usually request a store-bought cake for their friend parties. The kids played several rounds of Lucia's signature game, "Murder in the Dark," which entails just an enormous amount of blood-curdling screaming. Greta had a great time.  Sunday was a beautiful fall day. Andrew, Greta, and I went to Phipps in the morning to see the Fall Flower Show before it closed. Birthday errands took up part of the afternoon. At four, Greta and I took Farrah for a long walk in Schenley. A perfect day for a walk in the woods. 

The focus on the second half of this week was Thursday, Lucia's big XC final at the WPIALs in White Oak. Andrew managed to sprint through Newark after landing from Lima that morning, and got on an earlier flight to Pittsburgh--getting home in time for the race, which he otherwise wouldn't have. I took the afternoon off from work, and we drove together to White Oak. It was a freezing day--perfect for running. The parents were all very nervous, since the teams' performance at WPIALs determined whether they'd go to States next week. And the kids all did amazingly well. Lucia PR'd again--21:16, dropping another 18 seconds!--as did the other top-five girls on the team. The lead runner set a school record. The girls' team came in 2nd overall, their States slot secured. We stood at a different place than we usually do in White Oak, but Lucia spotted us--and when she saw Andrew there, she gave him a big smile as she ran past. (He teared up.) The boys also did extremely ...

The nicest thing about the past two days is that Greta has wanted me to read her a couple of Halloween books before bed. She has reconnected to these books because of that school project and seems to have a renewed appreciation for them. Needless to say, I love it.  Tuesday was an insane day: 6:30am: Frantically finished the cleanup of the kitchen to prepare for the cleaners' arrival. I'd spent the entire evening before taming the insane mess of our house, a bi-weekly ordeal that is painful but always worthwhile. Greta and I had gotten Nutmeg into the guest room late Monday night, and Greta slept up there, so at least we didn't have to do that. But there were still, somehow, five thousand dishes in the sink between 11pm and 6am. I dried them all and put them away. 7:15am: Left for school. Negotiated with the construction workers to let me out of my driveway. Yesterday they had to drag a steel plate over a trench to let me out; at least the trench is now filled and only a fe...

A busy weekend. Friday, Andrew and I went to trivia at the club with Beth and Nate. We came in last. Not a good showing, but fun nonetheless. Afterward, I watched This Is Us with the kids. Saturday, Andrew and I took a nearly three-mile walk in Frick while Lucia had XC practice. It was a beautiful fall morning. We took Farrah with us and she was tuckered out for the rest of the day. I ran errands in the afternoon, sorting out some returns and picking up a couple of gifts for Greta's birthday, swiftly approaching. Andrew went grocery shopping and picked up the sheet cake for Lucia's party. Saturday evening was Lucia's birthday party with friends. Six girls plus Lucia went to an escape room (they escaped) and then came to our house for dinner and cake. It was an easy gathering, and they all had fun. This was the true conclusion of Lucia's birthday festivities. Sunday, Andrew left for Peru (again). The girls and I went to a fun run in Frick to support a teammate's char...

Lucia's birthday was followed by a big XC meet at White Oak--the TSTCA meet. She was really fired up for this one, determined to get a PR--which she's been striving for all season. The weather was perfect, nice and cool. I left work early and Andrew and I drove out to watch the race. And it was incredible! Lucia beat her current PR by a minute--a huge accomplishment--and sobbed with joy and pride at the finish line. She came in #11 overall and got a medal. The girls' and boys' teams both came in first, and the #1 runner on both teams was from WT. An exciting race for all. Next week: the biggest race of the season, WPIALs.  I'm so glad Lucia had a great run after the disappointing (and sweltering) experience in Ohio. 

 Happy 16th Birthday Lucia! Today was Lucia's Sweet Sixteen. She was just as excited about her birthday this year as she has been every year since she was aware of the idea of birthdays. She just loves her day.  We did all the same things we always do, but I tried to do a little extra this year since it is a milestone birthday. I got a shimmery purple tinsel backdrop that we hung up behind the table, with a Happy Sweet 16 banner. I also put together a poster with pictures of Lucia from all of her previous birthdays (a very fun project) and propped it up on an easel. And, of course, the usual giant number balloons, sign board, and flowers. She'd requested one gift for the morning: a pair of Chickenlegs running shorts and a bag of her favorite candy. I made a Dutch baby for the kids, and then the girls and I went to Starbucks before school so Lucia could get a free birthday drink.  Lucia's day at school was a little rocky--she had a precalc test that she was certain she did...

Over the past week or so, both girls have shown me that their ideas about themselves and our family are emerging and crystalizing. I love these glimpses of how their identities are taking shape.  We were in the car last week, on our way to school, and Lucia was expressing frustration that a runner on her team was dropping time dramatically while Lucia can't seem to beat her own PR. I pointed out that this girl's parents are both professional-level runners, and said genetics is helping her (along with, of course, all the hard work of training). "Sadly, you have only Daddy's genetics to help you with your running," I said. "My genetics are working against you when it comes to athletics." Lucia nodded, agreeing. "Your genetics make me organize a box of buttons by color into an egg carton," she said. This is so absolutely correct. I couldn't have said it better myself. Also last week, I was decorating for Halloween when Greta appeared, watching...

Greta had a handful of XC friends over Friday night for more "bedazzling and team bonding." They bedazzled, sang, danced, and used the Ouija board. It was a nice final get-together before their final race Saturday morning, in Freeport. Greta got a PR and was happy. Our last Middle School XC race--it's hard not to feel sad. This was our 5th Middle School XC season.  Lucia didn't come to the meet because she had XC practice at Frick. Greta took the team bus home from the meet, and had a ride home from there. So Andrew and I went to the Strip to pick up a couple of birthday gifts for the kids.  In the afternoon, I ran several birthday-related errands.  Saturday night was Homecoming for Lucia--she met up with some of her friends beforehand at the house of a friend who lives near school, and they all walked to the dance together. She was very excited about her dress--short and sparkly, with a corset back and a skirt that was layers of tulle. She had shoes the exact color p...

Andrew was still sick all week with the cold/flu, though by the end of the week he'd shown some improvement. He is sleeping in the guest room, which confuses Farrah, and she has alternated where she sleeps at night, mostly ending up with me.  Wednesday, Greta had a XC meet and came in 6th. I wasn't able to go--the only meet I've missed this year--because of meetings at work (this was a rescheduled meet from a rain cancellation). Andrew was there to cheer her, but getting there was a problem because he couldn't find any of the keys to the Mini, which was blocking in the Volvo in the driveway. He called me at work. I found one of the keys in my purse--I'd driven the kids to school and just threw my purse into my work bag when I left to catch the bus--but the other one was nowhere to be found. So Andrew walked to the meet, not too far away in Schenley, then walked to CMU to get the key from me since I had to stay on campus for a late meeting. He was certain the kids or...

Friday, October 3 Big day in the Littell house, with Taylor Swift's new release dropping at midnight Thursday night. The kids stayed up for it, making friendship bracelets and listening to the new album in the basement (I was asleep). Friday night, the girls and I drove to the Waterfront to see the Life of a Showgirl behind-the-scenes documentary. We had dinner at Bravo then went to the theater, where they traded a couple of friendship bracelets--they were so excited at this tiny nod back to the Eras Tour.  My life was an absolute horror show during that concert, and most of that weekend is a blur that I've pretty much repressed, but I will always be glad we made that concert happen despite it all. Just one of many experiences that I will not let this curse take away from us. Saturday, October 4 Lucia caught a bus at school at 7am to go out to Ohio for the Legends XC meet, and Greta and I hit the road not long after. This was an enormous meet at a big fairgrounds in Cortland, a...

This morning, I came across an article in Slate featuring the top 25 picture books over the past 25 years. The article was partly in response to an old article in the NYT about how picture books were no longer a vital part of children's lives, how children's books were dead, etc etc. Articles like that always surprise me, because picture books were such a crucial part of my kids' childhood that I can honestly say the books I selected and read to them made them who they are. We read together for hours each day. We had books for each season and holiday, and a new selection of books every summer that we read only on the porch. A couple of the books from this Slate list are in our own library; but our favorites are generally not the type of book that would make an appearance on a list like this. (For example: the incredibly odd and somewhat disturbing Three Little Horses.) Recently, Greta and I dug through all of our picture books, pulling out our very favorites. This task was ...

Greta had a XC race on Tuesday in Schenley, a very low-stakes race with just three schools. She came in seventh. Tuesday also involved XC practice for Lucia, piano lessons for both kids, then Lucia's tutoring.  Wednesday was October 1! The start of my favorite month, and it finally was just cool enough to feel like fall. Of course, October inspires, and it's time to reshare my favorite poem, "A Vagabond Song" by Bliss Carman, which I heard for the first time when I was sixteen years old and which, a quarter-century later, offered the gift of a title and epigraph for my first novel: A Vagabond Song There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood— Touch of manner, hint of mood; And my heart is like a rhyme, With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time. The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry Of bugles going by. And my lonely spirit thrills To see the frosty asters like a smoke upon the hills. There is something in October sets the gy...