Skipping Town

I titled this "Catching Up" but there's no way to catch up on my absolutely DELINQUENT stretch between posts. I'll do better. No excuses except pure busy-ness. Here are some big updates and thoughts from the past (eek) month: Lucia's at Peak Teen Stage Early this month, Lucia took her PSAT on a Friday, took the SAT on Saturday, and, later that afternoon, went to pick up her official driver's license. That was a peak-teen weekend, you know? She's careening off into the future. It is staggering to witness but also is flying by so fast it's easy to just not even notice it--oh, sure, take the biggest test of your life; pick up that first-ever official license; and don't forget to unload the dishwasher. Huge life moments all mixed up with everyday life.  All XC All the Time The kids are running running running, chasing PR's and team wins and trying not to bleed through their spikes. And failing. We went to Newville, PA, for the big Foundation meet o...

Several weeks have passed without a post, but honestly that's a good thing, life just going along with an absence of drama. I take my pills, I go about my life, I feel great and have lots of fun things planned and just push all the what-ifs into their usual locked compartment. They let themselves be herded in without protest.  Meanwhile, life in the here and now traipeses along. School is going well for the kids. Junior year is keeping Lucia busy, as expected--not just classes but SAT prep, trying to start a volunteer job, and, of course, XC. Greta loves high school so far, maybe especially not having to wear a uniform anymore. We spent Labor Day in Connellsville, staying overnight so we could have a nice Gabe's trip, a run (me: walk), on the bike trail, a game of Clue, and some meals together.  The kids had their first XC race on Friday, and it was a great start for all. Lucia came in #10 overall, and Greta got a PR in her first high school race. Mom and Dad came to watch, a ...

It's very strange to be back into the school schedule. After so many weeks of the summer being away, or having the kids get home at 9pm from XC practice, or being overwhelmed with work chaos, the past week has felt--at least for me and Andrew--much calmer. Of course the kids are adjusting to new classes and routines. But everyone's home by 6pm, we've been eating dinner together, we've been cooking real food, and we've actually seen the kids for more than a second at a time. Friday, 8/28, we had no plans after school/work. Unheard of. Lucia went shopping on Walnut Street with two friends, Greta came home to relax (she's somehow gotten a summer cold), and Andrew and I went to the pool for a while. Then the kids joined us at the pool so we could all have dinner together, and then we came home to watch Ted Lasso. Saturday, the kids had XC practice in the morning at Frick. Andrew took a run and I went walking with a friend. After that, Andrew made crepes for lunch, a...

The final week of summer flew by. The kids had official XC pre-season and were running every evening until 9 or later. We had a fun start to the weekend with Barbra and her family stopping overnight on their way from OH to NYC--such a great visit.  We went to Ross Park Mall on Sunday for long-promised, pre-school-year ear piercing at Rowan: third holes for Lucia, second holes for Greta. We even fit in a game of Scrabble and some Ted Lasso in the evening, a final free summer evening. Greta had Upper School orientation on Monday, where she met all her teachers and got her locker assignment. Then the kids had a XC scrimmage in Schenley, and then went to a teammate's house for a team pool party.  Yesterday was the first day of school, two Upper Schoolers to drop off now, and the school year begins. They already had homework last night. It's going to be a busy year, but they seem ready for it. It's always hard to leave summer behind; but we had a great one. Two weeks in NH, a we...

The past couple of weeks have been a blur of final preparations for graduate orientation, my office's biggest undertaking of the year. It is no easy feat organizing three days of events (35+) for almost a thousand grad students when the office consists of two people. This is my fourth orientation, and it has always been exhausting, but this year we added more events and it nearly did us in. I'm still recovering. And now I have to return forty black linens that I panic-ordered from Amazon when it looked like the catering team had dropped the ball on my massive linen order. Hassle upon hassle. But it's over. Unlike last weekend, when I had to work every day on preparations, I had a nice relaxing weekend. Some pool time, some nice meals, actually seeing Andrew and the kids.  On Saturday, Mom and Dad came in and we went to our favorite book sale of the year. It's a fill-a-bag for $15 sale, and we always find amazing things. We all filled a bag (or two). Then we went to a fe...

Our return from Cape May and re-entry into our crazy life did not go smoothly last week. Our return, from July 27 through July 31, was so busy and chaotic I didn't think we would get to the other side of it.  Monday: Greta had crew from 6-8am, requiring one of us to drive her to Verona at 5:30am and then sit in the Oakmont Bakery until pickup. One of us, meanwhile, drove Lucia to work. Then both of us went to work. Greta did geometry. One of us picked up Lucia. Andrew took Greta to math tutoring from 6-7pm. I had to lead a webinar for 400 grad students from 7:30-8:30pm. Tuesday: Same. Crew, Lucia work, our work, geometry, then piano lessons from 6-7pm and then XC for Lucia until nearly 9pm. Did we eat dinner? That question will be answered later. Wednesday: Crew, Lucia work, our work, geometry. Andrew had to wait at home for the gas company to come for a required gas meter update, which we'd put off so long we were notified that our gas was going to be turned off. Lucia had vir...