Saturday, April 26, 2008

va·ca·tion [vey-key-shuhn], n :

Definition; "Freedom or release from duty, business, or activity."

Speaking as a Mom on Friday night toward the end of April "vacation"....all I gotta' say is:

PSSSSHHHHH.....Yeh, Riiiiiight. Can I call a definition do-over????? Shenanigans, perhaps?

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Losing loved ones...

When I was expecting Kathryn, Chris' grandmother on his Mom's side passed away shortly after Mother's Day. She had been ill, but was far from an elderly woman, and it was, as it always is, a substantial loss.

Over the days leading up to the wake and funeral, there was much discussion about whether Maddie should attend. We agreed that she should, and so we she went through the process with us, then 5 or so yrs old. We explained and explained again exactly what was going on, what she should prepare for, with careful focus on seeing an open casket for the first time.

After the service, we returned for the collation at Chris' grandparents house, where Maddie - who had seemed to get it all SO well, that I had no concerns about confusion or limited perception of the reality we were living trough - declared:


"Hey! That puppet in the box suuuure did look like Nana, huh?"

Oh well...nice try though. Out of the mouthes of babes...

Get out and play!!

It's finally becoming NICE out again!! Too bad we're going to have to move again...and relocate the loosely defined entity known as:

This site changes locations more often than Schaeffer Sullivan Foxboro CMGI Gillette Field Stadium changes it's name!!!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

No barriers

Last year Bryan's best friend at school was a shy, quiet boy who was only here for one year, from Tokyo. Bryan and Kei (Keiichiro) got along famously, and though there was a bit of a language barrier, Kei was a fast learner and it was apparent that sometimes all you need is some other 4th grade boys, and a ball, and everyone becomes Teammates, rather than American or Japanese...no matter what the sport-of-the-day was.

It had been a long time since Bryan had contacted Kei, so last night he sent him an e-mail. Bryan wasn't sure how hard it is to retain a language - especially after not having to rely on it for nearly a year - but it's worth a shot, because, well, it's his buddy Kei, and he wants to stay in touch with him for a long time.

This is Bryan's e-mail: Too cute, huh?? The response is even more precious. Makes me envious of being able to communicate this way with an old friend on the other side of the world...maybe one I kept from 4th grade on or something?
Hi Kei,
I wanted to say Hi from America! It's Bryan, from 4th grade in Mrs Mangan's class. I think about e-mailing you but never think of it when I am at the computer. This time I did!

How are you? How is it in Japan right now?

We are starting to get warmer weather and starting to play baseball now.I was thinking of you especially when Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Red Sox played in Tokyo. Did you see the game on tv?Write back sometime. I would like to keep in touch with you. You are a good friend that I will always remember.

From,Bryan
------------------
Hi Bryan,
Thank you for your e-mail. I am very glad that I have a friend in America.
I often talk about you to my classmates in Japan.

Recently, it rains every day, so we can't play baseball or soccer at school.
On March 25th, we went the Tokyo Dome to see the opening game of the Red Sox.
I saw Daisuke Matsuzaka very closely, and I shouted out "Sweet Caroline." Didn't you find me on the TV?

I am missing you very much. Please send me email. ;-)
From Kei
---------------
How cool is that? What a clever invention, the internet...we sure do have some cool sh!t that other generations didn't. Very cool.
I also think it's cool that my kids don't think to tell me if a new friend they met at achool is not American, white, english speaking, or whatever...no more than they would come home and say someone has short hair or long, is blonde, tall or a red head. They just don't care, and over time, we will force them to recognize it - sometimes out of necessity, but for now, a friend is just a friend. A good experience to have been able to live, and for all Needham's squeaky clean faux exterior, that IS one of the great, legit assets & elements.

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Feeling Blue???


Imagine the Witching Hour at my house - Since few witnesses have survived to recall it personally...

Dinner time, Homework going on 2 sides of the table, 2 kids are speaking to me - oblivious to the other who is also talking. I'm loading dishes into dishwasher and making some excuse of a meal that they will hopefully consume, or AT LEAST shove into the disposal with limited effort...(ie, chicken wings...don't ask...or just picture how well those bones go down- DUH).

Kathryn chimes in, and for some reason I hear her voice, surprisingly relaxed and "chill", especially for Kathryn who was born with a real lust for Drama. Kathryn is known to boldly exclaim that a repeat of a show that she's seen 90 times "IS COMING ON NOW!!!", or will scream like she's been lowered onto a boat in Pearl Harbor at the Moment of Most Catastrophic Destruction, if someone brushes by her too close, or rolls her pencil out of her reach just to antagonize her. Simply put, everything is a Big Deal.

ANYway, She casually mentions, apparently barely looking up from her homework: "Mom, Joe's Dying..." and I, the typical mother hearing All Things (even when I'm trying to drown them ALL out into the White Noise that is my life) and I peek around the corner from the kitchen to see Joe, in a slight panic - locking eyes with me - and turning slightly blue, and silent for the first time in - well, recorded history. He's choking on something, quite well, in fact - always showing off his skillz...and he is literally slightly blue. Of course we got it out immediately and he went back off to begin a basketball game in the Indoor Court (ie, front hall with one of those over-the-door things).

Just another day, right? Hey guys, dinner is served...It's hard to choke on Ooodle of Noodles.

Thursday, April 3, 2008

And it begins!! Spring Training, Little League Style


Day one was awesome...Bryan's team met for the first practice today and the difference between this year and last is mind-boggling. These kids can play the game. They GET it. They move. They fly. Bryan is "playing up" on AAA, which is cool and an honor, but the marked difference is staggering. New rules to adjust to, (stealing, etc is just coming into play) and they did fielding drills to help "shake off the winter cobwebs", but man, they did such a great job. Bryan commented when he got in the car how good it feels to RUN hard. Really Hard.

There are no more kids who just have no idea why they are there, or who are in the outfield looking longingly at the play structure wishing they didn't have to keep STANDING in left field, then becoming SHOCKED when they return from the daydream to realize that a ball has just whizzed by his head. This will be a fun season....But a little warmer would be FanTaStiC. ;o)

So Goodbye, XBox360...hopefully you see limited or no play until the snow flies again...NEXT December, God. Please, not until next December.

Today is the REAL First Day Of Spring at our house. And we love it.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Easter 2008 in Washington DC


So Easter rolls around again, so early this year that it's pretty fridgid in Boston and painful to pack the car in the horrific wind. Will be nice to get to Washington/Maryland where it's a little bit warmer...albiet, JUST a little...

We went to dinner at Jim n Val's, which was awesome. Peppered with the usual Linder-n-Jim banter, and the giggling that always ensues, we had a chance to really hang. That evening made the long ride road trip worth-while. If Greg (Christian?) hadn't flown into the wrong airport by accident, it would have been perfect. ;o)

Easter at Dotty's in Gaithersburg was also great, and brought back lots of the memories as it always does for me, being a tiny kid there with all of them and wishing I had a HUGE family with a million siblings. They are why I wanted at least 4 of my own, close togehter...I just loved it. The fact that the faces change just a little but the grandkids grow SO much and the place is still largely the same - or my memory lets me think it is - makes it as much like "home" as the home I was raised in. Now, the event is never without chaos...two years ago DT (Annie's husband) was in a crazy motorcycle crash on Good Friday. This years event ALMOST missed us, but the OTHER Maddie managed to deliver a healthy full-term baby girl, Danica Marie (dispite Dot's repeated suggestion that the baby be called Ester Bunny), late Sunday night...having no idea she was pregnant. (whoa!) Thank God everyone is well, and Danica was welcomed by all with open arms. MommyMaddie is fine too, so that's all that matters. They say it won't happen again this early for another 275 yrs...It'll be this crazy next year, I have no doubt!

Been a while...

It's been a while since the last post, and I'm just coming back since I have a new blog to follow for a family member, chronicalling an illness...but it is written so well that I smile-all-the-while, even when the content is heavy and deep. They are our family. They are not close enough by to be able to do much, but the distance is minimized by a kindred-spirit-like connection. My mother had it with her own cousin, Jimmy, shown with a handful of pie perhaps? So lucky. Through a twist of fate, I have the same connection to his oldest son - also Jimmy, but sometimes known as Tony Danza. What a blessing that is, isn't it? Even if it's a Mixed and Twisted Blessing, a blessing none-the-less...
No YOU shuddup. jerk. ;o)