Roll Out

Well, after over nine months of unemployment, I have accepted an offer for a position at a mid-sized law firm.  So, the "strange normal" is going to come to an end, and we are going to start the "new normal".  I think for everyone's emotional and logistical well-being, we are rolling out in stages:

Chewy starts his new job tomorrow.  This means that his part of chauffeur is going to be passed on to me--or Uber for Michael, while we await the results of his next drivers test (which is scheduled for 12/22).  

Meanwhile, Michael is finishing up classes this week, with finals next week.  Then he will have school break until mid-January.  Willow's school break starts on December 21st.  

I start my new job on December 26, 2018; Willow starts the after-school care on January 2nd.  Michael, hopefully, can start learning how to drive on his own...and starts back up at school on January 22nd.

A lot of things going on the next few weeks, some anxiety from all of us I am sure.  Hopefully, my February, we will all have gotten a grasp of our new routines and feel better and more secure.

I know I will miss being able to run errands when I want to, and zumba aqua aerobics.  But, it could not last and I hope that  we will end up being stronger as a family for going through the tough times and the newer, different times ahead.

The Card

He has a card in his wallet.  I found it online, printed it out and laminated it with tape.  On his 18th birthday I gave it to him and explained it's function.

I know he will have to use it sometime.  I know he is reluctant to do so.  

Sometimes humans do not want help, or even want to admit that they need help.  Sometimes that is okay...builds character and strength, as they say.

But sometimes, it is a dangerous game...to rely on other humans.  To rely on the good and hope that the dark, ignorant and hateful sides of humanity do not exist or that you will not encounter them.  That you will not be misunderstood.

So. There is the card. In his wallet.  I wish it was a protection spell.  I wish it was more.  I hope it will never be used...but if it is...I hope that it protects and shields him...from himself.

The card can be found here.

Pooh!

For many reasons, I loved going to the Museum of Fine Art's new exhibit today.

Winnie the Pooh is one of my all-time favorite characters and one of my favorite book series.  Especially when I read the books to Michael for the first time as a parent, they really meant a great deal to me.

Sometimes you forget those things that mean so much to you, sometimes you have lost track of them for a while...and then you see something like this exhibit (or when Willow and I went to the Christopher Robin movie earlier this year) that reminds you of your old friend(s) and why you loved them. 

The exhibition was well done and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I have a feeling some exploration of Pooh related movies/books will be in the near future...

Snap Shots

Her school picture is here...she did not wear her glasses, but I see her in the picture.  She is young and confident.  She is young an not sure of herself and her place in this world.  She is older than she lets on. She tall and witty and funny and silly and smart and naive and annoying and selfish and wonderful.

She is almost a teenager.  She is still my little baby.  All this I see in a snapshot..a flash of light and an image of one moment frozen in time.  Not even a really important moment in time.  

I see her future self and her past self.  I see an enigma before me that I clearly can read.

#Microblog Monday - New Who

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too. Please check out current #MicroblogMondays posts HERE.

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I was a more than a little looking forward to the new Dr. Who season starting yesterday...because, well, in case you did not hear....the new Dr. Who...is a woman!! (As a side note, I am kinda not sure WHY it took this long for a Doctor to be female, you know, since we are more than half the population, etc...but, I also did not think people would elect a sexual predator to office(s)...anyWHO...)

The episode was pretty standard, the inevitable Dr. Who regeneration scramble, where the new Dr. is still having to figure out what has happened/who or what Dr. she is etc.  I have seen these transitions before...and sometimes they are clumsy--10 to 11 was way over the top wacky and strange...and I have seen them be manic...11 to 12 was better, but he was waaay manic "oh, a dinosaur!!!"...this time, this time...it was just right.  Kinda like it was from 9 to 10.  Which is a good omen.  (Especially if you know that David Tennant and Jodie Whittaker have worked together). 

I liked the episode a lot, I liked her subtle reads and I liked her care for the people around her.  They got the 13th Doctor off and running, creating devices, thinking through the problems, etc.  And the companions...they were a great compliment of people.  I am actually looking forward to the next episode...I hope she continues to create a wonderful Dr. Who!

Here is a more comprehensive review.

Finally - Hamilton!

A little over a year ago, I purchased subscription tickets for the Boston Opera house...mainly, because dammit--I wanted to see Hamilton and this was the cheapest and most effective way to do so.

Well...we went to a total of 7 shows starting last October through this year, most of them were very nice and wonderful.  I am very thankful that I had spent the money on the indulgence!  

But...today...well, today I had a sinus infection!  Yay!!  And the day before, Chewy did get officially laid off...(yay?)...but, today, we forgot about all that, at least for a few hours...and went to Hamilton!

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Having 3-4 hours sleep, I made sure to arm myself with throat lozenges and tissues, a dose of DayQuil...and we were off!

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It was so worth it.  I loved the staging, the music, the performances.  The musical stands up very well with repeated listenings in our house...and it has a brisk pace.  I think the brisk pace is partially because the songs are often uptempo, but some of this pacing is because there is a lot of ground to cover...

One of the best parts of the show was sitting next to Willow.  She and I are the bigger aficionados of this musical (I am unsure which one of us has played the soundtrack more--but I know she knows a lot of it by heart).  There were many times during the show that she grabbed my arm or trembled with excitement.  It was an incredible experience to witness her being so affected by something on stage.

Some other observations:

• Yorktown was a dazzling and moving as one feels when you hear it on the soundtrack
• At least in our touring company, the parts of Geo. Washington and King Geo. were well cast and they were exceptional
• It was hard at first to get used to hearing Alexander Hamilton not sounding like Lin Manuel...same with Burr.
• Live performances and touring companies always give you a chance to see different interpretations of characters...the gentleman who played Aaron Burr had a softer touch...it was hard to get used to at first, but I liked his performance in the end.  
• Willow quote: "It was everything I expected and more!"
• I know this is partially political, but people clapped during many segments which were obviously "resist-able" moments ("immigrants, we get the job done..")
• It was one of the most enthusiastic concert goers I had seen...it is obvious that Hamilton touched on something that was needed in musical theater, a relevancy.

Hello there...

Taking some time to read over my old friend, the Blog...

As of this past week, I have been unemployed for most of the year...one would think I would have written more here, but most of my thoughts have been of the immediate type.  I guess when you are not working, you have time to suss out your thoughts and memories more to the point that you don't necessarily need the outlet of writing it down...

I guess its a little bit of that.  A little bit of having nothing much to write about.  The days and weeks and months continue on and even without work to cause the time to feel like a "daily grind" they do move quickly nonetheless.  A state of limbo while the rest of the world is moving along.

I do feel that despite all that, I was able to capture this year 2018 pretty well in the few posts that I have made.

This is a year where I have been able to de-stress a bit from a very stressful job situation (unfortunately, life seems to still bring its own share of stress to these parts...).  This year, I fell in love with aqua aerobics and boxing.  I spent a lot of time trying to avoid some parts of my life (lots of M*A*S*H reruns and Netflix series...) and trying to spend time with the parts of my life who are trying to be independent from me....(My kids love me, but I am not their world anymore).

Some things have been successful this year...some things not so much.  I am healthier, but not much lighter.  Michael is still working towards the goal of a driver's license.  (Our new strategy is to practice TO the road test...which, in retrospect, is probably what we should have done before...) Despite his best efforts, Chewy may be laid off soon (project based contract work is often susceptible to this type of thing unfortunately).  Willow seems to be doing okay with 5th grade, but homework is still a bear...and it hasn't really ramped up yet....

Well.  At least I may have fixed the problem of one of the cats urinating in the corner in the bathroom....progress. 

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I am going to try to write more in this space. Writing whatever...hoping it makes sense...and even if it doesn't...well, that seems to fit my life to a "T". 

Growing up....

We finished off the summer activities with a BANG, with Tom coming up for a two week whirlwind visit.  We did the touristy things with him and went to the zoo, Count Orlocks, the MFA, and the aquarium...where Michael had a great seal encounter (a seal mistook him for an aquarium employee and followed him around through out the habitat).

Just as Tom left, Michael started his next semester of college.  Right now, Chewy and I are helping him to commute.  He has a RMV road test on September 18th...so hopefully he will get his drivers license and we will start easing him into commuting on his own...

Willow got sick the last few days before school (Tom shared some airplane crud with me and Willow).  On Thursday, she started the fifth grade.  So far, things are going well...

Meanwhile...this weekend was a breather weekend, where we did not plan anything.   And the children had some firsts....Michael shaved for the first time! And Willow started having her menstrual cycle!  On the same day, I was reminded how grown up they are becoming...and now the chocolate is not safe in the house!

Enjoying Summer and Time Together

The kids and I went to Rockport on a day trip...

And we had a very nice and busy time on Cape Cod (even if the weather wasn't ideal)...

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Yesterday, I mentioned to the kids that there is only a week and a half left before school starts...I think all our hearts sank at that prospect.  

Tom is here and we are having fun with him around...the time will go fast, but we will be enjoying our last bit of summer...hopefully we will all be ready for the next few months, whatever they bring!

So now its August...

August.  The beginning of the end of summer. 

August has never been a great month. No holidays, no birthdays...and other, more solemn anniversaries.   The month Chewy's father died, those many years ago.  The month my mom died, just a year ago.  The month my Grammie had strokes that started her fall into failing health.  The month Chewy was laid off (twice!).  The month that ends and begins and yet never is greeted with happiness or cheer.

There are other more happier memories of August, including Cape Cod and other fun.  Uncle Tom visiting...which he is going to do this year!  So, maybe, just maybe, mixed in with the apprehension, bittersweet, anxiousness...maybe we will make some summertime memories to add to our August.

Summer...changes

Killing time...

Things I have been doing lately:

• Job hunting
• Cuddling with cats
• Worrying about the world at large
• Worrying about Michael's future
• Riding along while Michael learns to drive
• Watching (and re-watching) all seven seasons of Call the Midwife
• Working out and trying to improve my diet
• Giving Chewy a really great surprise birthday party/game
• Hanging out with my Willow Bean

Had a good fourth of July...and hoping things will get better for everyone.

Pictures:

Mini-Vacation - Connecticut

We needed a break from the norm...Michael wanted to go visit the Peabody Yale Museum again...and, well, Chewy was feeling a tad overwhelmed...so, a mini-vacation on Father's Day weekend was in order!

We got a nice hotel, we left on Friday late afternoon--and had a wonderful dinner at the Vernon Diner. 

The weekend was a blend of the old and the new, the remembered and the found...we all got some family togetherness and some alone time...it was a good start to the Summer (including some slight sunburns for dad and mom).

There were very few snits/arguments/getting on nerves/snoring...it was mostly a perfectly relaxing, fun weekend! 

Sometimes you just need a good re-charge...and that was our Father's Day weekend 2018.

Vernon Diner - Cakes!

Father's Day Brunch on the Waterfront!

A really great Clam Chowder

Bob Clam Dylan

Nutella Berries Waffles - for me!

Dad's Steak and eggs!

Michael's lobster roll

Yummy desserts!

Yale Peabody Museum