Getting Ready for Texas

This is a song I listen to when I go to Texas, and when I come home again.  We always feel a longing for the place we are not. 

http://www.youtube.com/embed/p4WOys7sWvU

Just Dance

Yipee!  At the risk of sounding like a dance mom, the girls took 1st place in their division.  I will not be hearing this song until next year....I think I might miss it a bit:  http://youtu.be/E5TKtMk1bKY

I'm headed to Austin, Tx for a Shiner Bock beer and some two steppin' at the Broken Spoke.  Now that is dancing:)

Week One of Summer Vacation

Beach Day in New England....covered in fleece, I still managed to get a sunburn.   By the way, which parent do you look like when you are on your way to hypothermia?















I used to go to Art Museums but now.........

Robotic glove designed by WPI students to assist stroke survivors, of which I am one....way cool engineering dudes, way cool

Let's go Hydra!

This is our local semi-semi pro team--the Worcester Hydra.  We are proud season ticket holders.  The season tickets were dropped off at our house by one of the players which gave me quite a start and then oddly touched my heart.  Which is what a semi-semi team does. 

Notable Season Events, to date:

1.  One of our friends being named "fan of the week" after chanting "Let's go Hydra" for a solid hour, non-stop.  He received an autographed picture of the team and immediately told his parents they needed to alert the relatives in Ireland about his honorific.

2.  Watching a player get injured and realizing it was taking awhile to get a medic.  Watching the player's mom and girlfriend clutch at the fence as a lawn maintenance vehicle lurched him off the field. (he was OK).  Then, before we had time to recover from that event, watching a young fan projectile vomit in front of us.  All boys assured us it was OK because the vomit was bright orange, hydra colors.

3.  Seeing the passion of young players striving to do their best in front of a crowd of only 150.

4.  Striking up a conversation with the British gent in our "season ticket" section, wondering if he spent his youth watching English Premier League games.  God Bless Him for hanging with the Hydra.

5.  Spending more on scarves than on our season tickets.

6.  Having a family of four behave so obnoxiously that we had a beautiful example for our children of how to not be fans.  Coaching U12 soccer does not give you such soccer wisdom that you can yell at the ref, goalie, and the defenders with BAD ADVICE throughout the game.  Also, we did not need the history of every horror movie your family has seen since 1990.  Brutal, just brutal.

So, we are hooked.  Down home fun and close by.  Some games are exciting, some are not so much but it is still the beautiful game, played by folks who are trying to make a go of it.  If you are close to Worcester, the next home game is next week-end.  We will see you there!

MmmmmKay?

My kids are out of school, I am not.  I can't drink caffeine anymore which I now realize got me through these little transitional moments.  Moments where I am corralling 200 8th grade students in their 4th run through of a graduation ceremony saying things like "Keep the faith" and "Rock on".  I live in fear of becoming the South Park Guidance Counselor.  I came a step closer today.

When do we become a parody of ourselves?  I think parenthood puts us on that path via warp speed.  Here is what I see when I look in the mirror today:  graying hair in bun; glow in the dark earrings which, although hip, were a gift; vein sticking out of neck like a rain gauge on a fence; no make-up; etc, etc.  It is the look of someone who says "rock on" when they haven't been up past 9:30 since last summer.

I am no longer the hip counselor so I have to segue into something deeper.  Maybe the wise counselor?  I brought breakfast treats into the behavioral program to say goodbye and then made them all recite a Buddhist blessing before eating. 

May you be filled with lovingkindness
May you be happy
May you be peaceful and at ease.
May you be well.

It is my wish for all my students and all of you.  Be who you are and if you can't rock on, rock down deep.

One more day and then the real fun begins:)

Hanging with my Gnomies, no more

Dear Gnome Thief:

Our family is wondering about you.....are you part of a gnome-stealing gang that wanders the suburbs, waiting in the hedges until the lights dim?  Are you cash poor and spiriting our gnome family off to the Swiss Alps for some quick cash?  Or, as I suspect, were you walking down the streets at midnight, and became enchanted by the moonlight as it glistened off the perky red hats of our guardians.

Imagine our surprise as we walked down the drive to get the paper and realized that our entire gnome legacy had been lifted.  Four gnomes travelling on without us.  We do appreciate that you left the mushroom and the gnome riding the turtle but make no mistake, that will not cancel out your bad karma. 

Collecting gnomes is an endeavor for the pure of heart and to start your collection off with stolen property will not end well.  Gnomes know what gnomes know. 

So I say this to you my fellow gnome Covet-er:  tread carefully down the road with a stolen gnome as your companion, it is a tricky business you have started.

And to our stolen gnomes, we imagine you will find your way home.

Peace to all who walk righteously:)

Gnomeless In The 'Burbs