Colonials Weekend 2009

 

College Tour 2009: Wellesley College

Three of the original Seven Sisters colleges were on our middle daughter’s list of schools in her post-secondary search; Smith, Vassar, and Wellesley.  Of the three, only two fit into our schedule.  After leaving the morning tour and information session at Wheaton College in Norton, we made the forty minute drive back up to Wellesley, Massachusetts.

Aside from routing us through Boston on Route 1 (not a good idea), the GPS is only as good as the street addresses you give it.  I didn’t dig any deeper than the street address given on the Wellesley College home page, only to find that this was not the main entrance to campus.  There was a nice wrought iron gate and a small parking lot next to the child development center, but no indication where the rest of campus was.  We finally noticed another sign for the “Motor Entrance” and parked in the garage attached to the college police department.  Little did we know that the other main entrance was much closer to the admissions building where we would eventually arrive after a good ten to fifteen minutes’ brisk walk across (through?) campus.

 

College Tour 2009: Wheaton College

Last Thursday, after leaving work a little early to pack, our middle daughter and I were on the road again.  Our overnight destination was the Holiday Inn Express in North Attleboro so we wouldn’t have to deal with morning rush hour traffic in Boston.  Next time, if there is a next time to visit Wheaton College, we will not – repeat not – follow Route 1 through Boston.  I’m generally a pretty fearless driver and I’ve driven this particular stretch before, but I have to say that I didn’t care much for it this time and will avoid it in the future, no matter what the GPS says.

 

Aquavit Day

Each fall for the last few years I have infused a bottle of vodka with spices and citrus for an aquavit-like drink to keep in the freezer and enjoy over the winter.  Today it’s two teaspoons each of dill seed, coriander seed, cumin seed, fennel seed, and caraway seed, a tablespoon of dried orange peel, and four small cloves in a big jar with the vodka.  Let it sit in the dark for two to three weeks, shaking it up occasionally.  Strain, filter, put it back in the bottle, and put it in the freezer to enjoy a little bit at a time. during the long, cold nights to come.

Don’t know why I do this.  It’s not like I’m Swedish or anything.  Not really, anyway.

 

Still Blog with Life

Several weeks ago I set out to write about our experience of taking our eldest daughter to college (see my previous post).  For some reason I had the hardest time figuring out just what to say and how to say it, and I’m still not happy with it.  And it wasn’t just that.  The start of a new school year, soccer games, dealing with the afore-mentioned daughter getting settled in a new, almost completely unfamiliar place, work, and, well, life in general made posting on my blog seem meaningless and ultimately futile.  And so it is, but I’ll get over it.

 

The Power of Dreams

Much is being said today, and will be for the next few days, about Ted Kennedy on the occasion of his death.  There are many sources, and many voices more knowledgeable than mine about his contributions to American political life as a long-serving U.S. Senator from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  What I have found most striking in the remembrances so far is his perserverance, his commitment to many causes on behalf of ordinary people that we consider part of our birthright today – civil rights, education, health care, employment rights.  That a man born into as close to a royal family as this country has had in generations would spend his life in the service of those less fortunate, to fight for the cause of common good, and to do it with passion, energy, and inspiration remains an inspiration for us even though he is gone.

I still believe in the American dream.  Not the house, 2.5 kids, and a dog, so much as the Big Dream – that people can and do make a difference, that we can be inspired, that we can strive to be better than we are and move ever closer to fulfilling the principles on which this nation was founded. And when he said, “for all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die” I believe this is the dream he meant.

Thank you for your life, your service, your example, and your inspiration.  Rest in peace, Senator Kennedy.

 

Summer 2009, Part 6

For nearly all intents and purposes, summer is over.  Yes, yes, I know it is still warm out and the autumnal equinox is still a month away, but our schedule says summer is over.  Last week my wife, an elementary/middle school teacher, was back in her classroom most days getting ready for the new school year.  Our eldest daughter was busily organizing, purging, and packing in between get-togethers with friends before everybody leaves for their freshman years of college.  Our middle and youngest daughters have been working to finish summer homework (!) that they intended not to wait until the last minute to finish.  The last couple of weeks have also been taken up with high school soccer pre-season, with our youngest making the JV squad.

Granted, much of my perception of the dividing line between summer and fall has to do with the school calendar.  Except for 1985-86, and the five years I was too young to go to school, I have lived my life following the rhythm of the school calendar in one form or another.  Much the same could be said of most people, I imagine, whether they have children, work in the schools, are the partner of someone who works in schools, whether they are children, or whether they are just stuck, fuming, behind a school bus because they should have left for work ten minutes earlier.  Yes, the rhythm changes, and summer becomes fall without waiting for the equinox.

This fall will bring bigger changes for us, and no doubt will come with adventures (and things to write about) of its own.

 

It’s Not the Heat….

Yes, we have a winner.  Today’s dew point in our area, 75° – oppressively humid.  You can look here if you want to know why.

It seems we go from one extreme to another this summer.  So, I say “bag it!” and let’s get on to fall, already.

(Update:  In just the time it took to write this post the dew point ticked up another three notches to 78°.  I’m feeling better already.)

 

Summer 2009, Part 4

Two-thirds of what constitutes summer, at least in this part of the country, has come and gone, much of it shrouded in clouds and rain.  June and July were both far rainier than usual, causing events to be cancelled or shortened.  Attendance at parks, beaches, and events is down yet we, and I suspect others, have been trying to make the most of what little good weather we have been having.

Today was our middle daughter’s family birthday celebration.  She turned seventeen earlier this week – last Monday, as a matter of fact – though with so much else going on it went less noticed than it should.  The weather held off long enough to enjoy sitting out under the trees with four (soon to be five) generations of family from one side or the other.  This evening it’s back into the fog, drizzle, and a cool northeasterly breeze.  It’s a little like a vacation in England, only without the airfare and driving on the left.

This morning I awoke with the words to “Eat This Bread, ” a Taizé chant, in my head.  Coincidentally, one of the readings for today’s mass included a passage from the Gospel of John, chapter 6, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”  A coincidence but, still, it has stuck with me through the day.  On a related note, I have managed to find – either new or used – copies of the fourth, fifth, and seventh volumes of the journals of Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk, spiritual writer, and activist of whom I have written before.  Now (I think) out of print, it is becoming harder to find these journals, with the sixth hardest to come by – and where it can be found it goes for much more than the original price.  I suppose this may have something to do with the sixth volume including Merton’s account of, among other things, his affair with a young nurse.  Too bad, because I think people who obsess over this episode miss the larger point of Merton’s life – not his monasticism, not gloating over the “failure” to abide by his vows, but of learning what it means to be authentically human.

Anyway, if summer’s going to be this dismal, I might as well read.

 

Is It Finally Summer?

After weeks of cold, rainy, drippy, foggy, dismal weather it seems as though summer may have finally arrived.  While we are, no doubt, happy to see the sun for a change, having it show up more than a week into July is little comfort to berry growers, farmers trying to get their hay put up for the winter, or tourist-oriented businesses that rely on outdoor venues and activities.

For us it means softball practices and tournaments that might actually follow the posted schedule, track meets that aren’t endlessly rescheduled, and being able to take the motorcycle out more than once every two weeks without getting soaking wet.