The Unencumbered Get Better with Time!

A visit from Maury and John! What can Maury not do?  massage therapist, well food guru, Dartmouth swimmer, Masters coach, triathlete, marathoner, whitewater kayaker, Atlanta Tennis Mom, now Black Belt. Need I say more?  Old friends, yes.  Old people?  No way!!!! Here we've got a shot of Maury and Addie at Freddy's Pizza in Cicero.  These two first met when Addie was a newborn. Maury was one of our first out of town visitors to Burlington, way back in 1999.  We were both young, enthused about natural childbirth and whole family rearing and all that fun...soon Maury and John welcomed Oliver in our old apartment house on Adeline Street in Berkeley, but soon uprooted to move to the Southeast. Phew!!!

This is how we do it!

the whole family! ageless and beautiful!!! Welcome to Cicero!!

 A few days into the fun and where do Maury and I find ourselves but Ridgeland Common! Welcome to one of the five sexiest suburbs in the US!! After Maury's little girl jumped off the high dive, athleta herself had to go off a few times.  Here, getting ready for a jump, but next time, head first dive of the high dive.  Welcome to middle age, can it be this easy!!!!

Unencumbered!

 I've got to say, Maury and I go way back.  So I wasn't too surprised when she flew off the high dive in this fashion.  It was as if the time had never come and gone. We were in our late twenties and early thirties, at the peak of our fitness and height of our optimism. Three days of cohabitating with kids, spouses, lots of good food and loads of conversation. I managed to run into bundle of my OP friends to share with our visitors, and a few stopped by, so we were not short of entertaining exchanges.  Some of the kids were pooped by the end of the affair, but heck, we were still going strong.

Nails it!

 This morning Maury got up and did a little jog around beautiful Oak Park.  I took it easy with the kids and enjoyed our hot arid summer backyard shade.  Here we are getting ready to separate.  After all, nobody has ever been able to figure out a way to provide viable alternatives to our nearly parallel but entirely different suburban existences.  In fact, we would both agree, with ample friends, good health, and great schools for our adolescents, we're staying put for the time being, or maybe forever!!! But for just a few days, with the heat of sun bearing down on us with crispy dried leaves underfoot it felt like we were out for a walk and drink in Northern California in late summer, when the weather is always spectacular.  Sitting out at the dinner table until 10PM with nary a mosquito in sight, we took it in, ate cardamom coconut ice cream, and enjoyed the moment. Enjoyed the gift of health and vigor and enthusiasm. Yes, enthusiasm.  Keep that near you. At all times!

 And then, the inevitable.  We hug about a million times, and these adorable kids hug me and my kids and thank us for everything and poof!  Because, of course, as much as we stay the same, everything changes and everybody keeps moving on.  It was time for the next stop on their midwestern journey, and it was time for me to lie on the couch for about 40 minutes thinking about the rock in my stomach and the eery sadness that we feel whenever we say goodbye to people that we love, especially people who we had in our everyday life way back when we thought they would always be there...be there in our everyday life.  So I guess it's time to pick up the phone and call one of my everyday friends here in town, because things eventually will change with our today friends, also, won't they?

She's in there! Believe it!

Grab it now, and love it. In fact, this reminds me of one of our newest bumper stickers!!!

I'd rather be here now.

Postcard from Oregon. Growing Old(er).

And yes. That is the author's red wine.

Mom and Dad at the Firehouse Restaurant. 61 years of marriage and counting.  Given the chronic fatigue and exhaustion of the mid-forties that Peter and I experience, it's hard to imagine dumping another 45 years on top of this.  Wow.  Walk in my shoes, I suppose.  Not always done with grace, but always loving their daughter, I thankfully admit. Today, watching my almost thirteen year old sidle into the car while her friends walked away on the date that I had denied her (it is a Monday afternoon, after all), I couldn't help but remember what seventh grade was like for me.  Who knows what is right? All I know for sure, is that all of that confidence that we brought to the parenting of babies and toddlers seems so completely irrelevant today.  I know it all mattered--at least it mattered because now it is the memory and record of who we are and what we did.  I guess I'm just feeling, as I often do, completely humbled by the experience (of life) and outclassed in many ways (by my peers).  So, Mom and Dad, congratulations on making it this far and being able to celebrate the new season's arrival with your family. We're all in your corner, watching you take on this bravest of challenges.