OK, I'm feeling mildly guilty about being so absent on the Paris Connection seeing as how I started the thing myself. But.... it's summer, the kids are out of school, Brian's working a lot (and so am I), yada yada yada. It all adds up to very little blogging. SO, here's what's up with us.
The big news is that Brian's parents are moving in next door to us. And when I say next door, I literally mean
the house next to ours. Pretty much everyone I've shared this news with has immediately asked "How do you feel about that?" with a concerned look on their face, which I totally get. Most people, it seems, wouldn't want to share a continent with their in-laws, much less a zip code. And while I'm sure it will provide many healthy boundary-setting opportunities, shall we say, I
am blessed with really cool in-laws who care about their family (read grandkids) enough to move next-door to them, and who care about the environment enough to willingly downsize to a much smaller house within walking distance to a lot of spots they'd usually have to drive to. When our current neighbors, who we adore, told us they'd be moving, we wondered if and how our new neighbors could ever measure up. Well, prayers answered -- you can't get much better than your own flesh and blood. Let's hope I still feel the same 6 months from now...
In other news, Cora, Oliver, and I went on a long (3 mile!) hike yesterday at Radnor Lake and had a blast. My friend Sarah called as we were finishing up and when I told her what we were doing, all she said was, "Well,
that's ambitious of you." And while it was ambitious in some ways, in others I felt more at ease with the kids out in the woods than I ever do when we're at home or jetting from place to place in our car. I was able to relax, soften my gaze, and share in their wonder at the beauty that surrounded us. We saw dozens of deer; Cora seems to have a tracker's sense (notice I didn't say
hunter) of when a deer is close by, and whenever she sensed one, she'd quick put out her arms to stop me and Oliver and say "Shhhhh..." And sure enough, she'd point to some brown smudge 30 feet away through thick underbrush, and there it would be. I only had to give a couple of piggybacks along the way, so I was really impressed with their level of engagement and stamina. Plus, after an evening swim to top it off they were zombies and bedtime was a breeze.
Now I'm having to face the sad reality that my one-year position with StoryCorps is soon to come to an end, and I'm wondering how I will ever find a part-time job as cool and inspiring and fulfilling and fascinating as this one has been. On Wednesday, I facilitated the interviews of two of the Holocaust's "
hidden children," who were able to change their identities and live as non-Jews while the rest of their families perished in the concentration camps. It was really moving to be in the booth with them as they lamented never being able to know or thank their parents for the sacrifice they made of giving up their only children before being deported. I'll just have to savor every last story I hear between now and mid-September, when the booth will be dismantled and shipped to its next, still undisclosed, location in the US. Sigh...
Brian and I got to enjoy a rare getaway while visiting Grandma Carol -- we spent a night at a bed and breakfast on Solomon's Island. And instead of sightseeing, shopping, or any of that tourist-y stuff, we opted to sit in lawnchairs in the b&b's beautiful garden, reading and talking and enjoying being able to have long, uninterrupted conversations without having to SPELL any words or speak in pig latin. I told him I'd heard that adults sometimes go out for a drink at a bar and then migrate to a different locale for dinner, so we decided to be like those adults that night and had mai-tais at a tiki bar before heading to a seafood restaurant on the pier for a steamer basket (and another drink!). Then we went to see the movie Wall-E, and for those of you who haven't seen it, GO SEE IT! All in all, a spectacular and much-needed break for both of us.
By the way, Elise, I LOVE your new haircut! I wish we could have seen you over the 4th! Mary Pat, Janine, Grandma Max, and Mark, thanks for coming to see us and for being there to celebrate Cora's 7th birthday. It was so good to see you all.
Love to the whole family...
Kate
