The Blog

3 weeks ago, Victoria was so very disappointed. For the first time in 3 years, robins had elected to build a nest in the swingset and had laid eggs. Being an animal-lover, she was excited for the eggs to hatch and to watch them grow up. Then a predator ransacked the nest; Keith found the broken eggs one day when he was mowing and the nest had been abandoned. Or that is what we thought until – after another week – birds started flying in and out again and there were 4 new eggs in the nest. 12 days later the first would hatch. The next day another. And another again the next day. As of this morning, there is one more egg that remains unhatched. Victoria is elated. Momma-robin, on the other hand, is not quite as excited about the attention that is garnered by her babes, neither from […]

We had been visiting weekly for 8 years … until COVID struck. She did her best to follow the guidelines when the health department allowed her to reopen last summer and we only went at 6:00 am, assuring that we were the first people in the diner any given morning. Even still, the conditions and circumstances eventually forced Keith to decide to stop going to Darlene’s. We did what we could to help out. We purchased a large gift certificate that we’ll never use before the governor closed all eateries. We did the same again when she re-opened. We ordered out a few times and left her and Pam inordinately large gratuities on a couple of occasions. We did what we could to help her weather the storm as (1) her customers would slowly returned to diner and (2) she would be limited by the number of people that she […]

We have tried. For years we have tried, but she hasn’t really cared. She has liked to hang out with her friends and classmates. She has enjoyed screaming the motivational chants. She has really liked going shopping for helmets, gloves, and bats. But when we ask her to play catch, practice hitting, or participate in softball in any manner outside of the formal setting, she has been downright resistant. Last year, she was hesitant to even sign-up. This year we signed her up without asking. She would later be disappointed to learn that she would have a new coach after the same mother of a classmate had coached her the previous 2 years. She wouldn’t know that many girls on her team because most of her classmates had moved up to the next level. Those girls love softball, play in the spare time, and attend private clinics to refine their […]

It was a really beautiful day today, so far as days in early April are concerned. The sun was shining, the ground was mostly dry after a dry winter and not-too-wet spring so far, and the temperatures were expected to rise to low-60s. Austin and Victoria were still an an extended spring break and it was time to get them outside. Neither of them were eager to leave the house. I would have been nice to take them to Sterling to walk the shore of Lake Ontario and walk through the trails there, but there wasn’t enough time to spend a useless 2 hours in the car commuting to and from, so Keith elected to try some of the trails near Cazenovia, changing it up from the usual walk around Green Lakes. In an effort to further increase their interest in leaving the house, the kids were offered a lunch […]

Well, kind of. We still woke up and the kids had their easter egg hunt. We still had a family breakfast. We are still visiting Grandma and Grandpa for dinner. But much like last year, and unlike any year before the last, COVID-19 is still a thing. Things are getting better locally, though. Onondaga County has the 2nd lowest positive test rate in the state and 50% of eligible adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine. Still, numbers continue to climb and we remain vigilant, although with less concern than before: Keith has been fully vaccinated since January, Christine and Peggy since February, and Kevin, Grandma and Grandpa since March. Technically, Grandpa still has one more dose of his mRNA vaccine, but reports are starting to show that the vaccine is 80% effective 2 weeks after the first dose, so Grandpa’s immune response might be more robust […]

Things are supposed to get harder and more difficult as you get older, but not this much harder and certainly not this quickly. The pandemic has certainly made the last year a challenging one for you. Still – you have grown so much, in spite of the adversity. You have missed your friends. You have missed your teachers. You have missed Tae Kwon Do. You have missed swimming lessons. You have missed the hugs. You have missed so, so much … and you smile. You laugh. You work hard on your studies. You are kind. You are authentic. You are nothing short of amazing … and we are so, so proud of you. Happy birthday, Victoria, my favorite girl in the whole wide world.

It is our new half-family tradition … when Victoria is in Waterville on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, Austin likes to watch DVDs of Doctor Who. A multi-season DVD set was gifted to him a Christmas from Uncle Kevin, Aunt Peggy, and Lia (who has taken to watching episodes every Friday with her family and can talk about the characters and stories with Austin). We would watch them when Victoria is home, but she says that she hates the show, so we are left to watch the episodes when she is absent. It is good clean fun and leans into Keith’s tastes as well as Austin’s … Christine watches it too, but wonders why the boys don’t get bored of watching a formulaic television series. The boys, in turn, don’t point out the same in her favored reality television fare.

Christine has landed her dream job. This morning, after nearly 20 years of physical therapy practice working in clinics, and homes, and day-cares, and schools … finally, Christine was offered the opportunity to become a direct-hire physical therapist for a local district: Onondaga Central Schools (OCS). She gladly accepted. For the last few years, she has served as a part-time, contracted physical therapist for the district while sharing responsibilities with another physical therapist who sub-contracted from another nearby district (Skaneateles). With the retirement of that other therapist, OCS elected to create a full time physical therapy position. Christine jumped at the chance to interview for the position – one that she was already working in a part-time capacity. The process didn’t come without its stress or anxiety. The district did its due diligence and interviewed multiple candidates, first with the director of special education, then with the school superintendent. Christine […]