The Blog

Thanksgiving plans have morphed over the last month. Initially, Christine planned to travel as we always do on Thanksgiving by driving to Paoli, Pa to spend the holiday at her the Sikorski home. Then I convinced her to travel a weekend earlier and see each family that she would usually see at once separately … thus reducing density in a home and reducing risk of spreading or contracting a contagion. Then she cancelled altogether. The infection rates are simply too high. Our plans now include traveling to Waterville on Thursday, where Kevin and Peggy will be graciously hosting their first-ever Thanksgiving meal. We are especially grateful for the invitation, because when they elected to host Thanksgiving, they were only expecting to host two additional people (Grandma and Grandpa), not 6 (with our extra 4) In the meantime, Christine has her heart set on some of her Thanksgiving favorites this weekend […]

We are all growing … some of us old, some of us up. We don’t mind the former if we get to watch Austin emerge from the latter. In a world that never stays the same, change is happening all around us, every day and every moment. Some changes are for the better and some are for the worse. Some bring us joy while others bring us angst. Some are profound. Some go unnoticed. Some changes happen in only a second, some can take years. Thirteen years ago, we experienced what (to date) had been the most joyous, profound, and life-changing moment in our lives. Over the last 13 years, we have watched Austin morph from a finicky-but-happy infant, into an old-soul toddler, into a young man that we are now all-too-proud of. Despite the many trappings of early adolescence, Austin is authentic, kind, generous, courteous, responsible, and an all-around […]

Sunday, October 11, 0630 THE COMMUTE Yesterday was an exercise in patience, for everyone. I knew that it would be, though. At least for me, anyway. I knew that the family wouldn’t be packed and ready to go by 8:00am, when I intended to leave. I knew that the kids would be challenged to remain content during what would become their longest-ever car ride. I knew that I would need to repeatedly ask the kids to sit ‘properly’ in the seats for safety. I knew there would be frequent stops, sometimes only an hour apart. I knew that it was going to be a lonely ride as everyone in the family would be plugged into their device and I would be left with my music and podcasts, same as my commute every morning, only 11x longer. There were some surprises along the way though to. I didn’t know that Christine […]

I heard a wonderful tip from a podcast yesterday and it was successful the first time I used it. Do you want empathy or a solution? Lisa Feldman She said that she asks this question in her own home and it really helps to meet the emotional needs of her children, her husband, and even herself. It immediately resonated with me: I KNOW that I am guilty of being solution driven and have often made the mistake of offering unsolicted solutions to predicaments when only empathy is being sought. If I were to begin to make this a habit, perhaps I might be able to avoid some of the relationship hiccups that are all-too-common. Only 30 minutes after hearing this tip, Victoria expressed her discontent. She had been snacking in the car all day. She had eaten lunch only 4 hours earlier. She knew that we were 60-90 minutes from […]

Throughout COVID-season, Austin and Victoria have remained diligent with their practice of Tae Kwon Do. They have completed sessions at home three times per week and started attending one-on-one classes with Mr Cooper in July. This week, they both tested for their next level, and both did exceptionally well. The COVID-season has been difficult on everyone, but they have both been resilient troopers throughout and we couldn’t be prouder of them.

Before last year, (we) Keith and Christine had planned an annual week of outdoor activity in July or August. We dropped the kids off with Grandma and Grandpa Waldron and went cycling for a couple of years before spending the next few years in the Adirondacks hiking the high peaks. Last year, Keith changed jobs in July and had no time off from work. This year? COVID. That meant no hotels, nice restaurants, or over-crowded trailheads for us. Grandma and Grandpa still took the kids for a few days, but this time we stayed home and local. Christine has far greater conditioning than Keith this summer, so long mornings spent cycling was out of the question, so we purchased inflatable paddleboards and planned to explore local waters and hike everyday. The first day was spent at Taughannock State Park. The falls were near dry and were only a trickle. Keith […]

Scientists were a bit surprised, it seems, when the comet Neowise was as visible as it was as it passed through our evening skies. That it was visible, even (to the naked eye) was a real treat and something that I wanted to be certain that we took advantage of. I wanted the kids to be able to see and enjoy it and I wanted to photograph it. We could have seen it from anywhere, including from our house, but I was hoping to find a better spot to capture the comet. We needed a view to the Northwest without obstruction from trees or buildings, some other interest in the picture, and as little light as possible, but (around here) it is often difficult to get all of those things at once. The dark skies are in the most rural communities, but they are often wooded. If I avoid the […]

While the kids were with Grandma and Grandpa, Keith and Christine elected to go for a hike in a local forest: Morgan Hill State Forest. Christine is familiar with it by reputation, because a running event is held there every year (well, maybe not this year). The only way to access the trails is through a variety of seasonal roads, most of which are very rough and require time and patience to maneuver through with an automobile. After driving the roads, the Buick now has a rattle at an idle that it didn’t have before. Perhaps it is only a coincidence, but perhaps not. The deer flies were ridiculous and worse than Keith can remember them in decades. They were swarming the car by the dozens and were unrelenting throughout our walk/hike, encouraging us to move briskly and discouraging us from stopping or pausing. The walk took us a little […]

This morning, Keith took Austin and Victoria for breakfast at 0600. The kids are waking up early to go out, because Keith is adamant that he will only allow them to dine indoors if the building is near empty and early it is early enough the business day to know that the air isn’t contaminated. Both Austin and Victoria each ordered their usual from Darlene: he ordered a chocolate chip pancake with crispy bacon, she ordered a belgian waffle (half with strawberries for her, the other half plain for Keith) with crispy bacon and an english muffin. Austin had enough food left over for breakfast on Monday and asked for a box to take his leftovers home with him. Fast forward 10 minutes and he stops in his tracks after taking 3 steps into the door at home. “Aw man …” He had forgotten to bring his leftovers home with […]