sacraments

 

Grace came to us in three sacraments on  Sunday the 18th of June. In the morning, it came in Mariel's baptism! Jon and I stood as godparents to help renounce the devil on her behalf. She is so loved and wanted and blessed; this must be why she hardly ever cries or shows any discontent ever. Both Jon and I adore her and held her as much as possible. Rocking her to sleep brought back so many good memories.

After sacrament 2 (Eucharist), we went to Leah's house for a lovely reception and then drove up to Webster for yet another blessing: 

The wedding of Allison and Paul! I have known Al since middle school and it gives me joy to see her so happy with someone so smart and kind and so in love with her. May they be blessed! Surely it is a good sign that we found a full robin nest under the lodge where they had the ceremony.

Al basically threw us a dream party, ordering a BOUNCE HOUSE for the flocks and flocks of children who attended so the adults could be free to drink our beer and conversate in peace. I got. my. blessing. 

Annie and Christine, two of my dearest from high school and college days, part of my posse that used to camp every year at the Six Flags for Kingdom Bound festival (we then kept it up in a more secular setting later on). 

Al & Paul also arranged to have a photo booth replete with accessories. Not sure if the adults or the kids enjoyed it more!

Many of us had never met each other's offspring before that wedding. It was a true reunion! I got to meet one of Christine's babies and Sarah's firstborn for the first time. 

I got to congratulate Stef and Mike on their third baby, due in August.

We got to talk and laugh and catch up to our hearts' content. Stayed for hours.

Allison and all the women for whom she was a bridesmaid:

We got to introduce our kids to one another. I'm so grateful that not only did Allison find such happiness in love but she chose to celebrate in a way that gave us all a blessing. Sacraments did everyone!!

The wedding was on Irondequoit Bay near the lake. Because of the bounce house, not one child appeared tempted to wander into the bay. But the view gave such a loveliness to the background of a marvelous day. 

This trip keeps giving and giving.














 

Making time for play

It was Friday night when we saw the Rochester skyline, arriving from the west side this time. Friday night I got to be with Allison for the final third of her bachelorette party. We talked about mine and Christine's bachelorette parties and it feels like a sepia-toned long ago time, and now here we are, with more white wine and more crowns and more laughter and revelry, though with more laugh lines around our eyes. How strange and wonderful it is to see old friends and make them current friends again. 

Saturday morning Dad treated us to a day at the Strong Museum of Play. It's every bit as wonderful as it ever was! 

Brief moment in the Butterfly Garden:
 

 And then we got to work, or rather, got to play.

Good old Sesame Street.

Good old Wegmans exhibit:
 

And good old Fairy Tale Land. 

As always, I got a kick out of the old toys, games, and Barbies. 

Thank you, Grandpa Jim, for another bucketful of happy memories. It gives me satisfaction that my kids feel so at home in Rochester.  

 
 

 
 

in which we do not die of dysentery

It was a sunny Tuesday when we set out east in a rented Dodge Grand Caravan. Koopa was securely buckled in and for once, all the baggage we could want was packed comfortably in back. Also for the first time, I fervently want a van.

On the trip out to Pueblo last June, which was the last time we'd left the state, we took the southern route through Oklahoma, Texas and New Mexico. This time, we went northeast to Kansas and Missouri. 

Kansas was about what we'd expected. Empty, flat, rural, with countless billboards warning us about hell, urging us to trust Jesus, condemning abortion. But about halfway through Kansas the landscape shifted and there were green rolling hills and tall deciduous trees. 
 

Sometimes we feel like we live on the moon, Pueblo feels so distant and so foreign to everything we're used to. This trip is doing a lot to help us realize the ground under our feet is all connected to all the places we have lived and loved. They (and we) can still be reached. 

In Topeka we made use of an urban dog park and nearby playground. Adele had a blast on the dangerous old 1970s era equipment, really the stuff good playgrounds are made of.

We had a picnic in Independence, Missouri and made a whole lot of Oregon Trail jokes.

And spend the night at our friends' new home in St. Louis. On the way back, we'll be able to stay there with them in it, too! Can't even wait. 

Thursday morning we found time to climb Monk's Mound at Cahokia, which about 1000 years ago was a major indigenous metropolis. We found it lovely and peaceful in 2017.

Cahokia is located in Illinois but you can easily see St. Louis from the top.

We had a spare hour in Louisville on the way so we made sure to see Buddy and Aiden at the park! Buddy's recovering from surgery and not at his best, but he made an effort to see us nevertheless. 

Aiden was enjoying the spray park, while our kids were forbidden to wet themselves and then get back in the van.

We just drove along and suddenly Cincinnati reared up in front of us. What a relief to see infrastructure and people!

That evening we made a pit stop at a Starbucks where I interviewed for a job. It wasn't 30 minutes later that they called me back to offer me the position!
 

We woke up in Columbus the next morning, refreshed from a night in a very nice hotel, and while we drove through Ohio that morning I accepted the job with Heaton Middle School. I'm going to teach my neighborhood sixth graders next year! At our local public middle school, just half a mile away! I won't have to drive on weekdays anymore, and I'll get the kids I had at Belmont last year in class! I still haven't fully appreciated the goodness of this gift. 
 This fall will be a whole new adventure.

But for now, I am living in the solstice and taking in unfiltered UV rays all over the country. 

Next up: New York State.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

commencements

I love the word "commencements" to describe graduations. The word connotes the end of a chapter of one's academic life, a "moving on from." But the word literally means "beginnings" and thus points rather to a "moving on to." I appreciate this thought as Miles and I (rather tearfully) end the school year. I'm moving on from Belmont entirely, while Miles is merely taking a few weeks' hiatus, but we're both about equally emotional. This six weeks at Belmont have been golden and bright with children's smiles and hugs and laughter and play, all in the context of the most positive and supportive school environment I've ever experienced. The kids are my neighborhood kids; I see them all the time and they greet Koopa by name. I got to play kickball with the staff in the 5th Grade/Staff match. Someone gave me a Belmont El tee shirt so I would feel like I fit in for field day. The renowned and beloved principal (who basically got me into the sub system singlehandedly and got me this long-term gig when it opened up) did things like loan me her personal laptop and projector for three weeks to make teaching easier for me,  rearrange my schedule so I could see Miles' 2nd grade ceremony, and call to extend my job by a day (to cover the teacher work day) basically so I could get paid for one more day. The staff was warm and welcoming, and I got to know nearly every one of them (including the wise and compassionate woman I ended up requesting to be Adele's teacher for next year). It has been a huge joy that's made me think twice about my characteristic dislike of teaching primary grades. I'm quite sorry to see the year end.

On the one hand, I finish the year more attached to this school than ever and more excited to have both kids attend next year. On the other, I know probably any other school at which I end up employed can't possibly measure up.

Never mind, never mind. Forward!

I snapped several pictures a couple weeks ago when the graduating seniors from nearby East High School walked the halls of Belmont Elementary to be greeted and congratulated by the children. I had a kindergarten class at the time. They were unbearably precious in their admiration and excitement.

Graduation concluded last weekend.

Memorial Day has come and gone and now both the pools and the City Park Rides are open for the season. 

The cacti are in bloom.

 Field Day has come and gone...

Miles' partner struggles to steer him for "Battleship," the game I helped lead. 

And I have turned 35.

Not too much worse for wear, despite that I've been dreading this particular number.

In what I took to be a birthday gift directly from God, the public library was having a party on my birthday which included balloon animals, a magic show, a bounce house, bubbles, and ice cream!

We technically should have arrived too late for the ice cream, but when I mentioned a bubble/balloon party was a perfect thing to attend on my birthday, the librarian beckoned us to the librarians-only back room and presented us with three remaining ice creams and all the toppings! I always get loved good by my local public library. 

That afternoon, I took the kids roller skating. They've made a lot of progress; if I rent Adele a walker thingie, she and Miles are completely independent on the rink and I can skate as I choose. WIN.

That night, I went out with some of the few friends I've been able to make here in Pueblo and had 2.5 whole  beers. Which, if you consider I've probably had that many beers (& no other alcohol) over the course of the last two months, should give you an indication of how dramatic a move that was for me. We played Cards Against Humanity and impulse-ordered pizza and generally carried on like we were younger than we were. Though, some of those girls were probably young enough to still carry on like that on the regular, but we don't need to dwell on that.

There are no pictures of girls' night, at least, no pictures that I retain.

Tuesday was Miles' last day of school and his 2nd grade award ceremony. He won an award for excellent attendance and for being in the top 10 readers in the grade. His personal classroom award was for "thinking outside the box." I will miss his precious teacher so very much.

Check out the self-portrait!

We had to attend the end-of-the-year Belmont skate party at Skate City.

Adele photobombs. Next year, she's gonna be in the pack!

Like it or not, we have walked out of the school door and into summer. I have applied for three middle school jobs. I'm still waiting for more postings, or to hear anything about those three, but I'm not worried. I got enough of a sense of how much can hold these things up from being at Belmont all those weeks that I think it'll be July before I'm hired. And I'm (mostly) fine with that.

We leave for the big cross-country trip on Tuesday. And it really is time for a vacation, even for nerds and work-a-holics. Here we go!