Reading in Review

 This was a low reading year for me. I'm embarrassed to admit that a lot of that is because I spent time scrolling when I could have been reading - waiting rooms, bathrooms, lines, after dinner check ins. We also watched more TV this year - or I did. I used to skip out on tv time but this year I sat down more with the fam because movie nights are more limited. Unfortunately, very little of what we watched is worth mentioning. "All Creatures Great and Small" is definitely our favorite worthwhile series. "Only Murders in the Building" was entertaining last winter. We watched a little "Abbott Elementary," which I found funnier than the rest of my family.  Some Fr. Brown mysteries, "The Bear." We rewatched some Marvel movies and Star Wars and ET and some other classics like "Return to Me" and "Shawshank Redemption" - both a little too old -  with the youngest for the first time.  I'd rather watch something more redemptive, but working on classics of a sort. 

Why else didn't I read as much? Can I claim I read a lot of the newspaper?- the WSJ, of course. I spend about an hour at least every Sunday reading the weekend Journal and catching up on features from daily editions that I didn't have time to get to. 

I also spent more time rereading books for school - The Hobbit and The Giver, Fever 1793 and The Witch of Blackbird Pond.  I previewed The Outsiders and skimmed The of Anne Frank. But did I waste time looking for reading selections online? I did, yes I did. 

And did time I spent grading and looking for resources also eat away at my reading time? But of course.

So the sad news is that I only read 48 books this year. Fewer by 20 than what I read last year, although I'm pretty sure I forgot to write some books down on my list. I appreciate this list for that very reason. In fact, I know I read something to and from my mom and dad's house at Christmas - but what was it? My November and December reads are missing, and though they are the most recent, I can't remember for the life of me what I read. It's really bothering me. I did spend a lot of our travel time catching up with grading, but I also know I did some reading on the road trip. 

I also started some books I didn't finish. This is the case with a couple of spiritual books I started to read. I subscribe to and read Plough, the magazine published by the Bruderhof. I really enjoy its mix of culture, faith, and commentary, but this is my second year of subscribing, so I might move on to a new magazine next year. 

Most of the books I wrote down were children's classics: Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Little Women, The Anne of Green Gables books.  All of these were young adult books, but thoroughly enjoyed by this adult. They were probably my favorite reads of the year.

I did not accomplish a read of a long and thick classic. No Dickens, no Trollope, no Tolstoy. And really we only read part one of Little Women. 

But now a review. Of the 48 books: 

• 38 were novels
• 5 were read alouds - a habit that has slowed down, sadly
• 15 were children's chapter books
• 6 were advice books
• 0 spiritual books. I started but did not finish a couple spiritual books this year. A poverty
• 1 book of poetry, although I did skim some books of poetry from the library
• 1 Collection of essays
• 16 were rereads, mostly the children's books
• No local authors, unless you count S. E. Hinton, who was from Tulsa.
• 6 were by BIPOC authors 
• 10 were nonfiction. 

Of the 38 books of fiction.

• Few count as classics - mostly children's books: Where the Red Fern Grows and The Hobbit. The Witch of Blackbird Pond, A Little Princess, The Anne books, the Twain books

My favorite nonfiction book: The Anxious Generation, although the Vanderbilt book was fascinating.

Favorite novels of the year: Huckleberry Finn and James by Percival Everett, although I found Absolution absorbing. 

Least favorite:  Why did I read so many self help books on aging?

Goals for next year: 

Less media, more books, more reading aloud, more reading widely. 

And now to read before falling asleep. 

Looking forward, looking back

 Time for the annual look back - look forward post!  I think I've already quit my New Year's resolutions - or haven't started them yet. I know there's a lot of back and forth about the wisdom of making resolutions, and I suppose I could do a little science experiment and go back over the past 12 years or so of writing a beginning of the year post to assess if I've made any lasting changes. The results would probably be mixed. I know every year I resolve to get more sleep and drink more water, but I haven't yet succeeded. Note that growth mindset "yet" - I'm still trying! But I think in other ways I have made some progress - I like to think I'm a little better at letting things go, at releasing the illusion of control. I like to think that years of saying goodbye have made me a little more grateful for friendship, for beauty, for the time we have. Maybe that's just age.

One thing that is different this year - I have been feeling my age. My feet hurt constantly, my cholesterol is up, my joints are stiff, and my vision is terrible.  I try to avoid looking in the mirror at my wrinkles and gray hair. Worst of all, I catch myself thinking about the kids in ways that are outdated; I have to remind myself they won't live with us any more. For instance, I cleaned out the linen closet and realized I don't need to keep as many twin bed sheet sets and pillows anymore because no one is having sleepovers anymore.  

In between aging and working full time, my fitness resolution is a little different this year because I have to be more intentional about things like getting my heart rate up and stretching. I used to do those things without thinking.  Last year I ran very little. This year I will likely run hardly at all. But I do need to find something to get my heart rate up. My most recent dr's appointment revealed elevated cholesterol, and I firmly believe it is less from a change in diet than a steep decline in vigorous exercise that elevates my heart rate. The solution - plan the time, realizing it doesn't have to be running. I did "Just Dance" with my daughter today and was breathing heavy by the end.

Also new this year: fewer carbs.  Until the last year or so, I was able to eat carbs without ill effect. Now I don't burn the calories I used to burn exercising. The upside is that I don't crave the carbohydrates I used to crave. I started the day with a bowl or two of cereal every day for years and couldn't imagine cutting back. Now I'm lucky if I eat breakfast.  Even so, I've gained weight and lost muscle. Time to cut back on carbs and sugar, woe!  

And of course, drink more water and get more sleep...

In regard to those other pillars of an integrated life - faith, family, academics, and community - I'm really embracing the pilgrims of hope theme for the year promulgated by Pope Francis. We'll be in Rome for our son's wedding this May, so we'll get to experience the Jubilee year opening of the doors. I want to really do some preparation of heart and mind for this, although I haven't really set out how/what to read, etc. We also are talking about making a trip to Lourdes as a part of that European vacation. We were married at Our Lady of Lourdes almost 29 years ago. It seems fitting to make a pilgrimage of thanksgiving. 

In between preparing for that trip and for moving, I will be busy, but with my husband starting his new job, life around the house will be quieter.  I'm hoping to use some of the time to do some of the volunteer things and travel things I've been meaning to do with our 10 year old.  I want to go out with the Mobile Loaves and Fish truck sponsored by a parish near us that serves the hungry in our community and serve donuts on Sundays. That seems kind of simple, but it's a job the church is always asking for help with. 

The other thing I want to shoehorn in with my daughter is visiting a few more of the state parks around here before we move, especially Enchanted Rock, Caddo Lake, and Palo Duro and Big Bend if I can find the time. Enchanted Rock should be easy to do. The other three are farther away, and we'll also be doing some traveling to see the kids/husband some weekends.   

Before I finish up the school year, I want to finish writing out a curriculum map. There was nothing for me when I got here, and working on the vertical alignment of the ELA curriculum has been a goal for the school this year. I'm still trying to match up standards of learning with units for the two grades I teach. It makes me sad to thing here I am finally getting a good handle on our goals and how to reach them when it's time to go. Will I return to the classroom next year? That's something I'm praying about this year. 

I'll also be praying for our house to sell and the grace to trust something will work out with housing if it doesn't. The high interest rates are discouraging.  If we don't sell this house, we'll have a hard time financing a new one, and the rental market is saturated.  Finding and financing housing is always the most stressful part of moving.  The move here in 2021 was particularly stressful because of the post-pandemic shortages in housing and low interest rates that artificially inflated the price of housing. We'll surely lose some and maybe a lot of money on this house.

But blessedly, we have a cushion, and while the financial hit would be uncomfortable, it's survivable. The fires in California are a tragic reminder of how quickly possessions can be lost - and how a house/wealth/stuff isn't what makes life worth living.  Not to diminish the importance of a home, shelter, mementoes, roots - the losses are devastating. But the human heart is resilient and many, hopefully most, if not all, of the people suffering catastrophic losses will find the support and inner determination to start again, even if somewhere else, not in such a lovely but liable place. Or perhaps in the same place, just with more protections - personal hydrants, sprinkler systems, etc. - or more agility to pivot/evacuate quickly.  I was reading about how some of the very wealthy people impacted by the fire have second and third homes to retreat to, but the working class people are struggling to find lodging because landlords are price gouging and charging exorbitant rents.  On the other hand, there are just as many stories about people opening up room in their homes. May the generous side of human nature continue to win out. 

All of these things are cause for prayer.  I'll be praying for answers to big questions, trying to start new habits, find a new home, discern what our newest iteration of life will look like, while at the same time trying to soak up the goodness of our place here, to spend quality time with the friends here, to get to some of the places we meant to visit, to make the most of what we have here before we go. And of course praying for the needs of loved ones and strangers in need. 

New Year, New Beginnings

Perhaps my New Year's resolution should be to post more often - or to just give up this blog. Blogs are out of style, our life has changed, etc. But I do like coming back to this place and reading about what I thought - something I never do with diaries.  I also like that in an era when everything is constantly changing, this little corner of the internet remains the same. I probably should not say that too loud or Blogger may disappear, but here we are.  One of my new year's resolutions is to try to update at least what I'm reading once a month. 

I really didn't mean to let almost three months slip past before posting again.  My lack of posting isn't really due to being busy; I've been busy, but not any busier than I ever was.  Rather, we've had a lot of things simmering that took up time and thought. 

First, the biggest blessing of the year: Our first granddaughter was born! She has been long hoped for, so we are especially grateful for her sweet perfection. She is a real doll baby - weighing in a 9 pounds and 14 ounces at birth a just before Christmas, she is perfectly formed and has beautiful color, a full head of dark Italian hair, soft round cheeks, and the sweetest little rosebud mouth. We are in love! The whole family is thrilled to have a baby in the family again. Everyone was eager to hold her, and she was content to be passed around. Our son and his wife haven't stopped beaming. 

The other big news is that we will be moving again next summer. This wasn't entirely planned.  Just when we were feeling settled at home in Texas, the time has come to pull the roots up again. My husband has just been hired into his dream job. It seems almost too good, too smooth, to be true. Doors opened in a way that suggests Providence at work, except that he has worked hard and well for this opportunity. I am really proud of what he has accomplished here in a short amount of time. The notes from the people that work for him attest to his leadership.  He worked extremely hard to improve the working conditions for a lot of people. My daughter's friend, who is interning in the office, said people cried when he announced he was leaving. He cried. He is going to his dream job, but he is leaving behind a place that almost ate him alive, but now he has them eating breakfast tacos and donuts and birthday cakes... He prioritized the people who work for him - as well the faculty and students he serves- and they appreciated that.  

It is hard to leave a place where you have had such a positive impact, but I know he will continue to be just as dedicated to building morale at this new job. 

The best part of the new job is that we'll just be a couple hours from our new grandbaby and our son and daughter-in-law. We'll be 31/2 hours from my parents and siblings. We'll be 90 minutes from a major city and airports to which our coastal kids can travel easily - and close to a small local airport if needed.

The sad part is we'll be farther from my in-laws, my husband's siblings, and my brother.  We'll have to leave the wonderful community we've found here. We'll have to sell, probably at a loss, this party house that I've had a love/hate relationship with, but I've come to appreciate.  As much as I find the pool a labor and money drain, it has been luxurious to have one in the hot summers. It took me several years to learn to live larger, and now we'll likely return to simpler accommodations. No doubt, I'll miss the comforts like plenty of room in the kitchen and living spaces and a big pantry. We'll miss the great sunsets, the space for games and hanging out together, the mild winters, the view of the forest preserve, and the wonderful neighbors who are happy to help with the dog and the trash when we are gone or to join us for a happy hour or driveway party when we are home. It's a sociable place.

We'll also both miss our jobs here, even though we both experienced challenges our first year or so. I wouldn't claim to be an expert, but I've learned a lot about teaching in general and about middle schoolers and about myself. It turns out I enjoy middle schoolers. They make me laugh. 

Why is saying goodbye so hard? Readers may find it surprising that I feel so sad about leaving when I was not exactly a fan of Texas initially. There are still some things I find off putting about this place, but it has a distinct ethos. Texas knows and loves itself.  The terrain is often stark, but also startling, especially in this hill country area, and when the wildflowers are blooming.  The people are brash but loving.  We have again made wonderful friends, some of whom I haven't told yet because it is so hard to say goodbye, and the move isn't imminent.  My husband will start soon, but our 10 year old and I will finish up the school year before packing up after our second son's wedding at the end of May. 

The irony is that we are moving to a state I couldn't wait to leave when I was a teenager. I'm sure we'll find our spot and our people and settle into a rhythm and routine in this place, but I'm dreading the work of moving and starting over again, if I am honest with myself, even though I'm thrilled for my husband. I'm sad for my daughter and her best friend three doors down. I'm sad for my kids who went to high school here and made good friends. They won't know people when they come home for breaks. I'm sad for my in-laws, whom we've seen more of in the last couple of years than we did in the previous decade.  I'm sad for my older kids who like to visit us here, where we have plenty of space and there are lots of fun things to do and see out and about. We aren't exactly going to a cultural mecca for our next stop. 

This move will likely be for a longer duration, even though I dream of settling in a cute little town, maybe coastal, maybe in New England, maybe in the mountains. I don't know where I hope we retire, but I hope it is someplace with beautiful views and cultural opportunities and good trails nearby - sounds a lot like California or South Carolina or Maine - or our back yard here. I hope I am able to conquer my inability to stay, to attach, to feel at home, to at last find the place where I can finally feel that way. Maybe it will be an airstream trailer we knock about in to go and visit our kids and grandkids wherever they land. 

Now to go back to pretending we are staying here for a few more months. I'm hoping to wait until after spring break to talk about it with our friends and neighbors here.  I want to soak up our days here as fully as possible before they fade into memory.  

Flooding and Farewells

A flashback post I never finished plus some wandering reflections:

Near the end of August, we dropped our sixth child off at college. These move-in weekends are physically and emotionally draining, and having done it before doesn't make it any easier.  When you say goodbye after unpacking all their stuff and dropping another $$$ on cheap furnishings and toiletries from Target, it feels like saying goodbye to a childhood that really ended several years ago, but now is final. You know the fledgling adult isn't really ever coming back to stay, although she will return at holiday breaks and in the summer, and maybe a year or so after graduating . . . But she'll be on her own even then, though grateful for your caregiving and dinner making and laundry doing.  We've been through this now with her five siblings. They no longer need our help or oversight as they go about their business working summer jobs and hanging with friends and enjoying sleeping in comfortable beds before they go back to dorm mattresses or ratty apartment furniture. 

When we first dropped off the older kids, the goodbye didn't quite sink in. I thought we'd have holidays and summers; I didn't think about what happened after college. I had young children at home who still expected their siblings at the table.  But then the older kids stopped coming home - first they worked at camps, then they got internships and did service projects and worked. They went to visit new friends, or their friends came to see us (everyone wanted to come to San Diego), and they stayed out late so that we barely saw them when they were home. 

It's a slow process of detachment after all that attachment work when they were babies. 

Our daughter is going to school in Greenville, South Carolina.  As everyone knows, that area felt the effects of Hurricane Helene, although not so hard as the area a couple hours north where my husband's cousins have a place, which my husband designed. Just a month after we dropped our daughter off, campus closed for a week because the power was out and then it took time for the internet to return. Can't have school without internet!

The devastation from the flooding in the mountain towns north of Greenville is hard to picture to outsiders. The clean up is still going on. We almost flew out to help our cousins clean up their place. Their storage container washed away with some kayaks, a generator, tools, camping stuff, other flotsam and jetsam.  But there wasn't gas and supplies for the people there, so for us to come and use more would not have been helpful.  

Instead our school had a bake sale, and the students could make a donation in order to wear something other than their uniform. The donations went to a school near Asheville that was damaged. Over $5000 was raised. Another school family had a connection to a school damaged by Hurricane Milton in Florida, so our school split the funds to send to both schools. 

While $5000 is an incredible amount to raise in a bake sale, it only goes a little way in the clean up process. 

And it is like half a penny compared to what was spent on this past election. It hurts my head to think of the billions spent on advertising and marketing and all of the stuff thrown away after an election, and all the other ways money is spent on elections.  I saw somewhere an estimate of $11 billion dollars.  How many ways could that money have been spent to truly build community? 

In all these things, a long view is necessary- a long view of our lives with our children, a long view of recovery from natural disasters, a long view of politics and the lives of nations.  Knowing that life will bring both joys and sorrows over time doesn't minimize the feelings of sorrow and loss and frustration, but it reminds us that happiness will return, things will change, life will go on. The acorns will sprout and oak trees will grow. We might just have to wait a long time.

 

A new season

 This morning cool breezes greeted us as my husband and I stepped out the front door to walk the dog.  It's the second week of October. September is relegated to recent memory, with summer now the distant past. It doesn't seem fair that time should pass so quickly.

Yet the temperatures don't think it's summer. It's still in the 90s in the afternoons here. The impatiens are still blooming, but struggling with the lack of rain in this part of the country. Grass and leaves are turning brown but only because of hot and dry conditions.  I've given up watering my garden, although the basil and peppers haven't completely dried up like the tomatoes. I'm going to give up on tomatoes. Year after year I plant them, water them, weed them, and receive a small handful of fruit in return.  

I don't even really like tomatoes, but I envy the shrubby plants with stems drooping from the weight of laden branches that are browning in my parents' garden. Their tomatoes are rotting on the vine because they can't eat them all, and the neighbor's similarly have plenty. And they do nothing but stick seedlings in the ground! I labor for anemic tomatoes. The climate, the soil, the sun and rain, all are unpropitious for tomato growing. 

Instead here I can grow rosemary, peppers to hot to eat, tradescantia, pots of aloe. Lavender seems to survive, if not quite thrive. The shrubbery -boxwoods, nandina and gaura - grow with little care. And the lantana thrives and strives to take over the entire flower bed. 

But now, in mid October the plants are starting to slow their growth in response to the shortening days. The plumeria in pots still smells as fragrant as ever, and the five lemons on my potted lemon tree are finally turning yellow. One started to rot so I squeezed half in my juice, and one I picked too soon because I needed some citrus to squeeze on apples shredded for apple muffins - a recipe that only partially worked. 

The bats are back, swooping over the pool for snacks at dusk. Coyotes are singing regularly at night, curling the hair on the back of our little dog, causing him to growl huskily deep in his throats, as if he'd actually frighten one of his wild cousins instead of being a tasty snack. 

I have had little time for reflection, despite the fact that this time of year seems to inspire nostalgia and revisiting the past. Some of that is due to the start of the school year and the busyness of planning, grading, working. We also traveled two weekends in a row to Indiana, one for a Notre Dame football game - and a mini reunion with almost all of our kids (missing 2: the freshman in college, whom we had just dropped off two weeks prior, and the son who works an hourly wage job who couldn't take off work). We also revisited my parents and our son and daughter-in-law a couple weeks ago to honor my father's birthday and to celebrate at a baby shower the impending arrival of our first grandchild. This is something of a secret, but since this blog is also something of a secret, I'll record here my great excitement at the prospect of a new baby in the family! We have been hoping and praying for this baby!

Fitting that in fall we should celebrate a grandfather's birthday and a baby's eventual birth day.  As we celebrate the fruits of the garden labor in the season of harvest, some seeds fall to the ground to take root and bring forth new life.  And hopefully some seeds of wisdom will pass down to this next generation and bear fruit. Life continues to flourish, despite the harbingers of doom in the news and online.  And before this month is over, I'm going to try to coax a little more life out of my raised garden bed by planting a winter garden of greens. We'll see if they can defy the odds or survive and give us some good vitamins and minerals this winter ...

Flashback to college days. I still have this t-shirt and almost wore it since 90s fashion is back in...

It was so hot that the ice from the coolers served a new purpose.

A quick stop at the Chicago Art Institute while waiting for our flight. It's surprising how much you can see in 25 minutes. Not recommended as a rule, but worth it when you only have so much time and a free ticket...

This was the picture she wanted most to see.

Tasty shower treats.

Cousins

Still watching soccer.

Summer's End

How can it be the end of July already? Where has the summer flown? 

Next week, I head back to school for a couple weeks of prep before students arrive. They start August 12th. 

As usual, I had planned/hoped to accomplish a lot more this summer - reading, travel, planning, writing - but despite failing to do all the things, we did accomplish quite a few. The last two months were incredibly full. I wrote about our trip to Michigan; the next week I taught a session of camp at the kids' school. My session was drama camp: I directed a group of 10 6th-8th graders in an abridged production of A Midsummer's Nights Dream, which was tons of fun and a great success, despite a host of costume malfunctions and a few forgotten lines. Never having done something like this, I was a little apprehensive about how it would go, but it turns out the hardest part was finding a good script that fit our time frame while using much of Shakespeare's original language. The script I found online worked perfectly and preserved the basic plots and language in a 40 minute production. 

The following week was VBS week - I didn't volunteer this year, even though I suffered pangs of regret for hanging back. This was supposed to be a week of planning, reading, writing, research, but was mostly focused on travel planning and resetting the house after hosting a big graduation/birthday party for our 18 year old. In a few weeks, she'll head to college, and we'll be down to one child in elementary school. The 10 year old has already shed tears anticipating her sister's departure, and I have had a few moments of anxiety about having an only child. I'll need a babysitter! I suggested hosting a foreign exchange student to my husband and daughter, but I didn't get much enthusiasm for that idea. Not for the babysitting, of course! But perhaps slightly motivated by the hope of forming a bond with someone whose family might host us overseas...

Family vacation followed on the heels of VBS - this time we headed back to San Diego to celebrate the Fourth of July with our oldest daughter - as well as her birthday on the third.  Our VRBO for this trip did not measure up to our fabulous place in Maine, not surprisingly. Given it was a holiday week, we were lucky to find a place that was relatively close to the beach and big enough for the seven of us who gathered.  Our oldest was on vacation with his wife*** See big announcement below!*** while our third son needed to work (I regretted not funding his trip but struggled with the fairness) and our fourth son was working in Italy (more below on that, too). 

Our original plans were scrambled a bit, but the resulting week turned out to have a nice balance of time with family and friends, without being too active, although it wasn't exactly without some conflict. The first couple of days were full of celebrations - we hosted a party for our 22 year old daughter at a brewery/taco place with her friends and a few of ours. The next morning we followed that up with waking early for the Fourth parade in Coronado, which offered opportunity to catch up with friends and relive happy moments. On Friday we went to SeaWorld, thanks to complimentary tickets for military and veterans. This was a request of the 10 year old, who loved it, despite long lines and expensive snacks, which reminded others of our group why we don't go to amusement parks very often.  Saturday was Balboa Park and beach day, followed by dinner with friends, while Sunday was Mass, brunch, and concert in the park. Some of our group would have preferred to just hang at the beach on Friday and Saturday and skip SeaWorld and the museums, but in the end, everyone got to do a little of something they liked.  We would have had more beach time if the ocean waters in Imperial Beach and Coronado were not contaminated by sewage overflowing from Tijuana's water treatment plant. This has been an ongoing issue for years, and it doesn't sound like a solution is in sight. As a result, although our condo was a couple blocks from the beach, we had to drive up the coast a bit to get past the e. coli water.

Most of the family left Sunday/Monday, but the 10 year old and I stayed two more days to go camping with friends in the San Bernardino National Forest. The temperature was unusually high - in the 90s even at 8000 feet elevation, but we managed to fit in a couple hikes in the morning and evening, and spent the hottest part of the day at Big Bear Lake, which benefitted from the heavy snows the past couple of years so that it had higher water levels than the last time we were there. That suited the girls just fine. My original vision was more of a backpacking trip - in fact, I bought a new backpack on sale - but I was just happy we could get in the mountains for a bit where the girls could enjoy unmediated time in nature. 

I had just enough time after returning from that trip to get the laundry done before we headed to Oklahoma City for the weekend to celebrate my father-in-law's 82nd birthday and meet their new puppy. This is their third golden retriever, and we are all praying he is as well-behaved and smart as their previous two dogs. He is a very much a puppy with lots of energy, but he is adored by all - let's just hope he can get housebroken!

A highlight of our weekend in Oklahoma City was a visit to the Blessed Stanley Rother Shrine.  Bl. Rother was a priest from OK who was martyred by - who? drug lords or the government or both? - in Guatemala in the early 80s. He was warned that he was a target for assassination and was given the opportunity to return to the States, but his famous quote is "A shepherd doesn't run from his people." 

The Shrine is a large and lovely classical church - its ornateness and expense might have dismayed Bl. Rother, other than it draws many people to visit. The day we visited, we stood in line for almost an hour to venerate relics of Padre Pio- his glove, a lock of hair, a piece of his tunic, some blood. More people were in line when we left than when we arrived. The shrine complex also includes an informative museum of Bl. Rother's life, while at the end of the plaza in the front of the church is a replica of the hill of Tepeyac and a tableau of St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe. We didn't follow the path to the top of the hill because a line of people were also waiting to reach the top to prayer. So although our visit was incomplete, we were heartened by the large number of pilgrims visiting. 

After Mass and brunch at a Old Country Buffet, a bit of a tradition with the grandparents, we returned to Austin in time to do more laundry and to spend a few days with our son who returned from his service project in Italy. He was working with L'Arche in Bologna for 6 weeks. Three of those weeks were spent on a bike trip through the Dolomites. The first three weeks he worked as an activities assistant and spent time on various outings and activities with the residents. L'Arche is a residential community for adults with disabilities. He had an amazing experience becoming "comfortable with the uncomfortable" as he said in this essay he wrote for ND. And his Italian improved! To say we are proud of him for doing this is an understatement.  But we were also sorry to that he only had a week home with us before heading back to campus to work a job with Irish media creating content for their athletics department. 

My visit with him was cut even shorter because I had to pack up again on Wednesday. This time I was heading to Oakland for a conference for Catholic school educators on teaching the Holocaust.  The conference was excellent - full of history, stories, and time for reflection.  Sessions were led by a priest and a rabbi, both scholars of Jewish history, as well as a by a teacher who leads a Holocaust seminar for Catholic high schoolers in Atlanta. We heard from the son of a survivor who has helped produce a documentary on an education initiative she started, and another presenter shared information about the Jewish partisan movement of resistors during WW II. A researcher from the US Holocaust museum presenter her research based on her access to the Vatican files of information from WWII, which was just recently opened to researchers. But the highlight of the weekend, aside from time to learn from these presenters and from my fellow attendees, was a visit to a temple and Shabbot services followed by a meal with two survivors and a dozen or so second generation survivors. The two women were in their 90s and full of welcoming energy. One of them was a small child who was hidden away and then sent away on the kindertransport, while the other ran away to the woods and hid with the partisans, although she was too young to fight. She had to stay almost five years in a displaced persons' camp, a part of the history we don't hear much about. It was a very moving experience. 

The past week since returning from that trip has been spent resetting and researching for the return to school. Each day I've logged onto a webinar hosted by Teach Like a Champion, which has had some really practical advice, even if it isn't as inspiring as the Holocaust seminar.  We've had our dental and doctor visits for the summer, although the eighteen year old had to return to the dentist this week because she chipped her two front teeth on the 10 year old's head in the pool. It wasn't the ER visit she thought it might be the moment after it happened, but it was an unplanned expense. 

Tomorrow I return to school for teacher workdays. I'm wishing I had one more week. I wanted to get to Indiana to see my parents on the farm, even though we saw them in Michigan, but I've run out of time, so that trip will have to wait until the fall.  In three weeks, we'll be boarding another flight to take our daughter to school at Furman University in South Carolina.  A new phase of our lives will begin, one the ten year old is not looking forward to. She'll be an only child for the second half of her life. We'll miss having high school events on our calendar, although I'm sure we'll find ways to fill the days. We're already planning our fall trips to see the kids at their various homes around the country! 

A few photos: 

The birthday girl

Enjoying the parade

Fireworks atop the NAVFAC building downtown SD

Visiting Belugas

Riding roller coasters

Patting manta rays

Walking the IB pier

Balboa Park in bloom

Body Surfing at No Surf Beach

League of Wives statue that my friend helped get created and installed

Ship wreckage Coronado beach

Camping in San Bernardino NF

Hike to Jenks Lake

With a Holocaust Survivor Etty H

Puppy pals

Starring as Ms. Hannigan

Siblings!

Blessed Stanly Rother Shrine

The priest that married us is in this photo with Fr. Rother

Oakland Cathedral of Christ the Light

Forgot to mention Summer Swim Team!