April Update

Back in March, when I wrote something about the month coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb, I didn't think it would be quite this quiet.  We hold in prayer the sick and the medical professionals caring for them whose lives have been more completely absorbed or destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic.  We pray for those who have lost their jobs and who suffer with mental illness and anxiety.  (I did see a report the other day that overall deaths are actually down. And my friend who is an ER doctor has commented on how empty the ER is - fewer car accidents, sports injuries, broken bones, fights, etc.)

But I also admit to feeling still more grateful for this stay-at-home order and the slower pace of life.  While we miss spending time with friends and some of the activities, many of them I don't miss at all. And I'm glad to not be the bad guy when it comes to saying to the kids that tonight is family night.  Although I am missing the pattern of the liturgical life of Lent - adoration on Wednesdays, stations on Fridays, confession a couple times, Sunday masses - I am trying not to feel guilty about really enjoying the new pattern of liturgical life at home. We hadn't prayed the angelus in years until last week. Our dinner conversations are more leisurely. We're sitting around in the living room reading the stations instead of at church trying to get the kids to participate.  There are many silver linings in this dark cloud of the pandemic.  

So what have we been doing since the last update? The days actually fly by. We are never bored - at least I'm not - but I don't seem to have made any progress on any of my projects.  It's a strange phenomenon. I'm not even sure I can tell you where the time has gone. 

The big event of the week is grocery shopping. I've been trying to limit grocery shopping to once a week, but the commissary is still pretty picked over and only allows the purchase of one gallon of milk at a time (although I did sweet talk the cashier the other day), so I usually make another trip to the little local market for produce and milk (also limited to a gallon at time). I still haven't bought toilet paper since school let out, so I'm going to have to figure that out soon - despite the news that supply lines are open, I have yet to see paper goods and many cleaning supplies at our stores. And as a treat, on Sundays, we've been ordering family meal specials to go from local restaurants, which is more often than we ever ate takeout before.

One change that I would like to reverse is that our schedule has shifted from early morning activity to later nights and later mornings. Our kids did not had any required school assignments until yesterday.  They got out of school three weeks ago and have had three weeks of spring break.  Online school "opened" yesterday, but it is mostly a list of assignments that will mostly be graded on a Turned in/Not turned in scale. 

The high school AP teachers have been regularly posting lists of recommended activities, but now the AP exams have been modified and made easier, and will only cover the material of the first 2/3s of school. Teachers are posting online office hours and video lectures, and a couple have assigned Zoom study groups, but for the most part, the kids have web links to do to keep them busy.

I have mixed feelings about this arrangement. I'm glad an outside source is curating information (I hate that word curate but it fits) and providing external motivation. But I hope to encourage the kids to supplement with more book reading.  I'm frustrated it has taken three weeks to come up with such a lite curriculum. 

Meanwhile, our kids' private school peers were doing online school the Monday after school got out or within a week. Many, if not most, of them have some synchronous learning component.  This is easier to do with a small group, granted. But our school district is not that big -  about 3000 students in the 4 schools in the district - I'm not sure why online learning didn't happen sooner.  And I'm frustrated with the pass/fail arrangement - I suspect this is because they are concerned about cheating or copying off of the internet - but it does not encourage extra effort.  I envy the rigor and the expectation of excellence that the private schools seem to continue to require. 

On the other hand, I recognize that a lot of school work is busy work, especially for the younger kids. The students will miss about 3 months of school from mid-March to mid-June.  What would they have learned in that time? How much of that content can be mastered through reading and writing or reporting to me about it without all the busy work?  How much can they step away from their laptops to learn on their own?  

The struggle in my home, and I suspect in many others, is motivating a couple of my teens to actually take some interest in learning. As they transition from school time to home time, they are settling in to doing some projects instead of rushing through the list of chores/activities I've given them to get to screen time.   I am sorry they are missing out on the discussions in their humanities classrooms and the labs in science, but they are starting to pick up some books and games and art supplies on their own - or with my insistence...  And we have watched some good movies lately, highlights being Just Mercy, Freedom Writers, and Peanut Butter Falcon. I'm mandating meaningful movies in between crime shows and episodes of The Office.

What I've appreciated most about being at home is that the kids are enjoying each other's company more. We've always noticed this when we have forced family fun like hikes and campouts and other vacations. They'll play cards or board games when I hide the remotes, and I tolerate The Office because the two who are at each other's throats most often are watching it together and bonding over it.  

Until a rainy week arrived, we had some time to spend together outdoors. The girls are still meeting their one exercise buddy to meet for socially distant bike rides, so they get a little fresh air and social time. I tried to buy some weights online for the boys but everyplace was sold out.  I admit I've enjoyed my runs and bike rides as quiet time for me, too, although I'll often take the youngest out for a bike or scooter ride to get her moving. Her brothers will take her to the field across the street to kick the ball or play pass, which is another nice respite for me, as well.  

The beaches, the trails, and most of the parks in our community have now been closed. The one grassy field across the street is still being used by families on the block. Everyone seems to be respectful of having only one or two families there at a time. Since it has no equipment or parking, the city hasn't posted signs or put up yellow caution tape. It is on a busy street, so it doesn't attract very many people anyway.  I keep hoping the city will also keep the bike path open, pictured below, even though they've closed all the parks and beaches, so this path gets congested on sunny days. 

We did sneak away for some hikes before the national forests were closed - that was a welcome respite, and had we waited a couple of days, it would have been impossible. In the initial period of uncertainty, (as opposed to the expected uncertainty now) I did consider driving to my parents' house in Indiana where we could meet up with our two college sons who didn't make it home. (Our oldest was in Arizona on spring break when his university announced they were closing and students shouldn't return. He rented a car and drove here and has been a big help, although he does have a lot of schoolwork online and is tutoring online, as well. He's making more money tutoring now than he was at school.) But for a minute it seemed like my husband might return from his exercise in the UAE early, and we have a lot of books and games and craft stuff and better internet here, so I never did pack up. If the kids were younger, I probably would have, but as teens, they needed something stable when it seemed to them that everything else was being taken away.

Now here we are in Holy Week, we have several things to anticipate and celebrate.  The youngest turns 6 tomorrow, so we are planning to make this afternoon a castle birthday cake and Easter basket cupcakes to deliver to a few friends' doorsteps in this limbo time between Palm Sunday and Holy Thursday.  I have ordered too much stuff from the internet - although I'm feeling virtuous about entering a trial period of quitting Amazon Prime and ordering from other places, mostly ones that offer free shipping on orders of over $10 or $25 (Better World Books, Thriftbooks and Target, mostly, although I ordered some Easter stuff from Catholic vendors).  I got tired of sifting through cheaply made in China stuff on Amazon.  

Then we have the Holy Week triduum. We've been watching our parish's live streamed Masses on Sundays, but I think we may take a "tour" of different online churches during this time. We'll tune into Mass at the Basilica at Notre Dame. And we've tried Father Barron's, but I need to do some research on which ones we'll visit.  Our church is still open for adoration on Wednesday and Thursday mornings and the church is open during the week for prayer, which has been a big blessing. The prayer garden behind our church has a stations of the cross walk that we did one Friday, although I have enough little books at home that we have stayed home to read them the other two weeks.  I have been picking up food here and there for our Easter feast a little early to make sure that I can find them, although I only have a tiny ham, but I'll go to the store one more time for fruits and vegetables.  

When my husband calls in the evenings - which are morning to him - he asks about the day, and I don't have much to report. I have tried to call a friend or family member every other day or so while out on a walk, so these conversations are news of the week. We might talk a little about what the real news is reporting, but we have no crises to solve, nothing urgent that needs to be addressed, now that the older boys are settled in away from school. 

I have been doing some reading, which I'll report on in the next installment, whenever that happens. I did really enjoy this article about the gift economy posted at Image magazine's website: https://imagejournal.org/article/gratuity-who-gets-paid-when-art-is-free/  So many free shows and articles and websites are around that I can't keep up. The increase in generosity among everyone in the community is notable. There are more volunteers here than there are people who need help, at least in the immediate vicinity. Not so in other areas, but the desire to do something, to give something, is strong.   

At some point we'll have to reenter the real world. But for now, I give thanks for this time to prepare for Easter and to find joy in small things. 

Can you see the flamingo in the distance? 

The bike path along the strand

We added two more garden boxes - I planted seeds that may be too old to sprout. We shall see what the rain does for them. 

The second box - the succulents are divided to be given away. 

The doll is ready for Mass. 

Making unleavened bread

Renegade freesia

A rainbow

This flamingo was sharing food with the coots and ducks - not chasing them away from his food. 

These are the flamingos that live at the now closed hotel not too far from our house.

The statice and ice plant are blooming.

Staying put for now

That last post seems so long ago, now. We aren't going anywhere for the next few weeks or months. And by then the economy may have imploded, so our question about retiring or staying in the Navy may be postponed for the foreseeable future - or at least a few months. So what answer did my husband give the detailer - just before Covid-19 stalled everything?  He left it open-ended: He wrote that he was thinking about retiring, but he would be willing to fill a command position if needed.  Now perhaps the exodus of top leaders from the military will be slowed, as the economy crashes and burns, so they may ask him to go ahead and retire.

I have been meaning to post something, anything, but I can't seem to focus when I sit down to type. I spend a lot of time reading stories about the virus and checking stats. Or shopping online for school supplies but not buying anything. I swing, as I suspect many people do, between hoping that this radical shut down of businesses, schools, events, and churches will make a difference, and worrying that the cure is worse than the disease: First, are all the losses: lost jobs, lost educational opportunities, lost sacraments and faith. All these students who were to graduate from college this year are now confronted with the possibility, if not likelihood, of joblessness, along with an inability to take tests like the GRE, the MCAT, LSAT, and PE so that they can move on with their futures. 

And then there are the dangers: what about those people who teeter on the edge of health - mental and physical - who aren't getting the care they need? Is anyone tracking an increase in domestic violence and child abuse? A rise in addictions?  

I am hopeful that the long term effects of this shutdown won't be as bad as I might imagine. I know I have a tendency to imagine the worst-case scenario - and I occasionally indulge in conspiracy theory ideas. (Which enemy government is trying to weaken America's economy and security?) I am trying not to read too much on the internet or to watch movies like Contagion or Flu, although the kids wanted to.  Maybe they would scare me into greater docility.

Don't get me wrong - we are following the rules for distancing ourselves. We have stopped having playdates, although until last Thursday, we did go to the park and walk with friends. I have let the girls go rollerblading with their friends. We live in a community where neighbors can talk to each other through their windows, and people can get outside and walk and sit on the beach six feet apart.  No one is playing on the playgrounds anymore, but kids are out biking, and families are playing ball in the green space across the street. There seems to be a natural rotation of people there - never too many at once.  People are leaving free boxes of board games in the little free libraries, of which there are many.  There are a lot of posts on Facebook from people wanting to help others.  I loaded up on books and movies at the library the previous Friday, when it was announced that the schools would close.  And now no late fees! I wish I had checked out more dumb novels. I can't concentrate on the books I got - The Lady and the Monk, by Pico Iyer, Backpacking with the Saints by Belden Lane, I can't even remember now what else.  I have been reading the Wall Street Journal practically cover to cover. And the 5-year-old and I have finished 20 Magic Tree House books over the past couple months.  We've watched the seventh season of the Father Brown series - edging into some contemporary issues but still engaging. How many murders can one small town in England have? 

What else have we done? Some yard work this weekend. The kids played Monopoly one day for a long time. The kindergartener has done a lot of art on her own and from watching drawing videos. I love the "Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems."  We went for a hike one day and only saw 4 other people - it was a rainy day. The oldest and I took a long bike ride. The boys built some benches for our church. Our church was still having adoration on Wednesday and Thursday this week, limited to 10 people at a time, but after Mass (on live-stream) on Sunday, the pastor read a letter from the Archbishop which made it sound like this may not continue. The saddest part is that the churches will not reopen for the Easter Liturgies.  But then the military bishop who lives at our rectory when he is in town made an announcement that suggested that priests would still follow in the footsteps of the martyrs in ministering to their congregation. There's a part of me that hopes our priest will be a renegade and keep the doors of the church open and take communion to the homebound.  I don't want him to get in trouble or spread disease, but surely, surely, this virus is not as insidious as the plagues of the past and the wars and persecutions that limited movement and yet did not prevent Mass and the sacraments from taking place.

I like having the kids home. They are getting along for the most part. I feel like I'm constantly telling the one to take a break from video games, but it is a social outlet for him, and for this week at least, they have no assigned school work, while the public school system tries to figure out how to reach students without internet access or a device at home (phones are not useful for distance learning). Our oldest is here - he had been on spring break in Arizona when schools shut down. The other two are with my parents in Indiana. My husband is still in the Middle East.  He thought he was going to have a hard Lent without access to sacraments and now we are all in the same boat. (We did all rush to confession the Saturday after schools closed - was that just last week?)  There have been a number of blessings that have come from the slower pace of life and the opportunity to pray together more intentionally and to reset our focus on what's important.  The kids are pitching in with chores and cooking, and I'm hoping to get the garage cleaned out before this is all over... 

I actually have not even come close to running out of food yet, after I went on a shopping spree last weekend and stocked up. I probably could last at least 2 more weeks with what we have - although we'd have to get into the shelf stable milk, of which I bought 4 quarts.  (Which makes me wonder when I hear about continuing shortages at the grocery - are people eating more or still stocking up? Who has room for all that food? How much will get thrown away? A package of 12 double or triple rolls of toilet paper lasts our family almost a month - How much toilet paper can people go through?) 

I wonder what will be the endpoint of this shutdown: When there are no new cases? When a vaccine is found? When temporary hospitals are built, staffed, and supplied so that the fear of the medical system being flooded is addressed? Why can our country produce so much junk and not be able to produce a simple test that would allow people to know whether they need to isolate themselves? 

My hope is that it doesn't last too long, that researchers and developers find that vaccine or cure, that the numbers of new cases start to fall instead of rise. I like to think that most people will benefit from the extra time with family and not be too stressed by it. I pray that this will be a time of retreat with the Lord, a time to draw closer to Him, and to grow in compassion for our neighbors. Our friends' kids are posting a joke a day in their window. It is a time of recovery for the environment, even if just a little, and lots of people were out in the sunshine this weekend, enjoying creation. People are gardening and painting and eating dinner together as a family. May the good far outweigh the losses. 

This was in the beginning of March - a friend's change of command and retirement ceremony. Little did we know it would be the last event we'd go to for awhile 

Lots of gold stripes at this event.

Jets on display as the sun sets on a Navy aviator's career.
A fun fact: This friend joined the Navy after being inspired by Top Gun, and during his last year of service, helped facilitate the filming of Top Gun 2 at this base. 

Should we stay or should we go: Civilian vs. military

We have some big decisions looming in our future.  Taking a cue from Flannery O'Connor (and Joan Didion, who said something similar), I'm sitting down to write out some of our choices to try to figure out what I think. 

The choice at hand is whether to request to retire from the military or to request a new duty station. We have to let the detailer know in just a few days. Then, depending on the answer to that question, we have the corollary question of where to go and what to do.  If we stay in the Navy, our options include Japan, (I think Yokosuka, but I'm actually not sure), Naples, Italy,  Port Hueneme, CA, (Same place we lived before San Diego, but different command), maybe (long shot request) stay in San Diego, or Washington, DC (not really interested in this option). All of these places would be command jobs that would be great career building opportunities for my husband overseeing Navy public works and construction projects in different regions, except the long shot possibility of staying in the same job here for one more year since we'll have a child who will be a senior in high school when the current tour is completed. (That would be that child's first choice.)

If my husband decides to retire from the Navy, we have another choice. He could seek another job in the private sector either working for a large institution like a university or hospital or for a city in their public works department or as a staff architect, or apply for a job working for a construction/design/build firm.  In addition to the public works sector or in the building/construction industry, he could potentially look for something related to those fields or work for a company that does defense contracts. He has a lot of options; I'm not really worried about him getting a job, unless this coronavirus epidemic/pandemic really disrupts the economy longterm (this development might put a new twist on our choices if the crashing economy causes a hiring slowdown).

Additionally, we have to decide where to look for jobs.  We'd like to live within a day's drive of our families, but that is a pretty large area - especially now that our own children are starting to fan out on their own.  One child has a job lined up in Arizona.  One child is likely staying in California for college; child 6 also loves California and doesn't want to leave.  I've always daydreamed about living in a rural area, but my husband does not want to be a farmer, and he still needs to work for another 20-25 years, so I envision we'd look for a college town area - small but near all the conveniences, somewhere where we could live and work and go to a good church and good schools without spending too much time, if any, in the car.  That's actually possible here, but finding a walkable city limits our choices quite a bit. (Or requires that we find a job that pays enough to allow us to buy a multi-million dollar home, like the ones here. In fact, we'd need several million here, as $1-2 million would only get us 1 or 2 bedrooms or a tear-down.)  I don't want to live in a major metropolitan area like LA, DC, NYC, etc., but it would be nice to live near an airport where we could easily travel to see family/go to job sites (in the case of a construction firm).

So how to decide? For years - decades! - I have had in the back of my mind the idea that our Navy service is temporary duty, that it would come to an end sometime around this point in life, and we would begin our "real lives." My mom will laugh at that echo of my words to her and my dad when they dropped me off at college.  Have I lived a practice life all my life? Maybe - all life is practice for Heaven, right? I've always choked up at that "Temporary Home" song by Carrie Underwood. I haven't held back from jumping in to activities and friendships and adventures and have perhaps become more outgoing because I knew these jobs were just for a couple of years - or now five years in San Diego.  But now the option to make choices for a future that is 5 or 10 years long, or more, is open, and every day, a different consideration suggests itself. 

First, the reasons we might choose to ask for another command tour:  When else in our lives will we have the opportunity to live abroad?  We loved our two years in Guam. Our family bonds were strengthened, and we learned how much we didn't know about the other side of the globe.  Those two years were transformative in major and subtle ways.  But our children who are still at home will be 15, 17 and 7. The seven year old is a great age for exploring Europe or the Far East. But the 15 and 17 year old are unhappy about making such a major shift in high school. I keep trying to convince them that they would be stronger for it, that being a global citizen for a couple of years would be an experience they will value forever.  The kids have always dreaded moving, but then they have discovered friends and things to like about their new location. I like to think they are stronger for their experiences of transition, that they are less afraid of change and challenges. But would they rebel and crumple instead?

I know I romanticize life abroad. My attraction to the possibility is partly based on the stories of travel and site-seeing that our friends who are abroad now are sharing.  I like travel. I like walking around new places. I like the idea of our kids being resilient global citizens. I was thinking about it again last week as I sat listening to Pico Iyer talk about living in Japan. Iyer was inspired by Thoreau to live simply and write about travel and experiencing exotic places that present new insights and connections to the human community.   It made me want to live abroad. Other friends have talked highly of their time in Japan and Italy because the schools provide some unique opportunities for the kids, and the friendships forged there are especially strong. 

On the other hand, reading Wendell Berry and Thoreau, visiting my parents, and realizing our kids are moving out and on made me think maybe we need to put down roots so that they will come and visit us.  Retire?

Conversely, reading Elephant and Piggie in Someone is Reading Us say "I have more to give!!!" echoes in my mind. I received a long text from a Navy friend thanking me for a book and game I sent because she is spending 30 days in the hospital waiting for a bone marrow transplant and updating me on her status (hanging in there). I am so grateful for these friendships we've made in different places. I wonder if we should stay in the Navy and create more wonderful connections like those we have made so far.  Our children are moving on - so maybe we don't need roots? Stay Navy?

BUT we do still have a 5 - almost 6! - year old. I have always thought that I wanted to put down roots somewhere where the kids could run around outside and play in a woods and garden - maybe this last child will get that childhood? But she has no siblings to run and play with. Maybe we settle down and do foster care, an idea that is always echoing in the back of my mind because I admire the people who do it? And our parents are aging. They are all still healthy now, but the next two years could bring changes in their health. Retire?

BUT I also like the idea of being able to try new things, new ministries, new teaching opportunities, new hobbies, and of being able to leave behind obligations and drama when it's time to move - Stay Navy?

BUT I get frustrated with being a temporary contract worker, being an adjunct with no job stability. (My Nature Writing class didn't fill this quad, so I don't have a class for the next 8 weeks.) I think about potentially finishing my PhD at some point because I like reading and studying and discussing these ideas.  I would like to have more time to write papers and go to conferences, maybe, instead of figuring out which dentist to visit or where to get my hair cut.  I also like planting things and watching them grow.  Retire?

But maybe I like the freedom of not having to work, of being free to spend time with our family, doing things I like to do.  Am I motivated more by pride to work or because I like what I'm doing? Because my pay is almost inconsequential. Stay Navy and relieve the sense of needing to work?

AND there is the school/church piece - where will our faith grow stronger? Where will we be supported in raising our kids Catholic? Where will they be inspired to love God, their neighbor, and the world? To love life here on earth but to yearn for life in Heaven? I've felt frustrated here that our younger kids think we are "weird" for having a big family, for going to church on days that aren't Sunday, for making them go to events - which lately I haven't done a very good job of, because I get worn down by their complaints.  This problem is one that may exist everywhere.

So I'm still stuck. I met with our priest to get some advice about discernment, and he gave me some suggestions for charting consolations and desolations.  They are about equal each time I pretend we have made a decision for a day.  And it is only partially my input that goes into this decision. My husband happens to be on a mini-deployment for all of Lent on the other side of the globe, so we can't sit around and talk about it like we need to. He is wearied by the distances caused by this particular job - but if he went back to the facilities command job, he would not have to travel much - and he would likely have to travel some for a civilian job. So travel is kind of an equalizer as well...

At the most basic level, I know we will be fine whatever we decide to do - our choices are between good things.  And I know it all has a way of working out over time. For the last 24 years I have been daydreaming about getting out of the Navy, but now that the time has come, I am not so sure I'm ready to go!  Two years no longer seems a long time. The human heart has ways the mind cannot understand... I came here kicking and screaming, and now I will be dragging my heels as we leave - as has been the case at pretty much every duty station.  So I trust we'll find our niche wherever we end up.  It's just so hard to decide!

March comes in like a lion

One of my memories from early education was turning a paper plate into a lion face on one side and a lamb on the other to represent the saying "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb." This quote doesn't have any real relevance to the weather in Southern California - it comes in a little below 70 and sunny, and likely will go out the same, maybe a little over 70 and sunny. 

However, this March has brought a storm of activity and bleak news.  It all feels a little apocalyptic: deadly tornadoes in Tennessee, coronavirus encroachment, disconcerting news from family and friends, big decisions on the horizon.  The start of Lent has offered a lot of food for thought about living a life of faith.  And my husband is in the middle east in the desert for the duration of the season - his Lenten practices are a little easier to follow, except he will have no access to sacraments. 

For the most part, there is enough activity around here that I don't have time to sit and contemplate very much. But I admit I did go to the commissary and buy toilet paper and disinfecting wipes, which I genuinely needed, but I also went ahead and bought bleach and vinegar and refills of hand soap and powdered gatorade and vitamins, along with my regular full cart of groceries. I felt a little foolish in the check-out line - some of the checkers know me and know that we have a larger than average family, so we actually eat all this food, but I'm sure other shoppers, if they didn't already have bleach and bottled water in their carts, were wondering if I wasn't going a little overboard.  I have been thinking about our years in Mississippi and Guam when we kept a hurricane box ready to go, and never needed, and our Mormon friends who always keep bins in their garages with food and batteries, etc, for times of emergency.  It doesn't hurt to be prepared for something, does it? I keep wondering what is not being said, when these warnings are issued from newspaper and pulpit. 

Enough conspiracy theorizing, what I really need to be doing is finished quarter-term grades and taxes and setting up online course shells. So here are some photos from last week. I was going to write about Pico Iyer's and Alice Walker's talks - they were fabulous - but I don't have time. I took copious notes and am reading more of  their books when I can find a moment. They are very different writers and speakers, but equally interesting. 

A hummingbird nesting in our ficus tree. I found her when I was trimming the tree back a little - discontinued that job immediately- glad to have an excuse!

Pico Iyer interviewed by Dean Nelson as part of the Writer's Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University

Alice Walker

interviewed by Dean Nelson as part of the Writer's Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University

The house was packed for both writers.

Planting a tree for Arbor Day, celebrated a bit early around here.

College visits pt 2

Our most recent trip over President's Day weekend was to South Bend to visit our three older sons. The pretext was Expo Roma, the fourth-year architecture students' version of Junior Parents' Weekend. Other parents were in town for those events, but we primarily spent the weekend with the architecture students and their parents.  The school put on an exhibition of the work that the students did during their year in Rome, and some professors gave talks (my favorite was the architectural history professor who is studying "The Grand Tour" manuscripts from the 17th and 18th centuries - she found photos of the current students that mirrored sketches and paintings of European notables like Goethe and Byron lounging around Roma), parents sat in on reviews, and a few students shared what they learned in a slide show of their year, which offered a glimpse of the life they had lived in Italy without us watching over them. I wanted to cry about le temps perdu watching the slide show; I suspect a few of the students did, too.

In addition to spending time with our grown children, seeing their work, observing them in their native habitat, and revisiting the spots so relevant to our own love story, another highlight was meeting our sons' friends and their parents. I have trouble keeping everyone's names straight, but I loved the quick glimpse into the lives that the boys have created on their own away from home.  Having young adult children is a bittersweet pleasure. I am happy they are learning about things they enjoy. I like being around all the funny and fun-loving young people and hearing about how they are discovering their own traditions and reliving ones we enjoyed at their age. Every parent wants their kids to become responsible for their own lives, but those lives include us less and less.

Of course, I did the same thing - left home to go to college, got married, and never came back. We flew my parents out from Indiana to watch our younger kids while we went to Indiana. We had one whole day to spend together after we returned before they went back. Despite all of the many places, events, and people who have come in and out of our lives, these original family bonds remain strong. There is nothing like hanging out with your parents to make you feel younger.  I like having my mom around to make me coffee and take care of my laundry even though I'm much closer to 50 than 15 (or even 35).

One of the girls who spoke during the presentation on the year in Rome mentioned her skepticism before she went abroad about the platitude everyone told her: "It will change your life."  And yet, now she admitted, she is saying the same thing to the second-year students. Perhaps one of the biggest gifts of the year is the relationships these students forge with each other. And this event memorializing that year cements those relationships in memory -- it was a reminder of how important it is to take the time occasionally to see where we have been in order to help us determine where we are going.

Admiring the garibaldi

Making friends with the skink

blooming cactus

The egret above seems to want to enter the aviary

Happy with the grandparents

I should have framed a picture with the lagoon reflecting the sky. 

Chasing the sun

Temps on our arrival were a bitter 9 degrees

Our son pointed out the little guy to the right - he is
crying as he reads...

Winter colors

An Irish Madonna with our former Irish student

Spending time with son #3 in the renovated cafe once known as Waddicks with warm wooden bench booths, but now with open, airy modern chairs and tables. Not as inviting, but the signage is good.

Ivan Maestrovic Madonna

Relocated Maestrovics - museum/art pieces instead of icons for prayer?

As usual, lit a few candles for special intentions

Friendly squirrel may be difficult to spy

Cardinals around campus can't help but warm spirits

Award-winning project for a villa renovation

Fancy dinner night at Tippecanoe Place

My favorite city skyline

Random other pics to share:

A short hike around Mission Trails regional park, just to get out in the sun.

Fun date night