Fiddleheads and The Last Two Feet of Snow

On Friday our good neighbor Pease brought us over a bag of fiddleheads he had picked that day. They made a great veggie dish to go with the delicious soup Lauren had created Saturday night. Fiddleheads are another sure sign of Spring and as I was surveying the back yard this morning with Dusty I admired the last two feet of snow. There’s a warm breeze blowing today and my guess is that by 8:00 AM tomorrow that snow will be history.

So good-bye snow

You’ve been nice to know

Bringing pleasure to the skiers

Aiding the economic flow

See you next season

When the cold winds blow

Beer

Beer

When I drink beer

I drink IPA

When I drink beer

IPA lot

A TRIBUTE TO DAUGHTERS

I have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend but one of the things that I’m most thankful for is my daughters.

Amber and Eva, they are beautiful in so many ways. What I’m thankful for is that at ages 26 and 22 they are both taking control of living their lives as they want to live them. Amber and Eva are very different even though they have the same parents and grew up in the same neighborhood. During those first few years of life Amber was the loud one and Eva was the quiet one but then it flip-flopped and Amber became the quiet one while Eva roared to life.

Amber was academic, organized, and diligently doing her homework saw mostly A’s on her report card. Her bedroom was a showpiece of neatness and order. Eva was social and it seemed to me that maybe she thought the purpose of school was to meet and talk with your friends. Her homework usually got lost under some mound of clothes on her bed or the floor.

As time went on the differences became clearer and I realized they were being true to themselves. Nowadays Amber will drive an hour to hear a poetry reading while Eva will travel to a local pub to belt out a song on Karaoke. Amber reads Edith Wharton while Eva listens to Lady GaGa.

Impossible as it is for me to be unbiased, let me say that Amber is a wonderful writer and poet. I hope she continues to write more. Amber who is very careful in her decision making process decided she wanted to move back to New England last May. So both her and her boyfriend Tommie quit their jobs in San Diego with no prospect of a job in their pockets and put themselves where they wanted to be. Amber has already said no to jobs that don’t match her desires. She’s picking, choosing and trying out things that interest her. Right now she’s working at a place where she meets with different artists every day. I know if these jobs don’t remain interesting and fun she’ll move on. I love that she’s making those scary and unknown choices and testing the world to see what’s best. I know she will find a very comfortable balance in her life.

Eva is a wonderful teacher and karaoke singer. For years she’s been known in the family as a kid magnet…they gravitate to her. Now she has her own preschool class of 3 to 5 year olds that she handles 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year. She does projects with the kids, she nurtures them, she loves them and they love her. Eva says she’s never going to leave San Diego. She loves the glitter, the glam, and the pop culture. She loves her gay neighborhood of Hillcrest with all it has to offer. She has good friends and good times. I’m thankful that she’s independent and in a good place in her life.

So there sisters….this blog’s for you. Keep following your dreams and desires.

Love,
Dad

A New Journey for Amber,Tommie and Maya

Changes. Here's the photo taken at 9:22 AM this morning of Amber, Tommie and Maya as they leave San Diego with all their belongings packed in the back of this Penske Truck and head east towards Gloucester, Mass. Maya likes this truck which is a big bonus. We hugged and cried and wished them safe travels until we get to see them again this summer. The family picture is of us last night having our final meal together on our deck. It was a beautiful night. It has been so nice to have both our daughters Eva, Amber and proxy son Tommie all so close to us these past 3 years. I guess we can't be hogs though so now it's time for Tommie's parents and Amber's grandparents in Mass to have this pleasure.

Looking back since the time they moved out here it's wild to think of all the adventures they had and changes they went through. They both made their mark at the jobs they had. If Tommie had decided to stay there's no doubt in my mind that he would have been on the San Diego City Council or some other power position. Amber excelled as the assistant editor for Mortgage Originator Magazine. Whatever they do next they'll shine. Amber is a poet so I wrote a poem for them.

A New Journey

A new Journey begins from West to East
the view of the future is known the least
It begins with a Penske and Toyota in tow
but the route they will take they don’t really know

Amber and Tommie with Maya between
stretching her neck for whatever can be seen

On this Journey they will go and on this Journey they’ll succeed
to reach the point that they have planned
The Village of Magnolia in the City of Gloucester
Home of the Fisherman
Birthplace of the Two

We know that this is just the start
with fits of fear if things look dark
yet forward is the way time moves so they’ll sync with it
test what they like, adapt and then change to have more likings
when they watch the clock
and Maya will jump and lick their faces
as they take her to these unknown places

On the journey they have some control and
sometimes no control
But they’ll do what they need to and do what they want to
So that joy comes more often than sorrow
And they’ll look forward to tomorrow.