The great paint project

When I was a graduated senior from Westfield, NJ High School, I painted my parent's 3 story house. It had grey shingles. (I always spell grey with an e.) This summer Annie, entering sophomore at U of Wisconsin-Madison, has contracted to paint our 3 story. The 3rd floor dormers are vinyl-sided, so she won't need to rent a longer ladder like I did the day I painted the exterior 3rd floor.

Lawn mowing

So, just a few weeks ago, I realized that Sam wouldn't be around to mow the lawn. Since we have an acre of land, this is a big deal. Jim mowed a week or two ago and today was my turn. I clocked it as exactly 2 hours.

My hands are very sore from squeezing the safety handle for two hours. No blisters raised.
Note to self: wear garden gloves while mowing.

Sam's majority

It's the end of an era: twenty-eight years of mothering minor children. At the suggestion of a wise friend of mine, I've been preparing, trying to give myself permission to recognize this as a stressful transition: happy stress, but something with emotional weight. To pay attention to my emotional self and not try to tough it out by ignoring or denying the deep emotions that surface. I have kept myself from crying uncontrollably, but I have accepted tears welling up and acknowledged the feelings.

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Sam's graduation was June 7, 2009 at the Tsongas Arena in Lowell. Then on Thursday, June 18, he packed up and we drove him to Logan Airport. As I watched him clear security and saunter down the gate corridor to disappear from sight, I turned to Jim and cried on his shoulder. Such a mixture of pride, joy, sadness, and curiousity of what his future will hold. He texted me when he boarded the flight and now he's at BYU, getting oriented and starting classes on Monday.