Just to warn you, . I can’t find my reading glasses. so I’m typing without being able to see the screen… Who knows what this is really going to say…

   What a peaceful day it has been.. . It started late as I kept falling back to sleep this morning. I was dreaming about Sam and kept wanting to go back for more.   I woke up and puttered around a bit then took Chai for a run. Around 11:30 we  all piled in car and went to St Albans to watch  Gabe play three lacrosse games.. Hey had a really good day out there.. We sit on the sidelines watching the game and shouting like everyone else.. it’s just that we don’t want to be those sort  of pushy parents who only yell for their kid… so we make up names to yell for Gabe.. our current favorite is ‘Balthazar’. Nothing is more peaceful than lying in the sun and watching those  games. It’s pretty interesting to compare to last year when we were at these same fields watching Sam play.. Last year absolutely every weekend was cold an rainy… this year.. every weekend has been warm and sunny. Funny how things work out.

    While we were out there watching Gabe play.., I called my folks to wish them a happy 50^th anniversary. I caught them by cell phone on top of a 9000 foot mountain they’d just climbed in Colorado. Now that’s the way you want to be spending your 50^th anniversary.. don’t you think ? My parents are truly amazing ! What an inspiration  Here’s a picture of them from several years back.. the funny thing is they still look like this !  Congratulations Ma and Pa.. I love you both so much !

   After lacrosse, we all came back to the house I spent a bit of time helping Diane garden.. she’s already got most of her first pass of flowers in.. and  we had to get them mulched.

I also worked on the pool and got the heater plumbed in.. Hopefully it will be ready to swim in by tomorrow afternoon. All the kids love that pool..   I thought of Sam the whole time I was futzing around with the plumbing.

    Around dusk we came in to grab a bite to eat.. Something didn’t smell right in the kitchen.. the more I sat there .. the worse it seemed to smell. It was definitely something … well… dead..   It seemed to be coming from under the stove. To make a very long and disgusting story short.. I pulled the stove out and discovered a recently demised rat which  was.. without exaggeration…  the size of a small cat… seriously it was 10 inches long without the tail !

Both Diane ad I ran outside gagging and laughing hysterically.. not at the poor rat.. but at our screwed up luck.. our wacky old house.. at fate… at what ? I don’t know.. it just seemed funny. Diane stayed out side and cheered me on while I went back in and extracted the rat from under the stove, cleaned the area. Then took the poor creature across the street and buried hom/her.  I know it sounds strange.. but I sat there and cried for the poor thing.  I felt a kinship in sampling how unfair life can be.. I stuck some flower  on the makeshift grave and went back in to eat…  …  Somehow I wasn’t hungry.. Never, ever a dull moment around here…

   I need to get some sleep now…  We have an all afternoon  meeting tomorrow with the Voices Project Movie team. The Movie is based on the very successful  stage presentation of the Voices Project that Max was part of in 2005. . We’re getting really excited about his participation.. and the opportunity to hang out with those kids again. Tomorrow we find out how many of them will be staying with us for the months of July and August.

    Ok.. now.. Off to sleep. I need to save my strength for the big Birthday bash on Monday.. BTW.. if you are coming we’d really appreciate folks to bring either a cake, drinks or anything else to share. It should be  a really good time.. We’ll all be ther for you Sam !

 

-me

 

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