Over the weekend, the four of us (D was home for spring break) sat at the dining room table, eating dinner. We were having a conversation about J’s college plans, and he brought up possibly going to a local college. I said, “Sure, that’d be fine. I’m fine with your living at home for a little longer.” And then, grinning, I emphasized, “A LITTLE longer. Just not forever!” D said, “Well, one of us needs to stay with you guys forever…” (He was laughing.) Jim stated, “Sure, you can both stay with us forever, as long as you pay rent!” Nearly 19-year-old D replied, “Okay! Hugs and kisses everyday*!“ What…
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Taking Care of (Unfinished) Business
One of my all-time favorite activities is traveling. Back in high school, a friend and I talked about becoming travel agents someday. We subscribed to a couple of travel magazines, occasionally stopped in at the travel agency for brochures, and clipped articles and ads for places we’d like to visit someday. Putting together our little notebooks full of exotic vacations was thrilling, and since actual money wasn’t involved, the sky was the limit. Having the freedom to go wherever we wanted was an exciting thought. Some people would be terrified of experiencing new cultures and new languages; my heart beats faster at just the thought of it. Unfortunately for me,…
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The Blizzard of 2011 Was An Overachiever, Just Like Someone Else I Know (And NO, I’m Not Talking About ME.).
In fact, though my friends in the northeast have referred to their overabundance of snow this winter as “Snowmageddon” and other such intimidating names, many of us in Chicago have referred to our blizzard as Snowprah. Snowprah Wintry, to some. I love it. I mean seriously, Oprah has had a 25th Farewell Season that yielded way more than even she ever expected, like the half-sister she never knew about, and–OF COURSE–having my own sister and me as a part of her audience. Having an actual blizzard named after her? Oh my, I’m sure she never imagined that would ever happen. So, Snowprah. The media coverage of this storm (and the…
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Meet The Museum of Science and Industry’s Roommate, Kate McGroarty!
When I was a kid, one of my favorite books was “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler”, by E. L. Konigsburg. The story detailed the adventures of Claudia Kincaid and her younger brother Jamie as they ran away from home and moved into the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. They spent their days tagging along with school groups exploring the museum’s exhibits, and spent their evenings bathing in fountains (grabbing coins from the bottom to buy food from the vending machines) and sleeping in the beds of kings and queens from another time. Though I wasn’t the kind of kid who wanted to run…
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Halloweekend
The older boy’s college hosted their annual Family Weekend this past Friday through Sunday, so Jim and I made plans to go up there. (The younger boy originally–before he was struck with a three-day fever–had school on Friday and a full weekend of activities himself, so we left him in the great care of Aunt Julesie.) Actually, Jim had to be at work on Friday, so he planned to take the train in the evening, and I got to spend the day with the older boy by myself. It was a great day, a great weekend. I won’t bore you with all of the details (especially because I am sharing…