Leaving on a Jet Plane

August 23. 2012

 The time has come.  This morning, Austin got on a plane with his mom to start his new life in New York.  Austin has been like a brother to Brianna and has been my 'extra son' since they were in the second grade together.  This brilliant young man was given the opportunity to go study in Albany at a college which offers a major in nano-technology, his field of choice.  I'm thrilled for him, but also a little nervous.  Clear across the country, so far away from his family....I'm thankful that we have Facebook and Skype to make those miles seem less like a chasm.  Of course, he'll not be alone long--he's such a kind-hearted and friendly guy that he'll have a new 'adopted' family on the East Coast in no time, I'm sure of it. 

Until We Meet Again

August 16, 2012

Farewell dinner for Austin before he leaves for school in New York.  I told Austin I'd take him out to dinner at a restaurant of his choice, and he chose Giuseppe Gallo's.  (Obviously, he's a very smart boy!)  I'm quite certain we stayed and reminisced and talked about future plans for at least three and a half  hours before we finally let the staff clean up and usher us out the door well after closing. I'm so thrilled Bree and Austin had a chance to spend some time together before they both headed off to college again.

Spring Break Road Trip

April 4, 2012

We were all still in school when Bree came home for Spring Break, so we didn't really get a chance to 'vacation' together. Many of her friends were out of school too, though, so a few of her best friends decided to do a quick overnight trip to the coast together. I told her I'd let her go on three conditions:

1) She had to text me as soon as she got there. (She did.)
2) She had to make Marlowe promise to drive safely. (Marlowe gave me her promise.)
and
3) She had to take pictures. (I love that my kid knows how important pictures are to me, and she was perfectly willing to humor me. Small price to pay to be able to get away for a quick mini-vacation.)


Oh, I just adore all of these kids--I love that it looks like they had so much fun together!

Home Again, and All is Good

March 25, 2012

Much as I love the kids Bree hangs out with at college, I adore the ones from home. And home is where she is--right now. My baby girl is home from college for spring break, and I'm loving it. I also love that she was able to get together with her 'brother' Austin. It does my heart good to see them back together again, close as ever despite the miles and time. That's true friendship!


My goofy darlings!

My, How They've Grown....

June 1, 2011

My friend Susan, who is a librarian at our elementary school, just sent me this picture the other day. It's an old picture of the Destination Imagination team that I coached when the kids were in second grade--Bree, Austin, Nicole, and Macie. They were checking out materials for their competition skit. So many years later, just the day before this picture was sent to me, I had taken a picture of these same little darlings, all grown up, at the CSF Banquet. It has been a real privilege to see these kids all grow into amazing young adults. It's also been an especially meaningful year, since all of these kids ended up in my English class for their senior year.

CSF Banquet 2011

June 1, 2011

The CSF Banquet: the culmination of an awful lot of hard work and effort on the part of the scholarly, academic-minded kids of the graduating class. It's a night to honor all that hard work (and an amazing collective I.Q. in the room), as well as a night to pay tribute to the parents of those kids and mentor-teachers who have helped and inspired their students on their educational journey. This year I was lucky enough to attend the banquet in a dual capacity--extremely proud parent to my darling daughter Brianna, and honored sponsor of Miss Macie Mellor. It's honestly one of my favorite events each year, but this year was especially meaningful. It's so amazing to hear about all the things these kids have accomplished, as well as their lofty goals for the future.

Simone Leighty, CSF speaker

Brianna with her proud mom and dad
Brianna with her sponsor, Kathleen Gleason

Macie and me

Austin and Bree

Me with Maddy Roubicek
Bree, Angel, and Macie
Nicole, Bree, and Simone
Austin and me
Me and my baby
Bree, Austin, and Nicole

Musical Jeopardy--Spring Choir Show Bree's Senior Year

May 19, 2011

Last week was the Spring Show for choir. Bree's been involved in choir for several years, and this was the final performance of her high school year. The Musical Jeopardy theme was fun and upbeat, but nostalgia still kicked in for Mom, so it's quite possible there were a few tears--in a good way, of course. So many of these friends of hers are kids she's grown up with, and I've seen them all blossom from little kids playing on the elementary playground to wonderful young adults getting ready to seek out their futures in the world. I can't wait to see what's next for these kids.

My baby, all grown upBree and her best friend, Shelby
Bree and her boyfriend Aaron--their very own American Gothic

Bree and one of her oldest and dearest friends, Austin
Nicole and Bree--friends from many years back
Part of the kids' second grade Destination Imagination team, plus the mom-coaches: Michelle and Nicole, Bree and me, Cindi and Macie, and Austin
Proud mamas
Bree and her best friend from elementary school, Macie
Austin, Nicole, Bree, and Macie--friends for eleven years

My sweet boy Austin
Miss Natalie--gotta love that kid!
Amber and Bree--these girls adore each other
Kathryn and Bree--'just-as-good-as-sisters' friends