Friday.
His mom came to pick him up while he frantically tried to get tasks done that should’ve been done the night before, a night spent being out until the wee hours of the morning, soaking in every last minute possible with friends. As he was about to leave, I noticed tears start to form in his eyes and then they start for me, in turn. A deep long hug and then he’s off. This’ll be the last ti...
Thursday.
Tomorrow, my kid heads off to college. It’ll take a few days to really sink in—likely in the process of cleaning up what’s left of his room after he’s left. I am taking moments to be present. We had dinner last night on the back porch. It’ll be the last time we have dinner together in this house. The weather was pleasant. I could see a plane contrail left in the mostly clear but now ...
Sundials
As a kid, I’d lie in a sea of green grass, looking up at the ocean of blue sky, watching the clouds pass overhead, a chinook wind blowing over me. Today, as I sit on my balcony, as I do many days during the warm (or blistering hot) summer days, the ever-changing clouds continue their swift pass while the shadows of buildings seem firmly planted against the ground. The concrete and brick towe...
Birthday Widgets
I can’t remember birthdays all that well. They do only happen once a year, after all. But I like to reach out to some people to wish them a happy birthday. In the Apple ecosystem, adding a birthdate to a contact will show their birthday in Apple Calendar. Personally, though, I find it can be a bit noisy. Between my own calendar, kids’ calendars, garbage pickup calendar, my mom’s calend...
I’m Still July
July had originally looked to be a quiet month but as June was coming to a close, I got invited by friends to a restaurant in Italy: Lido 84. I had considered going to Lido 84 years ago but logistics never quite worked out so I quickly said yes to this opportunity. After all the planning and execution of June events, I half-assed invitations to host Canada Day and was secretly delighted when mo...
A Life in Three Acts
When asked what advice he had for actors, Denzel Washington pulled out an interesting quote: First part of your life you learn, second part of your life you earn, third part of your life you return. I had considered including this quote in my Enough post because the quote feels good. It rhymes and it follows the Rule of Three. But the more I kept analyzing and over-analyzing the quote, ...
Enough
“What if I actually have already achieved everything I’m going to achieve in my life,” Dan Mall asks. “What does it feel like to live like someone where everything new is a bonus, not a desire and certainly not a need?” At fifty-one, I have most likely passed the mid-point of my life. Given the older generation within my family have passed away in their 80s and 90s, I likely have thre...
June, Baby
I don’t think I expected this month to be as busy as it was. The month was bookended with birthday parties. I did lunch with my high school friends, lunch with my first roommate when I moved out at 18, and then a group birthday party to celebrate my son’s girlfriend’s kids. At the end was my mom’s 80th birthday which had me organizing nearly 50 people to hang out at my uncle’s fa...