All Good Things...

This past month has been a very special time for me because my whole family was home!   We would be moving Adam to NYC on July 6 and Kerry to Nashville on July 10, so I was treasuring my time with them.  

Even though I know we will all be together in this house in the future, I also know that this was most likely the last time we would all be LIVING here together. Wow!  The magnitude of this thought brings tears to my eyes!

Seeing my garage filled with all that they would be taking with them kept reminding me of how temporary this time was.

We had talked about taking a family vacation together during this time, but the idea was nixed in favor of relaxing at home.  So we did normal things.  We watched Master Chef together on Monday nights.  The girls watched The Bachelorette (Adam would never admit to watching such a show, but he spent a lot of time standing in the kitchen while it was on, asking lots of questions!).  Some of Adam's friends spent time with us - Emily, Kayla and Pat.  Lucas came over so that Adam could whoop him at badminton.  We went to the beach.

The one thing we did most often, though, was drive to Collins Creamery in the evening for ice cream.

So on our final night all together, after having dinner at home with Grandma Alice, we headed to Collins one last time.  Kerry's friends Mel and Parker came along with us.

                                    

                                 

There were many towns having their 4th of July fireworks displays that night and we were fortunate to be able to watch them over the corn field as we ate our cones.

                                    

                      Before we left, Adam and Kerry took a picture with their grandmother.

                           Then Mel offered to take a picture of our whole family.

                           This was the last time Kerry would see Parker before leaving.

                              There would be many more good-byes to come.

                                      All good things must come to an end.

A Boy and His Dog

"In order to have a true perspective of one's importance, everyone should have a dog that will worship him and a cat that will ignore him."   Dereke Bruce

This quote perfectly fits my son, Adam.

Our dog, Sami, adores Adam.  Our cat, Maddie, rejects any of his attempts to make friends.

Sami lived the first half (5 years) of his life with Adam living at home.  For the last 5 years, Adam had lived mostly in Vermont.  He came home only here and there for weekends or holidays, or a few months during the summer.

When Adam is home he pays a lot of attention to the dogs - he truly loves having them around.

Sami has a very special bond with Adam, though.  

When Adam is not home, Sami sleeps in my bedroom.  But whenever Adam comes home, things change.  Sami waits for me to go to bed and stays in my room until I turn out the light.  I hear him get up and saunter down the hallway, his toenails clicking on the hardwood floor.  If Adam's door is shut, he stands on his hind legs and pushes against the door while one paw pushes the door handle down.  Then he lays down next to Adam's bed and stays until morning.

Adam was home for over a month this summer and Sami was a happy boy.

                 

We have an empty space in our kitchen cabinets while we wait for a new beverage refrigerator.  Sami likes to lay in there.  Adam, being the thoughtful person that he is, made a sign and named the space "Sami's Nook".  He even decorated it with pictures of Sami's favorite things:             

Bunnies, popcorn, fans, apples...

Baywood Kennels,  the cat's litter box...

What a lucky dog!

Well, Adam has moved out once again.  

On Sunday, we drove him to New York City where he will spend the next year in graduate school.

Sami wanted to go too.

 

That night, after I turned out my light, I watched him walk down the hall to Adam's room.  He stood by the door and listened, hoping to hear Adam's fan. He looked confused.  I went and opened the bedroom door for him and watched sadly as he lay next to the empty bed.

                                    

                                        

He didn't stay.  He must have figured it out because within a few minutes I heard his nails clicking back down the hallway before he jumped onto the bottom of my bed. 

I understand, Sami. 

I miss him too.

    

Oldies, but Goodies (Happy Birthday, Kerry!)

July 7.

It's Kerry's 22nd birthday today!!!

We already celebrated her birthday a few days ago with her longtime good friends.

We've gathered around this table so many times before.

We've listened to the details of each of their lives as they catch up with each other.

And we always look forward to the times they get together at our house.

These good times will be getting more difficult from now on, though.

They have all graduated from college this year and their lives are about to change.

Kerry, Mel, Taylor, Parker, and Kaylee

On this birthday get-together, each of them was feeling a little hesitant, nervous,  or uncertain about their futures.

What was Kerry wishing for this year?

What are they all wishing for?

Whatever those wishes are,  I am absolutely sure that being together

for Kerry's birthday gave them a respite from their worries.

For Vance and I, some of our happiest times are when our table is filled

with our children and their friends.

We've watched them grow up and we are proud of the people they have become.

But there was someone missing for the table this year.

Kaylee skyped into the party from Hawaii where she's working this summer.

It has become a tradition to take a group picture together, and we did it again this year even though Kaylee was not actually here in person!

Kerry, you are loved more than you know.

Happy 22nd Birthday!

Here are some pictures of times together from past years...

JT

This is a photo of me from the early 1970's.  I was standing in my bedroom which I shared with my two sisters.  I was wearing my signature Lee jeans.  The style wasn't quite as form fitting back then.  Sweater vests were "in".  This was before I wore makeup or took much time styling my hair.  I was holding two things that were important to me at the time:  my cat "Diddles and my Raggedy Ann doll that adorned my bed.

You can't see it in the picture, but to the right against the wall was a portable record player.  By portable, I me it was in a fold-up carrying case that you could take with you to another room. There were no personal devices like we have today to listen to music wherever you go.

So it was in my bedroom that I would play my records that I bought with the limited funds I had.  Most of the time I would buy "singles".  When I went to bed at night, I'd stack up a bunch of singles and they would play one by one as I was drifting off to sleep.  Sometimes the needle would hit a scratch in the surface of the record and it would either skip a part of the song, or worse it would keep repeating until I got up out of bed and moved the needle off the scratch.  That was very annoying.

Sometimes, if I really liked a lot of songs by one artist, I would splurge and buy an entire album.

I had a few of James Taylor's albums.

I have always been the kind of person who likes to spend time alone and contemplate life and all of it's complexities.  I would lay on my bed and listen to his songs over and over.  His songs were soothing to my young soul that felt things deeply and spent many hours trying to make sense of what I knew of life at that time.  He was like therapy for me.

His lyrics spoke to me.  His mellow voice was so easy to listen to and sing to.

Oh, and one other thing - he was cute.

One of my favorite songs of all time is  "You've Got a Friend".

I dug this up from the 1970's....





For our 30th wedding anniversary,  Vance bought tickets to see James Taylor perform at Tanglewood on July 3.  It was a fabulous concert!

I loved every minute of the the concert, which was close to 3 hours long.

  At 66 years old, his voice is just as clear and sweet and soothing as it was 40 years ago.

I bought another James Taylor album yesterday, only this time it was on itunes.

And I'd have to say, if anything, he's gotten even better with age.

#JTlove