Two Girls, a Cat, and a Bunny

At the end of March, my daughter, Kerry, moved from Nashville back to Connecticut.  Two days after getting home,  she closed on a condo in  a town about 20 minutes from our house.

It's a two bedroom condo which she is sharing with

one of her best friends from high school - Mel.

They were both very excited about living together!

Her pod arrived the next day and she started moving in.

Fletcher was very curious about his new home.

Fletcher sticks very close to Kerry at all times.

The condo was in great condition: new hardwood floors and carpeting, freshly painted, updated bathrooms.  There really wasn't much that needed to be done.

Kerry found this beautiful sofa on Craigslist.

When Adam and Annie were home,  we all went over to Kerry's for breakfast one morning.

Fletcher is very happy with his new home.  In Nashville, he lived on the second story of an apartment building and couldn't see much from the windows.  Here, his world has expanded.  Birds, squirrels, stray cats - he's always on the lookout.

He spent so much time standing at the front door that Kerry now moves a chair next to the door so he can sit and enjoy the view.

Not only can he watch the outside world for entertainment,

but he also has a friend to play with inside.  Mel has a bunny named Chewy.  Mel is just as crazy about Chewy as Kerry is about Fletcher.

Two girls, a cat, and a bunny.  Living together in harmony.

It's great to have Kerry living so close again!

Staying Current with Snapchat

As the years go by, one of the ways I try to stay connected to the "younger generation" is to become knowledgeable about social media apps that they use.  Just last week, I decided it was time to learn more about Snapchat, so I got the app and asked Annie to show me how to use it.  In particular,  I learned about the filters in Snapchat that make it easy to change the picture in creative ways.

My husband, on the other hand, has no interest (or time) to engage in social media.  He only uses email and text messages.  His lack of understanding has often been a source of amusement in our family.

My daughter, Kerry, started orientation at Hartford Hospital on Monday.  She and Annie frequently Snapchat funny things to each other.  On Monday,  Kerry sent Annie this picture.

Annie,  in turn, thought this was funny and 

shared it with the rest of the family on a group text message.

Here are the responses:

He told us at the dinner table later that night that he thought Hartford Hospital 

was trying to make orientation more fun by having a face painting station!

Yesterday,  I experimented with the app and tried the same filter on me.

It was so much fun,  I tested out all of the other filters too.

But the most fun of all is the "face-swap" filter. 

It allows you to take a picture of two faces, but the filter 

swaps the faces, keeping the rest of the head intact.

Since I didn't have anyone else here to take a picture with,

I used photos.  The results were amusing!  Enjoy!

Swapped with Adam

Swapped with Vance!

Swapped with Annie.

Swapped with Kerry.

And last, but not least, my mother-in-law!

Twenty-Five

If I had to name an age where I first felt like a real adult,  I'd have to say it was when I was twenty-five years old.  At age 25,  I had been working at my first job for a few years and I was newly married (one month).  It was a time when I had many of the responsibilities of an adult, but without the cares of a house or children. It was a pretty sweet time of life.

My son, Adam, turned twenty-five yesterday.  I think parents always see the "child" in their children, no matter what their age.  However, I have to say he seems more and more adult-like with each passing day.

On Thursday, Annie went to visit Adam and spent a normal workday with him at the  school where he teaches.

 I would have liked to be there to see Adam on the job, interacting with his students, but it would be slightly embarrassing for him to have his mom observing his classes!
Having his sister there was so much nicer!

At my request,  Annie took a few pictures for me.

  

Waiting for the subway.

Crossing the street to his school.

Preparing for his day.

Unfortunately, since the students aren't allowed to have cell phones in school,  Annie refrained from using hers when the students were there.  

I don't have pictures, but Annie told us so much about her day.  She loved her interactions with the kids, and tried to find out what they thought of her brother as a teacher.  She told us she had expected Adam to have a "teacher persona" - a little bit tougher demeanor or a little bit more authoritative tone of voice.  However, she was wrong.  Adam was exactly the same with his students as he is with everyone else.  Adam was just Adam. 

I think the kids can spot when a teacher genuinely loves his job and genuinely cares for his students, because Annie observed that Adam's students seem to really like him.  I'm not surprised.

Adam came home to celebrate his birthday last night.  

The whole family was at home.  

Kerry came over early and helped me with the cooking, since she hasn't begun her new job yet.

Ginger chicken, fried rice, potato salad, sweet potatoes, veggies...

and a few libations.

Adam had requested an ice cream cake, 

which I made - and Kerry decorated.

He opened his gifts - shirt, tie, gift cards, but one gift was very unique.

Grandma Alice repurposed a joke gift (t-shirt) that Adam had given her

for Christmas and made it into a pillow!

Adam has this week off from school and is spending a little bit

of time at home before heading back to the city.  It's nice to have

him home with us for a while.

He can take a break from the adult world for a few days.

We will cook for him and let him sleep as long as he wants.

I remember what it was like to go home to my parent's house.

No matter how old I was, the

responsibilities of adulthood were eased

when I was there with my mom and dad.

Happy Birthday, Adam!

My Window - April 3, 2016