until my cousin Eileen’s lunch break, and I’m absolutely committed to getting something up before she checks in to find that old lame-o has let another weekend slip by with no post. So here goes:
Boston rocked. As always. Not a whole lot of photos to show since I took mostly people shots, but here are a couple of highlights.
The plane touched down at 6:30am on Wednesday morning, so I got to see my niece and nephew off to the bus stop. It was a gorgeous summery morning.
Here was an early morning find. Score! Got to love inchworms.
After school, my nephew showed me the sarcophagus he made at school – complete with mummy. He filled me in on the Egyptian unit they were working on in his class. You know, a couple of weeks ago, my niece told me on the phone, “Second grade isn’t what it used to be, Laura,” and I’m starting to believe that the same can be said for kindergarten!
Since we always go back east during the summertime, it was a particular treat to get a glimpse of the school life for all the kids in our family. I had the chance to check out Eileen’s daughter’s pre-k room – it was awesome. It’s in my old junior high school, which is now an elementary school – a vast improvement, if you ask me. So fun to see those halls now filled with cubbies and art everywhere.
They were having a spring concert on Friday and the kids were all dressed up – remember those perfect spring days? The end of school is so close you can almost touch it, there are final projects, concerts, events, and the days are mingled excitement and hope. Summer might just actually arrive. It still gives me butterflies.
On Thursday I traveled out to scenic Worcester with my parents and my aunt Carmen, to help my great aunt Agnes move from one side of her residence to another. She lives in the Notre Dame du Lac Assisted Living Center, which is an amazing place. First off, it’s gorgeous:
This is the view from the front door – the grounds are long and lush.
And here is the front door itself. Not too shabby. This used to be the convent for the Notre Dame nuns – it has so many beautiful details today, but wouldn’t you love to have seen it when it was first built? Even more impressive than the grounds, though, is the staff. What a stunning group of people – from management to nursing to grounds staff, they were friendly, kind and professional. We had a fun day moving and packing and having a great lunch with Aunt Agnes, who was witty and elegant. The move went a little too smoothly, with no fights or swearing at all, so naturally I’m concerned that we might not have done it properly. We’ll keep our fingers crossed on that one.
On Saturday, my goddaughter made her First Communion and she had a spectacular day. It poured, of course, but that must be good luck for more than weddings, right? There was a wonderful party at my sister’s with relatives from all over the place. Her grandparents and great aunt flew in from Ohio, cousins drove in from all around New England, and it’s difficult to describe the feeling in the house without sounding corny. It’s a certain chaotic embrace that every child should get to feel.
There she is, beautiful girl.
It was all just wonderful. Four sweet, dense, flourless-chocolate-cake days. I wished Tom and the kids could have been there to see everyone and hear my nephew’s Amazing Talking Dog joke, but July will be here before we know it.
Ding dang it – looks like I just talked right through lunch period. Someone needs to work on her time management skills…