Day 51 - February 29: Leap Lunch

The initial connection was through our sons, but there is so much more that connects us now.  Lunch with three great friends was the perfect way to celebrate a day that doesn't come along every year. 

Day 50 - February 28: Ball Boy

The only soccer playing member of our family. 

Day 49 - February 27: Solar Rover

Made by Stuart (with the help of a kit), it has a Coke can body, four big green wheels, solar panels for power - and the ability to captivate the attention of three sixth grade boys.

Day 48 - February 26: Escaping Saigon

Today Lane and I finished a book of poetry that tells the story of a ten year old girl escaping Saigon with her family and arriving in Alabama, replete with racism and bullying, but also kindness and generosity.  I shared with Lane the story of Kamsing and Thoumma, who arrived in my hometown when I was in high school, sponsored by our church.  They had escaped Laos by swimming across the Mekong River with their young children strapped to their backs.  They then spent several years in the same Thai refugee camp that my sister, Jean had worked in a few years before.  Even as a self centered teenager, I was in awe of their profound bravery and sacrifice, as well as the compassionate outpouring of our church.  It was my brothers, as teenagers, who taught them to drive - and my mother who, among other things, bought Thoumma's homemade spring rolls to support her fledgling enterprise.  Tragically, Kamsing died five years after arriving in the US - he had a massive heart attack that was caused, no doubt, by the stress of war and escape and holding a family together on foreign soil.  Today, Thoumma is happily remarried and her kids, now in their 30's, are college educated, married, and living the American Dream. 

Day 47 - February 25: The Artist

I took myself to the movies today.  I had wanted to see "The Artist" before the Oscars were announced and found it playing at the Dedham Community Theater, a great little spot that opened in 1927 with "The General" starring Buster Keaton ("Matinees - 20 cents.  All seats upholstered!").  "The Artist" is a silent film nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture.  It opens in Hollywood, 1927 - I had come to the right place.

Day 46 - February 24: Snow Valley

When I was a kid, we would travel to Vermont for New Years and stay at the Candlelight Motel, a pet friendly place that still boasts of in-room phones and cable TV.  Pure luxury.  We would ski at nearby Snow Valley, a throw back, no frills operation with a few hundred feet of elevation.  Our dog, Rebel would run alongside as we traveled up the mountain by rickety T Bar and then hurled ourselves down Steeple Chase, Bulldozer, and Boomerang.  Alas, the mountain closed in 1982.  Rumor has it that a private investor has purchased the property with dreams of reopening the place.  In the meantime, the stone chimney is all that remains of the base lodge, though the trails are visible and the lift cables still stand.  Today, on a cold, cloudy day, I took my kids down memory lane - saddened by what I saw of this special place but hopeful that its rebirth will come.

Day 45 - February 23: T Bar

It's the ultimate test of patience, sacrifice, and love, not to mention balance, strength, and endurance - it's riding the T Bar with your child, hunched over with the bar resting uncomfortably behind your knees.  Problem is, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find the darn things anymore.  Fortunately, Bromley provided Douglas with the opportunity to prove his love to Lane.

Day 44 - February 22: The Bunk Room

For four days this week, we are visiting our friends Doug, Lauri, and Parker in Manchester, Vermont.  We've brought along Garland and Walt and kids, as well as Melissa and Erik and kids, making for a total of 12 guests.  Lauri was kind enough to secure their neighbor's house for us to use (in addition to their own) - a warm and cozy log cabin with a fantastic bunk room.  I'm not sure there's anything better than sleeping with your best friends in a place like this.

Day 43 - February 21: Blending In

My pack is going somewhere and I do not want to be left behind.

Day 42 - February 20: Whitla Brothers

Today I took advantage of the blue skies and light holiday traffic to visit a few of Douglas' job sites and take pictures for the website.  I left, as always, amazed by the talent and skill reflected in these works of art - and in awe of my husband, who manages the enormous number of moving pieces as well as the myriad of personalities and interests with remarkable aplomb.

Day 41 - February 19: Movie Making

Lane and Stuart had friends, Graham, Maddy, and Tyler over to play today.  They wrote, directed, produced, starred in, and edited a terrific movie, set in multiple backyards and showcasing the talents of the entire cast - truly an ensemble performance.  I'm proud of their creativity and teamwork - and marvel at their aptitude and fearlessness around technology.  For once, I am thrilled about the screen time.

Day 40 - February 18: Extreme and Incredible

If I were to make a list of favorite things to do, going to the movies would easily make it into the Top Ten and yet, I hardly ever go.  When the Oscar nominations came out, I was ashamed and dismayed - I hadn't seen a single Best Picture nominated movie.  I've got some work to do.  Tonight Douglas and I took Mom and Dad to the movies (dinner + movie + chauffeuring = Christmas gift).  We enjoyed a fun dinner and saw "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close".  I don't think I breathed for 2 hours and 9 minutes.  It was amazing - rich and powerful, devastating and inspiring.    

Day 39 - February 17: Dog Bath

It's the best $18 I've ever spent.  This morning, after a particularly yucky run, during which Rufus romped and wrestled with his gang of mangy dog pals and then rolled in mud and other unidentifiable gook, I threw him in the car and headed to the self-service dog wash.  In each bay, a small ramp leads to an enclosed, waist-high tub, complete with a high-volume spray hose and plenty of shampoo.  After the bath, there are a stack of clean dry towels ready for the rub down (between shakes).  It's a full contact sport, during which I become as soggy and hairy as Ru, but it's hilarious and satisfying and, best of all, I get to leave the filthy towels, tub, and surrounding area behind, bringing home just the dog and his wet-dog smell.

Day 38 - February 16: HMS

For the past 10 years, I have joined my rheumatologist, Mike Weinblatt for his lecture to fourth year pharmacology students at Harvard Medical School.  Mike has directed many of the pivotal trials in RA and is recognized internationally as a leader in the field.  Alas, I am not.  Apparently, though, I am a poster child for the enormous difference recent drug discoveries have made to patients with RA.  My job this morning was to intersperse the goboly gook alphabet soup that is pharmacology with before-treatment and after-treatment stories of my life with RA.  Mike wants me there because apparently there are brilliant students at this esteemed institution who still think of old grannies when they hear "arthritis" and that my story is compelling.  What drives me to be there is the hope that one of those now enlightened brilliant minds will pursue the field and pick up where Mikes leaves off.   Oh, and so I can tell my friends that I lecture at Harvard Medical School.

Day 37 - February 15: I Think I'll Keep Him

I really don't care if Valentine's Day was created by Hallmark and FTD - there is nothing more romantic than seeing my dear husband bust through the door after a long day at work clutching a bundle of flowers.  I fall for it hook, line, and sinker.

Day 36 - February 14: Valentines

Every day something happens to remind me that my kids are growing up.  In anticipation of Valentine's Day, I inquired about the planned festivities at the middle school (to ensure that we had an adequate supply of cards on hand) and was told that "Valentine's Day is like any other day at Blake Middle School".  Thank goodness I've got Lane, who spent a great deal of time decorating the small wooden hearts we buy to support Dana Farber - and writing a compliment to each classmate (okay, yes, that was a required component of the assignment).  I did notice that Stuart left today wearing red shorts, which proves that Valentine's Day is not like any other (February) day at Blake Middle School.

Day 35 - February 13: Veggies

We have a friend living on the Cape who is battling cancer.  She has a cook who blends together crazy miraculous vegetable concoctions of goodness that infuse her with strength.  My small part is to buy the ingredients (which can't be found on the Cape) at Whole Foods on Mondays - Douglas delivers them on Tuesdays on his way to his Chatham job site.  The experience has introduced me to a slew of vegetables I've always heard of but frankly couldn't, until now, identify in a line up.  We could all do with a few more veggies and I'm having a good time reaching beyond ketchup and pizza sauce. 

Day 34 - February 12: Pancake Breakfast

When was the last time you went to an IHOP?  For me, until this morning, it was more than 20 years ago.  The local radio station, WBCN, and IHOP were running a contest and I ran in, not to eat but to fill out an entry form.  Turns out that the manager had forgotten about the contest until I showed up.  He told me it would keep him out of trouble with headquarters if I would just agree to be his winner.  I'm sure it's the only contest I've ever won, if you can even call it that.  My friend, Joanie and I got to sit in on "The Big Mattress" morning show, which leads to a whole lot of other stories... but I digress.  Today, Stuart and I joined Mom and Dad at a nearby IHOP and enjoyed a delicious meal and their wonderful company.

Day 33 - February 11: Didn't We Almost Have It All?

We were enjoying dinner with friends tonight when Lane came in to tell us that "someone named Whitney Houston died".  A gorgeous woman with an amazing voice - and exactly my age.  Such a tragedy to realize and yet relinquish such incredible gifts during a short, painful lifetime.  Upon hearing the news, the six of us broke into a spontaneous tribute - blasting and dancing to "How Will I Know?" and "I Wanna Dance with Somebody".  My hair isn't nearly as big anymore, but the 80s came alive tonight.

Day 32 - February 10: Disney Dogs

Old Medfield lore claims that Walt Disney often visited our town to visit his friend, Justin Dart, founder of the Rexall Drugstore chain and married to actress Jane Bryan.  Disney's plane would land adjacent to Hart's property, in a field behind what is now an elementary school.  Disney was so taken by our quaint town (the only Medfield on the planet) that "Medfield" became the town in his film, "Flubber".  The field remains, owned by the town and enthusiastically enjoyed by a multitude of dogs and their owners each morning.  The pack represents extreme diversity - the Pug to the Bernese and every size, shape, and color in between - and as they frolic and wrestle and race, it looks to me like a big hearted family film by Disney.

Day 31 - February 9: Book Club

Tonight I hosted our Book Club.  It's a fairly easy assignment with only three requirements - choose a good book, serve a variety of m&m's, and don't run out of red wine.  This month I chose "Wench" by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, a fascinating and heartbreaking story that takes place at Tawawa House, a resort for Southern white men and their enslaved black mistresses in pre-Civil War Ohio.

Day 30 - February 8: Epcot Sledding

Epcot has fake countries, Massachusetts has fake sledding - at least this winter, which is among the warmest on record.  Sledding usually entails trudging through feet of snow to the hill down the street.  Instead, today sixty five kids, three official chaperones, and I boarded a bus for an hour's drive to the Nashoba Valley Tubing Park, where "eighteen tubing lanes are serviced by four lifts and maintained by Nashoba's experienced grooming fleet, providing the ideal tubing conditions for thrill seekers of all ages."  This year, they provide the only tubing conditions for thrill seekers of all ages, and we are most grateful - it was a blast.

Day 29 - February 7: Poly and Fin

Poly (Pole-EEE) is our polar bear, being raised by Stuart and Lane.  No one remembers exactly how or when Poly came into our lives, so we assume the story he tells us is true - that he left the North Pole in search of adventure and after carefully considering his options, chose us to be his family and simply showed up.  He has been everywhere the Whitlas have been for the past ten years, finding and enjoying the adventure he sought.  Fin arrived by sleigh on Christmas Day three years ago - he is the world's longest living Thai Fighting Fish.  We assume he, too, enjoys our company but it's hard to tell - he's the strong silent type.  Although Poly's diet consists entirely of fictitious frozen fish, surprisingly, he and Fin have become quite close.  They entertain one another easily, enjoying many of the same games.  One of their favorites is The Staring Contest, which they're both quite good at - it helps that neither of them has eyelids.

Day 28 - February 6: There's Got to be a Morning After

A thick fog of disappointment blankets New England today.

Day 27 - February 5: Builder and Friend

Douglas and his brother, Stuart first met Paul and Lucille in 1992 - they were newlyweds hoping to add a small dining room alcove.  The brothers had a good feeling about these two.  Twenty years and many projects later, Paul and Lucille are dear friends and wonderful clients.  Upon completion of their stunning carriage house, they dedicated the building to the memory of Stuart.  The foyer floor is a gorgeous mosaic bearing Stuart's initials, which greeted us as we arrived for the Super Bowl party tonight.

Day 26 - February 4: Boden Mania

Today the stars were aligned.  How else do you explain my family leaving me alone on the same day my favorite catalogue is hosting a warehouse sale at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston?  Douglas and Stuart were skiing in New Hampshire with the Boy Scouts and Lane was off with her Saturday ski group.  I decided the only way to drown my lonely sorrows was to subject myself to the frenzy of hundreds of women (and a few crazy men) pawing through mounds of clothing in a cavernous hall in search of the ultimate bargain.  I left with a few things I couldn't live without (it's Boden afterall!) and then went in search of my other guilty pleasure - a Starbucks tall, non-fat, decaf latte. The perfect ending to the perfect self consumed day.

Day 25 - February 3: Thank You

My brother, Pete is a builder in San Francisco.  He was a philosophy major at UC Boulder, and has studied both the teeter board at circus school and Buddhist meditation somewhere other than circus school.  He has a unique view of the world and is one of the most genuine and joyful people I know.  He also writes a great thank you note.  Today Lane received a handwritten note from Pete that was Pure Pete.  He talked about how much he loved the book she'd sent him on graffiti art in San Francisco's Mission District and that finding the pieces he hadn't yet seen would be like going on a treasure hunt.  His letters are full of life, just like Pete, and receiving one today reminded me of two things - how much I love receiving handwritten notes in the mail and how much I love Pete.

Day 24 - February 2: "Well, Swell"

My dad's sister, Margy is a great story teller.  She taught grade school for many years in Palo Alto and spends summers traveling with friends to the far reaches of the world.  These trips provide her with a lot of great material, but she pulls from ordinary life as well - and with her dry wit, delivers very funny stories.  One day, she went to the DMV to get license plates for her new car.  After paying the fee, the clerk handed over two shiny new plates.  In an attempt to clear up the obvious misunderstanding, Margy asked him how the plates would actually get on the car.  Unapologetically, the man handed over a screwdriver.  With the new plates in one hand and the screwdriver in the other, Margy stood before her car in the DMV parking lot and sighed, "Well, swell".  Today I went to REI to buy a ski carrier for the car.  As the three strapping young men wedged the ski carrier designed to go on top of my car inside of my car, I suggested that it would make a lot more sense if they just put it where it was intended to go.  They responded that installation was not included but would be "really easy".  I drove away thinking of Aunt Margy. 

Day 23 - February 1: When Did Life Get This Complicated?

Over the past week, Douglas and I have met with our insurance agent, our financial planner, and today, our lawyer.  In between meetings, I've spent a lot of time sorting through files, making lists, and staring at spreadsheets.  I am quite grateful for two things.  I'm grateful that we have these people in our lives - they are indeed trustworthy and beyond proficient.  I'm also most grateful that by the end of the week, I can file away all of this administrivia and get back to the fun of life.

Day 22 - January 31: The Last Night for Lights

We have a 45 foot scraggly pine in the backyard.  Ten months of the year we swear we're going to rid ourselves of the unsightly mess - and then December comes along.  For two long months, it stands proudly, draped in big old fashioned colored bulbs, bringing Christmas cheer to the many drivers and pedestrians who pass by our house.  Each night, our kids gaze at it through their bedroom windows until their eyes close.  We leave the lights on through January and then magically, on Valentine's Day, they reappear for one more night.