It’s been a while since my last post and a lot has obviously happened since then. There have been many misadventures like on Easter weekend when Alex mistakenly downed a mimosa thinking it was orange juice. Or the continued “fun” of receiving iPad text messages from a 7-year-old, most of which point out my deficiencies as a parent i.e. “Hey Daddy, you do a bad job doing my hair.” Or deciding to take a family vacation with Bacon. Wait. You can’t take a dog into restaurants? What’s that? You can’t take a dog into Hearst Castle? Huh? The dog doesn’t want to be left alone in a strange hotel room?
There have also been many milestones. The girls both had birthdays and Arden got glasses. Alex swore an allegiance to the Super Friends and we all got to witness the final flyby of the Endeavour, signaling the end of the space shuttle program. This in itself was a bittersweet moment for me. It brought back childhood memories of waking up at the crack of dawn to watch the shuttles launch on TV and remembering how excited I got when there were new pictures of Saturn in the Boston Globe. Between that and Star Wars, I wanted to be an astronaut. So it was sad to see the end of something so integral to my youth. But I was also happy to feel that excitement once again, if only for a brief moment. And in that same moment, I got to see that same spark of excitement in Arden.
I guess I’m waxing poetic about the past because this past summer we also saw the passing of the girls’ great grandmother (Jen’s grandmother) Gertrude Thornley. She was one of the first female marines and served during World War II. At her funeral I heard so many touching stories about her. Things I never knew. And I also heard how she touched so many lives. And at the end of the service, when the marines played Taps and saluted her tombstone, I just about lost it. But it made me think about the legacy that we leave behind.
Okay, okay, the real reason I’m getting all nostalgic today is because I turned 40 this past weekend. I know, I know 40 is the new 20. But still, a lot happens in 40 year’s time. And even though I don’t feel any older, besides the chronic heartburn, the high triglycerides and the need to now bend over and cough at my annual check up, it still gives me pause. It’s still a milestone. But a good milestone. That’s why Jen threw me a whopper of a party that included people from all different chapters of my life – family, high school, college, industry friends, friends of friends who became better friends than the friends who introduced us and now none of us know where the original friends are today. I felt like I was on This Is Your Life. And it felt great to think about the past.
But certain aspects of our lives happen by destiny. Others by chance. And a few days ago I was reminded of one of those big chance encounters. I learned of the passing of Phylis (Fox) Ravel, my college drama teacher. She died of complications due to cancer. Apparently they diagnosed her late so she decided to forgo treatment and enjoy her final days. I bring her up because when I was in college she was writing a play (Censored: On Final Approach) that would go on to be performed nationally. It was a vehicle for one of her students and she asked me if I would take a small, but “pivotal” role in that play. Well it turns out that the student she was writing the play for would one day be my wife. So without this playwright, who I haven’t talked to since I graduated college almost twenty years ago, I would have never met Jen and had the two wonderful children that I have today. So I would say it was definitely a pivotal role Phylis Ravel offered me that day.
I’m excited to be 40. I’m excited to see my kids growing up. I’m excited to see Arden throw herself into everything she does whether it’s teaching herself fashion design or figuring out how to make Microsoft Word do things I never knew it could do. (And I’ve been using it for over 20 years.) I’m excited to see Alex finally sleep through the night and start to solve problems on her own. I’m excited to see my girls look out for each other (most of the time.) And I’m especially excited that I get to watch all of this with the woman I met and fell in love with while helping my drama teacher workshop a play, nineteen years ago. I truly am excited to be 40.
Arden's first text message
Arden in her new specs
Alex and Super Bacon
The Girls and Great Grandma Gert
