Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This

Some days I just feel like running away too. I am not sure when this was written but I remember very clearly asking if she needed me to pack anything up for her trip. It as one of those classic family moments. I don't remember ever threatening to run away but I do remember asking Mom what divorce meant and thinking getting new parents might be kind of cool. I was disappointed that wasn't going to happen. Whatever Mom's answer was made that clear!

We got to spend some time with Judy Patrick and the boys yesterday. Ryan spent the night here and went to basketball with Ryan J this morning. Then Ryan J drove Ryan P home with Maggie in the car. Nothing like having your cousin take you around complete with a dog for company! Another classic. We are very lucky.

Quarterfinals for Pony League

Ryan watching from the 3rd baseline
Matthew sliding into home.

Well, we won our quarterfinal game for Pony League 22-12. It was not a pretty game, but seeing both of the boys on the same team is something that I love. I have been looking forward to this and will probably have to wait another 2 years or so for it to happen again. I hope that Ryan will take Matthew (and Joe and Cam and Jeff) under his wing and help them become better ball players) Secretly, I think that they all admire him because of his baseball accomplishments, but would NEVER admit that. I am a bit sad that Matthew's Little League career (of 6 years) is almost over, but know that this passage brings new challenges for him.

Save the Date

Our annual summer soiree will be Sunday Aug 30. Theme: Wonder Years 1969: Woodstock and Moonwalks (the real moon walk). Be there or be square! More details to follow.

In the Good Ol Summertime

Maybe if I talk about the beach it will feel more like summer to me. I don't know about you but as far as summer weather goes, it's not been one of the best on record so far. But I hope you all are enjoying yours regardless.

This is dad at the beach with his mother, Catherine Pierce Ryan, long before Peter arrived on the scene. Apparently this is Long Beach which I don't have any real memories of but I do have some vague recollections of time on Good Harbor Beach in Gloucester. I remember digging around in the sand near the bridge where there were small pools of water left behind by the tide. I remember how flat and wet the beach area was and how cold the water was.

I've never been a real big fan of the beach (sand, slimy seaweed and mysterious creatures underfoot) but I do love the sound of the ocean and the feel of the sun. This seems to be a very sunny day although Dad seems a little mystified. I wonder who's behind the camera.

This is a picture of Mom on the beach probably when she was about 5. I am not sure what beach this might be. Ever thought about how our ancestors on both sides spent a great deal of time in and near water? No wonder we seem drawn to Gloucester. Although learning to swim in Lake Erie probably should have killed that instinct in me, it didn't. Fort Myers Beach is probably the closest I ever came to actually almost enjoying the beach.

Ryan's first beach experience was in Florida at a beach just down the road from Kathleen and Nick's house. If you can imagine, I forgot to tell him to expect saltwater and he took in a big mouthful. I think he was about 4. That was the end of swimming for quite a while for him. After he forgave me for that, he was cautious for years to ask first if it was saltwater before he dipped a toe in.

Water was part of our everyday lives when we lived in Silver Creek. Moving "inland" to Walton was the first time I realized that not everyone grows up near water and that some people don't learn how to swim as part of a rite of childhood. Ryan and Amy don't have that same experience, but I hope they will always feel the pull of the ocean. Well, not literally.

Tick Tock

Twice this week, someone mentioned to me that the summer is going by really fast. Yikes. To me, it seems like it has barely started. Guess I better take another look at a calendar.

Time has a way of getting by me. You might remember I said I'd been invited to my class reunion for Silver Creek and for Walton this summer. 35. Yeah, I know. Where did that time go?? Anyhow, over the weekend I sat down to finally get through some paperwork that had been sitting there and I actually opened those. Silver Creek held theirs July 4th--it had already gone by and I just now opened the envelope. I couldn't have gone anyhow since Kathleen and Nick were here but it still came as a surprise. Didn't seem that long ago that it came.

This past weekend was the Gus Macker tournament. This is Ryan Patrick -- I just love this picture. So I was able to see Matthew, Ryan P and Ryan J play basketball and chat with Judy.

I see Paula has been able to spend some quality time with the grandchildren (how cool is that --plural!!) Congratulations to all. And with a wedding to look forward to, Paula has her hands full this summer (I noticed the guy on Raising the Bar looks like Kevin Kelly a bit).

Amy is at Wallops Island for 3 weeks--she drove herself so I guess she's a real adult now (in her eyes, not mine yet). We have scheduled several college visits for Ryan this summer--a little tricky between baseball, basketball, weight training, and the football season squeezing our time.

Forty years since Neil Armstrong took that giant leap. Where does the time go??

A little bit random

Miss me? I'm a little bit off schedule and I know you were missing me. C'mon, admit it, you were missing me. Kathleen and Nick were visiting from Florida last week so we were out and about most days doing some of that fun stuff you do with guests from out of town--wine tour; Gallery 3-2-1 (and Car Museum); getting chased off by lightning during Ryan's Boys State final parade; changing plans because it was raining again but enjoying the rainbows.

Remember how special it was when Uncle Tim or Uncle Peter would come for a visit? I think it's been about 10 years since Kathleen and Nick were here at the house (so you may safely conclude that my house is as clean as it has ever been in the last decade). It was fun to have them here getting a little idea of our daily lives.

Now I don't think Kathy and I were cleaning for special visitors in either of these pictures which were taken 3 years apart. Amazingly they seem to be almost exactly the same. A drink on the table, that silly pencil on a string, the drying rack.

One of the saddest sites for me after Mom died was seeing her shoes sitting under that bulletin board in the kitchen as if they were waiting for her feet to slide back in.