This weekend featured an interesting mix of memories and signs the kids are growing up. It started on Friday, when I drove to Princeton University for a meeting (I serve on the board of an undergraduate journalism organization). Parking my car felt strange; I never drove while I was a student there. But once I walked out from the garage it was such a nice night it reminded me of many a spring spent wandering around campus. I’ve been back many times since, but normally for Reunions, when it’s all alums and strange fences and cups of beer. This time it was just the campus and the students, enjoying the last bits of a nice day. I walked past several of my old dorm rooms. I could not help but think how many times I must have walked through Blair Arch, and over to Chancellor Green. It’s only an hour from my house now. Perhaps I should go more often, if I feel the need to indulge my nostalgia more regularly.
Saturday started way too early with the little guy up at 4:45 a.m. He would not go back to bed. I handed him to my husband at 6, then slept until 7:15. I went for a nice run — again, unseasonably warm. Then I took the 5-year-old to go test for her next belt at her karate school (they do a special program for little kids). She was so excited, and did such a good job.
After, we loaded everyone up and drove to Palmerton, PA, which is the home of Blue Mountain Ski Resort, but we weren’t skiing (it was 70 degrees!) We made our usual hike on a dirt/gravel road that runs alongside the Appalachian Trail. There was a reasonable amount of complaining, but we made it 3 miles round trip. It gives me hope that we will be able to make it longer soon. We came home, got take-out sushi for dinner, and the kids ate spaghetti. After the toddler went to bed, I finished Under the Tuscan Sun (I’m on a bit of a reading tear — more about that this week). I went to bed at 9:30 and proceeded to sleep about 9 hours.
The temperature dropped precipitously overnight, but I went for a run on the trail along the river in the early morning. It was quiet and cold but nice. Then we got everyone ready and drove downtown to the Franklin Institute, where we met L, our first nanny in PA, and her husband, and saw the Jurassic World exhibit. It was all of our second time (or more) seeing it, but it’s still really cool. If you live anywhere near Philadelphia, it might be worth a day trip on a rainy day. It was fun to catch up with L, and seeing her brought back many memories of our first few years in Pennsylvania. When she started, we just had two kids, and our now 7-year-old was still a baby — younger than the toddler is now! (I don’t remember many 4:45 a.m. wake-ups then…he’s always been a better sleeper). My daughter was born a few months after she started, and my daughter still idolizes her. It was sweet to watch.
Then home, where I used nap time to read again (150 pages into a biography of Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Central Park). The kids had some friends over, and there was a fair amount of screen time involved, but then they voluntarily decided to put the screens away, and invented this murder mystery game. It was pretty inventive, if it did involve tearing (loudly!) through my house. Now I think I’ll skip the Oscars and do some more reading. I’ll see all the pictures of the outfits tomorrow anyway, and since I’ve not seen the movies, that tends to be the most interesting part!
Rules of Civility-Fiction book. Great read
We are going to Nashville to see that exhibit in March. Mostly for my 8 year old. His siblings are over it, but the oldest is bringing a girl. (So it begins.)