Tomorrow is junk day in my neighborhood. My wife, a legendary taskmaster, orchestrated a family chain to clean out my attic and to pile unwanted junk and other assorted memories on the curb. This process turned out to be a time capsule of my life. Nothing much had any real value beyond the sentimental and it was time to let it go. There must have been the equivalent of a forest of artificial Christmas trees piled up there. Now there is a barricade in front of my house of very green, artificial branches from trees of Christmas's past as well as the bare and real branches that filled my back yard after the February ice storm. Other significant attic discoveries were toys and games from my son's childhoods, some of which will likely find their way onto Ebay. A few toys found a new home with Chloe while a baby bed and a few other baby items were given to the friend of a friend who is pregnant. I am always happy when my junk is another's treasure.
Today is my wife's birthday and eleven days from today is my birthday. Since everyone was here we decided to celebrate our birthdays. After the work was done we fed everyone and in lieu of a cake we had brownies with candles in them. (When you have your children over to help you do some work, never feed them until the work is done!) My wife and I are going to the mountains in a few weeks so I thought we had opted out of birthday gifts. I should have known that would never happen. One unexpected gift I received was a comprehensive biography of Pete Townshend who is one of my favorite musicians. I needed some light reading.
Spring break is over so my youngest son, Nick, went back to the seminary today. It's been nice to have him home for a week. It will probably be a couple of months before he is home again. Chloe and her parents have also left with a trunk full of whatever we gave them this trip. Married children, and even future priests, never leave home without bags of goodies. Now my house is quiet again and I am enjoying the calm after the storm of great activity.
Today is my wife's birthday and eleven days from today is my birthday. Since everyone was here we decided to celebrate our birthdays. After the work was done we fed everyone and in lieu of a cake we had brownies with candles in them. (When you have your children over to help you do some work, never feed them until the work is done!) My wife and I are going to the mountains in a few weeks so I thought we had opted out of birthday gifts. I should have known that would never happen. One unexpected gift I received was a comprehensive biography of Pete Townshend who is one of my favorite musicians. I needed some light reading.
Spring break is over so my youngest son, Nick, went back to the seminary today. It's been nice to have him home for a week. It will probably be a couple of months before he is home again. Chloe and her parents have also left with a trunk full of whatever we gave them this trip. Married children, and even future priests, never leave home without bags of goodies. Now my house is quiet again and I am enjoying the calm after the storm of great activity.
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