Boston Digest #1
We arrived in late August to our new homes after a great family road trip that included several Great Lakes, Niagara Falls (from the US side- Canada next time!), Albany, NY (see the capitol building!!) and the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. (more depth on this later if you are interested)
Charlotte got settled in at Walnut Hill School for the Arts and hasn’t looked back. She has trials and is growing in her self-knowledge, her relationships and best of all in the theater arts. She has voice lessons with a wonderful teacher and has enjoyed learning all aspects of the theater from stage design to acting the part in a musical piece. Her school has put on amazing performances and she is truly grateful to be studying at WH. She has even admitted to it being nice that mom can pick her up on a weekend and take her “home” for a little sleep, food and reprieve from the drama that ensues when 2/3 of your students are boarding students AND you are in a dramatic major AND sometimes high schoolers are a real bummer.
And what of Ingrid? I’m gratefully settled into a garden apartment (read, basement) but with substantial light and upgrades. I’m 30 min drive from Charlotte, 20 min into the heart of Boston. I’ve checked out a lot of places to run/hike in nature and am fortunate that my apartment is close to green space I don’t have to drive to because I spend a lot of time driving the young people who live above me where they need to be. It’s been a good arrangement to be able to afford being here. Charlotte and I have explored a little bit of the city on weekend afternoons. The Boston Public Library, Newbury street, China town and the Boston Common and Gardens tend to be our current haunts. So much more to explore. I was able to visit NH twice (2 hours away) and was at Kripalu in Western Mass another weekend. (museums in a future post) Overall, we are making the most of being here; I’m holding down my teaching, driving and property management jobs and attending to being a parent as much as I am able to with this arrangement. I don’t miss or worry about her AS MUCH being a car ride away.
I’m missing my family- my husband and daughter 1 hold down the fort in WI along with my mom. My sisters and their families- all within two hours of Eau Claire- I look forward to seeing during the holidays. And yet I love the adventure of new places, new people and exploration. I’ve always liked travel more as a long-term, but not necessarily permanent, adventure. (Why go for 1 week if you can go for 3? Why not move the family for half the year?) I guess I’m squarely in that right now. (Grand Canyon on a Mule? future post)
And what of free time? YES, I have a lot more of that since my only on-the-daily obligations are for driving, my work and quite a bit less interactive parenting. At first I didn’t know what to
do with myself and delved into finishing the Crown series on Netflix. I have finished several books, both on audio and in paper format. I’ve done a couple of jigsaw puzzles, just for something to do while talking on the phone or listening to a book. And there still are lists of projects to finish that seem to fall to the bottom like doing my taxes, switching insurances and filing paperwork. I want to tidy-up these loose ends before December break. Revising my website, writing newsletters to you all and promoting my teaching are also on that list.
I will close there. More to come. Best wishes to you and your families as you navigate another season together, whatever that may be.
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