This is the first of a three-page letter from Maya that was waiting for me as I entered Maya’s classroom. My favorite line: I sit with a table of all boys, they’re still learning who’s boss! This child is going to go far.

Today Jeanine and I had to split up to cover back to school activities. I met with Maya’s teacher, Ms. Lyons, and toured the new Willard school which is state of the art in every way. Classrooms have CO2 monitors and adjust the HVAC system to increase oxygen levels as needed to keep students and staff maximally alert. Need I say more. Meanwhile, Jeanine attended a meeting at the high school to learn about everything we need to do in preparation for the college selection process.

I was thrilled to receive this fire pit as a birthday present from the kids and spent a relaxing hour on the patio with Jeanine enjoying the warmth and glow. Jeanine gave me two pair of furry slippers, something I will enjoy as the days and nights become colder. Anticipating that Nala would eat the new slippers as she has every other pair I have owned Jeanine decided to buy an extra set in advance. Time will tell if these are actually a present for me or the dog.

I was late for my own birthday party this evening due to something of a fire drill at work. Fortunately, Jeanine kept my lovingly prepared dinner warm and the kids took a break from their studies to join in the feast. I requested healthy birthday food and Jeanine out did herself with this fantastic fresh fruit tarte with almond crust. Just looking at this on the screen has convinced me I need to go back for seconds. I decided to use my birthday wish to rectify a design issue on our about to be released new product.

It was a very long day in the office, so I am posting another image from the mother-and-daughter NYC adventure. Maya and Lydia pose in front of the fancy restaurant they will be dining at.

This evening Nico and I attended the kick-off meeting for his Coming of Age program at First Parish, our Unitarian Universalist church. The year long program of self reflection culminates when each child addresses the entire congregation and shares their personal credo. UUs do not dictate a credo but rather encourage each member to discover their spiritual perspectives and to embrace a set of beliefs of their own distillation. Nico will join a small circle of peers guided by one male and and one female mentor and will participate in a number of retreats during which they will explore and develop their belief systems. I did my best to get a nice portrait of each child in the program and was pleased when Nico took the camera from me and reciprocated. Followers of this blog relize that Nicolai and I have already celebrated a Coming of Age adventure when we climbed Mount Kilimanjaro two years ago. The UU COA will be on the spiritual/intellectual level rather than in the physical challenge domain.

Today’s main destination for the female foursome was the Museum of Natural History which I am told was a big hit.

While the girls enjoyed a fancy breakfast in NYC, the boys and I went out for brunch at our new favorite breakfast spot at the West Concord Train Depot. My calf muscle is still out of commission so I was very thankful when my soccer game was rained out. While Jeanine was enjoying time alone with her daughter I got a chance to hang out with my sons and really enjoyed our conversation. I have decided we should do a monthly manly breakfast going forward.

Lydia and Maya in the lap of luxury at their hotel.

Admittedly, my first instinct would not be to photograph a bathroom stall. Jeanine, suffers from no such limiting conceptions and produced a very nice image of her daughter. I will have to ask the girls to explain the significance of this particular location.

 
Maya and Jeanine with friends Lydia and Kate began a mother-daughter NYC get away weekend this morning. After seeing Mary Poppins on Broadway they explored Times Square. You will probably need to enlarge the photo to appreciate the matching shirts the girl’s are wearing.

My girls just before leaving for a special weekend in the Big City.

As I left my office this evening the street was filled with emergency personnel. A traffic accident had left one driver with a broken leg. Cambridge has an unusually high concentration of cars, bicycles, and pedestrians and a week does not go by when I do not come across an accident scene of one type or another.

Jeanine and Maya hosted a baking party today, during which mountains of cookies, brownies, and other delights were prepared to be sold at the Kicks for Cancer charity event that is coming up.

 
My dad turns 85 today and is going strong thanks to the healthy lifestyle my mother inflicts upon him. Left to his own devices, he would enjoy a delectable but admittedly unhealthy diet, not unlike his oldest grandchild pictured here with him. Of all our children, I believe Kyle takes after my dad the most. Both live life passionately, open to new experiences, and willing to work hard towards goals. They share a love of guitar, fine food, and the company of close friends. Each has the gift of infectious laughter and little is required to get them started. The gift my father passed to me was a creative approach to being in the world which has been the foundation of my success in life. If I had to guess my dad will be celebrating his birthday on the dance floor.

The CCHS Varsity Soccer team was in action this evening against rival Lincoln Sudbury. Kyle did not get any minutes but I shot the game for the benefit of his teammates anyway. The match was much closer than the 3-0 win would suggest.

There are some things that Nico is challenged by, but leaping high into the air for a header is not one of them. Today his ground game was a little weak by his own standards but he was a total beast in the air and helped the CCHS Men’s Freshman Soccer team to a 3-2 win over arch rival Lincoln Sudbury.

Tempted as I was to intervene, I realized that there were some valuable lessons being learned, so I left the kids to their wanderings while I enjoyed the beauty of the park independently.

This shot sums up the situation nicely. Greg believes the group is heading the wrong way, Ty seems to have a headache from studying the map, while Zack is busy calling in an air strike or something.

Although it does appear that some planning took place, the results were not in evidence as the kids exceeded their two hour time limit and needed to be rescued from far corners of the park having been unable to navigate back to the agreed upon rendezvous point. Fortunately a substantial dent was made in their leaf collection assignment.

Against all odds, I was able to play soccer this morning. I would have never believed this possible given the pain I was in on Friday. The chiropractic adjustment, hourly ice treatments, and ibuprofen regimen did the trick. I played for 40 minutes straight before I pulled a calf muscle which ended the game for me. Fortunately, it is not too bad and I expect to be ready for the next game. This afternoon, I helped with the driving for Nico and 8 of his classmates to the Arnold Arboretum. They have a science assignment to identify and collect leaves from a list of 50 trees, many of which are found here. While the kids conducted their search, I found some interesting photographic subjects of my own. This bloom could look a lot like a stand-alone tree to me.

This evening Jeanine and I took Nala on a long walk. Although the kids love the dog it is Jeanine who treats her to these long excursions. The light was great as the sun was setting and I got a number of nice photographs. I never realized how similar the color of Jeanine’s hair is to Nala’s fur. No wonder these two are so close.

The Honda is having a bad week. Today Jeanine ran over a 12 inch towel bar which jumped up to puncture the gas tank leaving her stranded on Route 2. Police and firefighters were on the scene to control traffic and contain the gas spill.
Yesterday we learned that the ignition key mechanism needs to be replaced. Good thing we have the Smart Car as a back up.

When Maya steps up to clear a ball, girls seemingly twice her size brace for impact. Her team came from behind to tie with Acton Boxborough. Nico came to watch and support his little sister. Click on the photo for a larger view and check the expressions on the other girls.

I woke up this morning virtually unable to stand up. Yesterday I aggravated a lower back misalignment that I suffered earlier this week. I have a new level of empathy for those who suffer from back pain. Fortunately, Jeanine took good care of me and made arrangements to see a chiropractor. I am mending pretty quickly after the treatment but doubt I will good to play soccer on Sunday. Nala had a play date with another dog this evening and when she get’s excited this is all that you can see.

Several parents are now photographing Kyle’s team, and it is a very welcome change to be on the receiving end of a nice photo.

Tess treated us to delicious homemade pizza this evening. I was unable to wait for Jeanine to return from a meeting before devouring three pieces.

Maya had her first saxophone lesson this evening and I just missed meeting her new teacher. With her piano training she is proficient at reading music and was playing complete songs as I walked in the door. I have introduced her to the music of Mindi Abair in the hopes she will draw some inspiration from a highly successful female alto sax player.

From another section of the sky moments later. It would have been nice to have a wide angle lens, but I made the most of the telephoto I had in hand.

A very long day in the office precluded any photography today so I am posting a picture I took last night. Now and then, we get a sunset that is absolutely spectacular, and this was one of them.

As the center midfielder, Nico has both offensive and defensive responsibilities. Here, he clears a corner kick out of the goal area.