My next stop was the Dr. Seuss Memorial Sculpture Garden where I thoroughly enjoyed myself. This man was a genius. I reread his book, Oh, The Places You”ll Go and it is like a treatise on Life.

Today Jeanine and I had planned to attend a personal development conference together (she is one of the facilitators of the workshop) but I got kicked out last night when I could not commit to stay for all four days of the program. My outdoor soccer season opens Sunday morning and I was compelled to honor the commitment I made to my teammates which would have had me miss four hours of the last day. As this was unacceptable to the conference leader, I found myself with a free weekend on my hands. I spent the morning hiking around the Quabbin Reservoir and the afternoon in Springfield where I started with a visit to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

This evening after work, I joined Jeanine at the Jenkins B&B in Barre, MA where we will spend the next three nights enjoying a long weekend getaway in celebration of her upcoming birthday. My first three weeks at iRobot have passed in the blink of an eye, and I am looking forward to a lighter meeting schedule next week.

The pace of my life right now feels a lot like the blur of my sons disappearing into the distance on their way to school. Their initial departure was aborted when Nicolai discovered he had forgotten his shoe. I can understand forgetting your homework or your lunch bag but it is hard for me to comprehend how unconscious a child must be to forget their footwear.

iRobot offers an on-site fitness facility, which I took advantage of this evening. My outdoor soccer season opener is this Sunday and I am woefully out of shape. Forty-five minutes on the elliptical machine and I got a pretty good workout.

Almost as if overnight, spring has arrived. The torrential rains have come to an end and everywhere you look there are signs of renewal and growth. In New England we enjoy four distinct seasons. While autumn is my favorite, spring has to be a close second and I must make sure that I do not let my enthusiasm over the new job keep me from getting out into nature.

After seeing the movie Food, Inc. (highly recommended) Jeanine only serves beef from range fed cattle. She found a local source and purchased one quarter of an entire cow which now occupies the majority of our freezer. Anytime meat is served the kids ask if it is from our cow and such was the case for our Easter dinner which featured this delicious roast. After dinner we had a bocce tournament. Hannah and I teamed up and quickly eliminated Kyle and Nicolai despite their bravado and trash talking. Jeanine and Maya proved more difficult adversaries but they too were no match for Hannah’s short game finesse and my long distance accuracy. The boys are demanding a rematch but I have told them they will need to work on their game before I can be bothered with defeating them again.

Anticipating a big Easter lunch with my parents and an even bigger Easter dinner with the family back in Concord, I set off this morning on a 2 hour walk. I started out at Union College where I was determined to come up with a new photographic take on the iconic Nott Memorial. I then walked down to the historic Schenectady Stockade area where I learned much about the city’s past that was unknown to me while growing up here. I discovered Riverside Park and enjoyed views of the Mohawk and distant Scotia. Next I made my way to the downtown area which has undergone significant redevelopment in recent years. Jay Street now features a boutique lined shopping area at one end and Little Italy on the other. I spent the remainder of the morning talking with my parents at length, something which is rarely possible when visiting with the entire family. We were joined by my sister Alissa and her family for lunch before I made the 3 hour drive back to Massachusetts.

After a Boys Breakfast with Kyle and Nicolai and a subsequent landscape plan review with Jeanine, I drove to Schenectady, NY to spend some time with my parents. My father is looking much better after his recent hospitalization and stay at a rehabilitation center. It was a gorgeous day so I elected to take Route 2, the longer but much more scenic route. I stopped for lunch and photography in Shelburne Falls and took a little nap afterwards. The trip took six hours in total.

When I returned from work this evening I found Nicolai and Kyle in the backyard with a bunch of their friends playing bocce. It should be noted that the last bocce match between brothers resulted in a broken window on the side of our home. It is not at all clear to me how a bocce ball can be thrown in such a way as to crash through a window that is 5 feet above the ground. Nicolai earned the $50 repair bill to help him contemplate that question.,

Cyclists in our area are hardcore. This woman did not pause for a moment as she pedaled through the foot-deep water. I imagine it is hard to see a pothole in the road when it is underwater. Each of the last photos is of a different closed road. I checked six different routes before finding one that was passable.

This driver thought he would ignore the high water road closure, and I watched as he came to a grinding halt in the swollen river. With only one road open and clogged with traffic, it is very tempting to risk a high water crossing. In this case, the gamble did not pay off.

This morning, my normal 20-minute commute was closer to an hour. Rainfall during the month has set an all-time record, and all but one road in and out of the area where we live was closed due to high water.  Drivers of SUVs seem to revel in the opportunity to take advantage of their high clearance. I believe this is the adult form of jumping in puddles.