Maya and Sarinnagh show off their respective college sweatshirts.  We are thrilled that the two will only be separated by a three-hour drive and hope they will remain close friends in the future.  The pair have decided to celebrate their high school graduation in a joint party to be held on June 2nd.

Maya was back in moot court this evening for her final case.  She and her co-counsel Millie Ball argued the case of Pena-Rodriguez v. Colorado which was decided by the Supreme Court just a few months ago. Up until now, trials have been officiated by a panel of three teachers. For the finals, the judges include a sitting member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, a current and one former member of the Massachusetts Superior Court. Talk about high pressure! Maya was magnificent both in her opening and closing remarks and responses to questions from the bench.  Her opponents were equally well prepared and just as poised.  The judges deliberated for half an hour and gave what they described as a very close decision to opposing counsel. Even so, Maya received compliments for her compelling closing argument and use of powerful language.  The entire trial was recorded and will air on the radio next week.  I will try to provide a link to the broadcast when it becomes available.

The CCHS chapter of the National Honor Society held its annual induction ceremony this evening.  As a member of the Executive Committee Maya was asked to speak on the importance of leadership, one of the four pillars of the organization’s credo. The sister of Maya’s boyfriend was among the inductees. Both her parents were in attendance affording Jeanine and I the opportunity to get to know them better. They are every bit as charming as Caleb.

I simply do not understand why someone would choose to have paint applied to their toes. I wear gloves and old boots/clothes when painting specifically to prevent such an outcome.  That said, Mother’s Day was offered as the justification for a trip to the nail spa for Maya and Jeanine. Eager to show off their newly decorated nails, the women of the family posed for a toe portrait.

When viewed in aggregate some might conclude that I suffer from a flashlight addiction. In point of fact, each serves a distinct purpose including the two new ones which arrived today. One for each of our three cars, one for the shop, one for the master bedroom, one for my office, one that is always in my pocket, one in my toolbox, one for camping, and one more for good measure. All use LED emitters and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries; most can produce well over 1000 lumens, the equivalent of a 75W lightbulb.

Maya and Sarinnagh have been best friends since we moved here almost 14 years ago. It is no surprise then that they have decided to have a joint graduation party.  Sarinnagh is headed to Fordham which is but a 3 hour drive from Olin where Maya will be studying. Jeanine and I had dinner with Alan, Sarinnagh’s father, this evening to catch up and work out details for the celebration.

Golden light this evening was unusually beautiful. If you look closely you will find several deer enjoying the lush grass growing in the field behind our house. Everyone has been especially busy this week; Jeanine with Open Table, Maya with moot court preparation, and I with the selection and ordering of appliances and the HVAC system for Maya’s tiny house project.

I found this little fellow on the mirror in our bathroom this morning. He seemed rather lethargic so I ran downstairs to grab a camera and macro lens. Fortunately, he was still there when I returned and was kind enough to pose for me. In return for his cooperation, I opened a window and helped him find his way home. 

Jeanine has been extraordinarily busy these past few weeks as Open Table’s new facility nears completion and transition planning is going full throttle.  Then there is the small matter of paying for the new building and renovations with a price tag of over a million dollars. This evening Jeanine met with a local philanthropist to make a case for supporting Open Table.  She returned with a check for $250,000. Needless to say, news of this extremely generous contribution was received with great joy. Maya and I joined Jeanine and the Open Table board to celebrate at Reasons To Be Cheerful, our favorite local ice cream parlor.

After consulting with Maya over the weekend and finalizing on a rough layout for the tiny house she plans to build over the summer, I placed an order for a 20′ x 8′ trailer that will serve as its mobile foundation. Lead time is 6 weeks and transit from Alabama will add another which should have it here by late June.  Maya and I will be returning from our planned trip to Ecuador on June 27th so the timing lines up nicely.  Five years ago, no one was making tiny house-specific trailers. Today there are at least a dozen manufacturers, a good indicator that the demand for tiny living is on the rise. Our DOT-certified trailer is from Tiny House Basics and is rated for a load of 14,000 pounds.

We were joined for a casual Sunday dinner by a close family friend, Aliza Edwards, who worked with Jeanine and John to prepare a wonderful vegetarian meal. Later we took a stroll around the neighborhood and past the house where she lived until recently.

Despite having felt strong in practice earlier this week, I pulled out of my soccer match this morning after two shifts when I felt my right hamstring starting to tighten up.  I have learned the hard way that it is best to stop playing the second I feel that first twinge of pain. Adding insult to injury, the man I was marking got away from me and scored our opponent’s first goal.  They scored again to lead 2-0 at which point we answered with a goal. Our hopes were immediately dashed when they scored again bringing the score to 3-1.  We persevered, however, and clawed back two goals in the final minutes to secure a come from behind tie.

I have been relentlessly pruning my collection of cameras and lenses putting my least used equipment up for sale.  Today I added several items to Craig’s List including the ones shown here. The trick now will be to overcome the temptation to use the recovered funds to purchase new equipment.

Kyle and Nico will both travel to Vancouver, British Columbia on June 10th to compete in a Spartan Race for SideStix-sponsored, Team Defy Convention.  The grueling obstacle course will be a test of strength, stamina, and mental toughness. I would love to support my sons and witness the event in person but will be in Ecuador with Maya at the time. Jeanine has expressed interest in going and I hope to share the experience through her eyes. Nicolai was an early adopter of the high-performance forearm crutches manufactured by SideStix.  He has served as a field tester, brand ambassador, sponsored athlete, and summer intern for the company.  When asked by Nico to join the team, Kyle was quick to step up and lend his support, something he has always done since they were small boys. We could not be prouder of both of them.

Maya was honored with three awards at the high school this evening. Oddly, she choose to celebrate afterwards by covering her face in green mud. Had there been an award for frog like appearance  she would have won that one as well. She was nominated by both her soccer and cross country skiing coaches to receive the Rotary Club’s Class Act Award, one of only two students to do so in two sports. She also received an award for Excellence in Community Service based on her volunteer work throughout the year.

I attended the ceremony in my soccer gear so I could leave for practice immediately afterward. My hamstring felt strong and I expect to be back on the pitch for my match this weekend.