A more perfect day to play soccer one could not have wished for. Coming from a two-goal deficit at halftime to win 3-2 could not have been a sweeter outcome. My hamstring has recovered fully and I was back in action today although my conditioning is far from what it needs to be. Nonetheless, I made a positive contribution on the field and after the game took the annual team photo.
When I describe Maya to people I invariably start by saying she is extremely bright and hard working. I sometimes forget what a drop dead beauty she is. Tonight was her senior prom and she pulled out all the stops. I have never seen her hair so nicely done and her dress was stunning (she would want me to explain that the lace openings are to a flesh colored fabric). Her boyfriend Caleb, a rising sophomore at Tufts, opted not to attend (his younger sister is a senior at CCHS) but did stop by to give Maya a corsage and pose for photos with her.
Maya had been planning to attend solo but was invited on Friday by Ben Caruso to go with him. Apparently, Ben asked his mother yesterday if it was too late to rent a tux and get tickets to the prom. What he lacks in advanced planning skills he makes up for in height and rugged good looks.
I consider Fiona and Sarinnagh to be bonus daughters by virtue of their close and lasting friendship with Maya. I hope they will all stay in touch and that I will see them often even as their paths begin taking them in new directions. I took many photos during a pre-prom gathering of which the group shots can be found at the following link.
Over the coming months, you are going to be bombarded with posts about the tiny house on wheels that Maya and I will be building over the summer. Today I picked up a one-piece 32″ x 32″ shower stall using the Audi as a makeshift pickup truck. I am hoping to have most of the building materials delivered before we return from our 3-week trip to Ecuador so that we can start construction the moment we return.
Last week I failed to recognize that my blog has become a teenager, turning 13 years old. According to my website administration tool, I have made 6,564 posts during that time. I certainly never imagined I would keep at it for so long but now for that effort I am rewarded with a personal diary and photo journal documenting our lives.
Just for fun I am reposting an entry from this week 13 years ago.
The children insist they have not been using the side of the house as a surrogate soccer goal despite rather compelling evidence to the contrary.
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.