For her birthday, Maya received a wood kayak kit from her parents. When I returned from work this evening the package was waiting and Maya was anxious to get started. In a role reversal from our last kayak project, I am the assistant to Maya who has taken charge of construction. Expect to see a number of posts chronicling this project which is expected to take 80 hours for construction and 20 hours for finishing.
After work today I kayaked a new 6.2 mile section of the Concord River. The 2 hour upstream paddle took me from Bedford to the Concord Boat house. Jeanine just back from a special mother-daughter(and friend) shopping trip with Maya and Sarinnagh exchanged her car for mine at the put-in point and then picked me up and we loaded the kayak. We then returned to Bedford together where Jeanine switched back into her car and we all went out for dinner at Luigi’s Italian restaurant. It was close to 9PM by the time we were seated and dinner could not come quickly enough for this starving group.
The weather was exceptional today and I took advantage of the conditions to kayak a new stretch of the Concord River after work. I put in off Elise Rd. in Billerica and covered 6.6 miles (starting up river) in 95 minutes yielding a 4mph speed without considering stops for photography. With two more strategically placed put ins I will have covered the entire Concord River, including the last mile which is rated as Class 3+/4 whitewater during the spring runoff. A few years ago the family did a whitewater rafting trip over that section which will long be remembered for the capsize that caused Jeanine to swear off whitewater forever.
The family came out to cheer me on today as my team played in the semi-final round of our division’s playoffs. With a decisive 3-1 win we will play for first place honors next weekend. I scored one of my prettier goals of the season when I sprinted laterally across the field to win a header from their center midfielder which I placed to the feet of one of our strikers. Continuing my run and cutting to the goal, he fed the ball back to me. I beat the sweeper and unleashed a rocket which found the lower left corner of the net despite the keeper’s attempt to deflect it. Unfortunately, I did not finish the game after I injured the top of my quadriceps in a stupid attempt to save a ball from going out of bounds. My status for the finals next week is now highly questionable. Today is also Maya’s actual birthday and we had our family celebration which included a special dinner in which both father and daughter got to request foods for a special dinner. Maya received an envelope containing clues to her birthday present from Jeanine and I. The contents included a strip of fiberglass and a Popsicle stick. After some guessing she correctly deduced that her gift was a kayak. The kit will arrive this week and we will construct the wooden 14.5 footer over the summer. Maya was a daily helper as I constructed my kayak and she has always wanted to build her own.
Nicolai hosted a croquet tournament for a dozen of his friends today. He mowed the field, set up a lemonade table, and enforced a dress code. In this day and age it is nice to see a group of teenage boys enjoying an activity that does not require a Playstation or case of beer. Several boys requested portraits for their Facebook pages and I was happy to oblige them.
Maya turns twelve on Sunday and celebrated today with her friends. Nicolai contributed by designing and placing clues for a treasure hunt in downtown Concord where the party began. Returning home in advance of threatening rain the girls enjoyed playing volleyball outside before sitting down to a pulled pork sandwich/mac & cheese dinner followed by a Lemon Chiffon Funnel cake iced with real butter cream (made from scratch by Maya). The girls watched a movie before retiring to the basement for a slumber party. I was exhausted from the 22 mile round trip bike ride to/from work today and Jeanine from all the preparations for the party so we retired long before the girls did.
Last weekend I got rather beat up in my soccer match. Our opponents played a very physical game and I was cleated and kneed several times. This morning my left ankle bore witness to the injuries. Blood tends to pool in my ankle after I receive a contusion anywhere on my lower leg. Fortunately, I do not anticipate this will keep me from playing in our semi-final playoff match this weekend. Before leaving for work Jeanine called me from down the street to help rescue a very old Blanding’s turtle (on the threatened species list in Massachusetts). She encountered it crossing the road and positioned her car to protect it. When I arrived I picked it up and moved it into the grass where it would be safe from traffic and on a path to our local pond.
Prior to work I drove my mom to the bus station for her return to Schenectady but not before getting a photo of us together. She remains as spry as ever and was a huge help with the graduation party. Having just returned from an extended vacation in Spain with her brother and sister she looked both relaxed and energized. We were all very thankful that our children’s only remaining grandparent was able to participate in our celebration.
After work today I loaded my kayak on Jeanine’s car (I need to make some adaptations to my roof rack before I can use the Audi) and took it out for the first paddle of the season. We are so fortunate to live within 1 mile of the Sudbury and Assabet Rivers and only 3 miles from the Concord River. I was able to get about an hour on the water before darkness set in and with the water still relatively high was able to gunkhole in several areas I have never explored before. I nearly had a heart attack when I startled a beaver (hidden to me) and it made a spectacular dive into the water inches from my kayak. I was able to glide up on a Blue Heron and got a rather nice photo with my pocket camera. Fortunately I found the paddling motion did not bother my shoulder and is probably very therapeutic. Looking forward to getting back on the water soon with either Jeanine or one of the kids.
We honored our military veterans and customers today by dedicating a new flag pole which stands over the main entrance to iRobot headquarters. Our COO and retired Vice Admiral, Joe Dyer presided over the ceremony which included these honor guards who raised the flag in accordance with military tradition. It was a very patriotic affair and I am proud to be part of a company that places such importance on events such as this.
I passed this wetland vista on my lunch-hour walk today. When time permits I will have to return with a long lens as I am sure this place is teaming with wildlife.
As this special weekend comes to a close we would like to express our appreciation to our family who traveled from afar to share in Kyle’s graduation festivities. Not only did we get to enjoy their company, they all worked extremely hard to help us prepare for the party. Jeanine made an airport run to Boston as Mayela, Stephen, and Erica had return flights this afternoon and followed that with a visit to the Museum of Fine Arts for the Chihuly display of blown glass with our remaining guests. I had a soccer game in Canton where we lost 2-1 in a cold rain. I had a nice 25 yard shot on frame which the goalie mishandled and one of our strikers tapped in for our only goal. Having already secured a first place standing, this game was of little consequence to the season but it would have been nice to enter next week’s playoffs with a win.
This afternoon Jeanine and I attended Kyle’s high school graduation while the rest of our family watched the live telecast from home. Threatening rain forced the ceremony indoors and limited the number of guests to two. Kyle has been accepted to the Business School at Santa Clara University where he will attend classes in the fall. Until then he plans to continue managing his landscaping business to help fund his education.
It is hard to believe that our first born will graduate from high school tomorrow. We are filled with a combination of pride and joy, tempered with a measure of sadness as a chapter of his life comes to a close. Tonight we celebrate his journey joining together with the Silverman and Lishansky families to honor our graduates; Kyle, Jamie, and Dave.
The party started at 5PM for adults with students arriving around 7:30 after returning from their senior class outing to Six Flags. We set the yard up for volleyball, croquet, ping pong, and a seating area around a fire pit.
Volleyball seemed to be the most popular activity. Between games everyone enjoyed a simple summer feast with wonderful foods prepared by each family. A very large cake featuring an edible picture of the three boys in their thinkers pose, an assortment of Maya’s miniature cupcakes, and customized graduation fortune cookies provided the decadent balance to an otherwise healthy array of foods.
Jeanine’s sister Lauren and her nephew and niece, Luke and Erica have traveled from the Midwest to join us for Kyle’s graduation party and ceremony. Jeanine’s other sister Susan and my mother also arrived today. This group has been like an army helping Jeanine and I ready the house and prepare for the big party tomorrow.