Do the Yak

Today is Becky's last day of preschool. We're picking her up in an hour or so, and I don't know what to expect. Gales of tears wouldn't surprise me, but on the other hand she understands this is her last day and seems genuinely excited about kindergarten, so we'll see. Except for Monday, this is also the last week I'll be driving to work every day. I'm going in for a commuter rail pass even though it will probably take a few more minutes and saves little if any money, because it will certainly mean less wear and tear on the car, and less aggravation from fighting traffic, when instead I'll be sitting in a beautifully appointed railway car, listening to mind-improving podcasts or meditation tapes or Spanish lessons. Or maybe just sitting next to a fat business guy hollering on his cell phone and dripping melted snow all over me as I try unsuccessfully not to slump against the greasy window while my eyes keep drooping shut because I forgot the travel mug o...

#1: An informed, cogent explanation about why invading Iraq would be a bad idea ... by Dick Cheney in 1998. Seriously. #2: The brood sow is still at it. Welcome, Duggar child #17 -- another soldier for Christ. But see, there's a problem -- they have ten boys but only seven girls. "We would certainly be open to having more children," said proud papa Jim Bob. "The girls want to catch up with the boys now." Fortunately everything runs smooth as silk thanks to a household schedule and remembering the JOY rule (Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last). No comment. but I really can't wait until the complete biography by Kitty Kelly comes out in a few years after she finishes interviewing the grown kids . I can't even imagine how they will look back on their childhoods. #3: It never ceases to amaze me that some of the most analytical and best-educated people in the world also carry around a broken set of mental machinery when it comes to thinking about ...

Sarah just turned seven years old. She's grown so fast -- seems like just yesterday she was saying her first sentence ("Bye-bye, da bird!") and now she's a beautiful girl who loves playing Sudoku and Set , swimming, reading Junie B. Jones books, wearing headbands, and anything princess-related. She and I are looking forward with excitement and some nervousness to starting second grade in our new town, riding a school bus and making new friends. We recently heard that a widow down the road sold her house to a family with several girls, so hopefully there will be nearby playmates for both Sarah and Becky. But I am NOT projecting my social anxiety onto them, no sirree. Becky is also looking forward to kindergarten, though I fear it will be more of a wrench for her because she will be in preschool right up until a week or so before school starts. So the transition from her old school and friends to an entirely new experience will be more sudden. I just hope she has less s...

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS The bad news: we had two sets of tickets to two different Red Sox games this summer. The bad news: we (I) lost them in the move. The good news: my friend D. gave me her other standing-room ticket to a recent game. The bad news: it rained all afternoon and was still raining when we got to Fenway , but we wanted to see where we would have been watching from, so we went in anyway. The good news: the tickets were for the third-base pavilion, way up high and under a light structure -- a fabulous view plus a nearby new and clean restroom and concession stand that wasn't mobbed by 33,000 fellow fans. Plus during the rain delay, they showed Red Sox compilation clips (I would not call them "music videos") on the big screen accompanied by each song from the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper," as this summer is the 40 th anniversary of the album's release. Unexpectedly excellent sound quality, and the orchestral crescendo at the end of "A Day in th...

Loved the article in today's Globe abut the death-sensing cat . He lives in a nursing home and jumps on the beds of patients who are about to pop their clogs -- not those with a simple case of the dwindles (which would be pretty much all of them) or just starting to circle the drain. "Oscar makes regular 'inspection' rounds of the unit, sauntering in and out of patient rooms -- as if checking on the condition of the occupants. But he never joins them for a snooze. Until. "He only shows great interest in individuals when they are about to die," said Dosa. "Sounds like a pretty scary cat -- I'm surprised people don't hold up crucifixes when it enters a room," Dodman said jokingly, referring to the belief that a Christian cross will deter vampires. It's touching and morbidly funny at the same time. The staff love it because they know when Oscar jumps on a bed, it's time to call the relatives toute de suite to say goodbye. Images courte...

Just recently I wrote about the fear of losing Sarah's most precious possession. I guess it's the way these things work -- a few days later we were visiting G. in her assisted-living place, Sarah opened her little bag and burst into tears when she found it empty. No collection of hair bands but more importantly, no Peeper. Because it was Family Day, we'd had to park on a busy street a few minutes' walk from the place because their parking lot was full. So while Ben tried to comfort Sarah, I immediately retraced out steps to the car, on the off-chance that she had actually left the stuff there. I hadn't gotten far when I saw a blue hair band lying on the sidewalk. And then a pink elastic. And then another. It was like Hansel following the breadcrumbs. Obviously her bag had come open as she trotted along, and it was only half an hour ago, so Peeper HAD to be here somewhere. I forced myself to walk slowly and swing my gaze from left to right so as not to miss any bit o...

The kids seem to be enjoying our new house, and they certainly love the ol' swimming hole we can walk to. They can splash around for hours in there. I love the water too, but now I'm a boring grownup and I don't seem to want to splash around for hours but would rather take a dip and then go lie on the beach. We had a real nice time there two weekends ago with a family from our previous town who have two kids roughly Sarah and Becky's age. We met them at school through the kids, obviously, which is apparently the only way to make new adult friends once you're a parent, but that's OK. The only drawback to the new place from the kids' standpoint is that it's bigger and has higher ceilings, which means it's echoey and hard to locate the source of a sound or make yourself heard at the other end of the house even at top volume. So when we're all at home with the adults are puttering somewhere and the kids playing, quite often the kids, especially Bec...