I just realized that all of my pictures of the lake in The Woods were taken during summer. I'm going to have to ask the in-laws to send some photos of the frozen lake to remind me that it's not, in fact, perpetually July in Massachusetts. Dare to dream!
R's mom was there last weekend and said the kids had cleared a spot on the ice and were skating. It had never occurred to me that one would have to shovel a heap of snow before skating upon a lake. They never show that scene in A Charlie Brown Christmas or Bambi.
So, we've contacted the local high school out that way, and they sent us a packet of information and a college-like list of courses and course descriptions from which Obo is to choose. Oh, Lorday. That's going to be an adventure. Some of the electives are Latin I and II, Communications Technology, and Earth Science (yep, it's an elective). It is not California. Obo has placed art at the top of his list, and we plan to encourage him to join drama because he is quite anxious to give up the clarinet and so dramatic about it, too.
Sweet Potato will be going into DUN DUN DUN middle school. Oh, how I hope no one steals her fluffy burgundy ear muffs and throws them in the stinky garbage can like Jeff W. did to me. Somehow, it has become the moment that represents my entire middle school experience, and the sad part is that the boy was probably doing me a huge favor. I did love those ear muffs, though. Anyway, back to Sweet Potato: We haven't heard from her soon-to-be school yet, but we're encouraging her to play timpani in the school band because apparently (R informs us) there is not likely to be a piano in the school ensemble. Sweet Potato is not pleased.
However, there's a summer reading list on the school's website, and we're both excited to tackle that.
R has worked it out that he'll take off two weeks in the middle of June to manage the move, and he's decided against the cross-country road trip-- Sweet Potato will be disappointed. His company is going to let him work from home four days a week until the beginning of October when he'll take off another two weeks before transitioning into the new job he will be (fingers crossed) starting.
I'm so happy R will be working from home for the first few months-- except when he's working in California, but I plan to have visitors then-- Plus, R has promised me GPS for the car because he loves me despite my inability to read a map.
Finally, we've been told that Keene, New Hampshire, is a fine place to visit when needing a coffee shop/bookstore fix, and R says maybe we can go every so often and stay the weekend. Well, actually, he said I could go by myself some weekends to write and that kind of thing. He's thinking that'll be cheaper than my buying-a-second-home-in-Town plan, of which I was so proud. He's right, of course, but I haven't crossed the plan off of my To-Do list yet. Also, he's coming with me to Keene because it's not half as fun to drink hot chocolate alone.
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