Cold and Quiet
by Rob

It's Saturday, 7:24 AM. Abbie and a friend are asleep on the living room floor. The dogs are feed and relieved. The coffee's been made. I've had my bowl of Cinnamon Harvest.

And quite unexpectedly, I suddenly have nothing to do.

It's not that I don't have a list of things that are in need of attention, but rather, I don't know of anything that must be done this morning, or even today for that matter. I'll take Nathan to rehearsal mid-afternoon, but other than that, I can't think of a single scheduled event that I have to participate in today.

I'm almost glad that I was unaware that this down time was coming. Somehow, it feels like a gift.

The "holidays" were very special this year. Mom and Dad's visit was the highlight, for sure. They arrived on December 22. All of us New Yorkers had school on the 23rd, but Kim stayed home that day, still feeling the lingering effects of concussion from the car accident that happened on December 8. Except for an outing to see "Wicked" at Proctors, we didn't do all that much while they were here, but that's part of what made it so enjoyable, no real schedule, just time to be together.

Kim's family all came for the afternoon on Sunday the 27th. Everyone made it here this year, including all of the Scofields, and we had great time. Millie and Zeke didn't even wreck the party. In fact, they didn't seem to react to all of the people and noise. This was a pleasant surprise, and hopefully a forecast for their adult personalities.

Mom and Dad headed home on Tuesday the 29th. We spent the rest of the week, resting and getting some of the simple things on our to do list done. On New Year's eve, Lynn and Dave came over for dinner. Spending time with them that evening has become our tradition.

As we're heading into 2010, I'm struggling to keep from feeling a sense of dread about the next few months. Over the last several years, these winter months have become some of the most hectic of the year for me. March has become the toughest. At work, I'm preparing all 6 grade levels for concerts. One will take place in early February, but the other three all happen in March. In addition, we'll be preparing for the youth group's annual Winter Retreat. This year's event will happen during the final weekend in February. All of this is good stuff, and I enjoy it, but the convergence of all of these events has made it hard to catch my breath. When we toss in guitar lessons, piano lessons, dance lessons, choir rehearsals, youth group meetings, and now play practice... Even as I type all of that, I sense that it will read like whining. That's not really my intention, since, as I said, it's all good stuff, and I'm honestly grateful that our lives are so full of so many good things.

Last night, we had dinner with some friends. Nate was at rehearsal, but Abbie and her friend went with us. It was a simple gathering, but we had a great time. I'm pleased to remember that we have a similar plan with the Scheenstra's next Friday evening, and we're making plans to be with Miriam and Eric on MLK,Jr. day. Perhaps this might be the best way to tone down the pace of the next few months. We want to spend time with people, but often, we just don't plan things well enough to fit in such gatherings. Maybe we need to be more intentional about it.

Abbie seems to be handling seventh grade pretty well. Some time ago, I labeled this school year, "the bottom of life." Not that every thing's been easy for her (or us) this year, but if this is the bottom, things are going to be just fine. She's changing so quickly, and is often eager to be treated as a more mature person. Other times, she's happy to accept "kid status" if it will exempt her from being more responsible. Her grades are fine, and school seems to be going well. We hear about some of her school friends on occasion, but usually, she spends the greatest amount of time away from school focusing on friends from church. It's just dawning on me now that church is probably the social epicenter of her life. One of the best things about that is that it comes with a built in network of caring adults (that we know!) who are also looking out for her. I doubt that she's eager to go to worship or Sunday School, but I know that she doesn't ever want to miss going to church, and once we're there, she disappears into the mass of kids.

Nate is also having a pretty good year at school. His grades early this fall were low enough that we grounded him. In fact, he was grounded for at least a couple of months. Whether that was effective, or it was something else, like natural maturation, I'm not not sure, but he's definitely on a different track now. We are learning that it's very difficult for students to get A's at Tech Valley. A great deal of the grading is based on the group work that takes place for each of the projects. Dead weight in the ranks has been pulling down every one's grades. In spite of that, Nate's doing well, and he doesn't seem to be having difficulty managing his tasks.

At this point, he's halfway through the "13" rehearsal process. The show will run during the mid-February school break. I think that he's less than thrilled about the pace of rehearsals and the temperament of some of the staff, but I believe that this will be valuable for him. Most people have a romantic view of "being in a show." I think this is a pretty good dose of reality. I think that he'll always be interested in doing this sort of thing, and he may even be entertaining thoughts of pursuing a career in performing. Having this sort of experience is certainly going to help him figure that out.

Like Abbie, his physical transformation has be happening quite rapidly. He seems taller every week. Not more than two weeks after auditioning for "13" his voice started to change. The change is now pretty well done. Eric Barnes called this week and Nate answered the phone. It confused Eric so much that he thought he dialed the wrong number. Fortunately, Nate's not experiencing any serious difficulties singing at this stage. I think that the higher parts of his role will require more effort now, but he's added some depth that will really help him sing the role.

One of the best things about Nate's participation in this show is that so many family members are coming to see him. Mom and Dad will be back on the February 17. Uncle Jim and Aunt Susan plan to come on the weekend. Yesterday we got word that Melanie and Aunt Janet may try to come as well. This is great, and since it will be during our vacation week, we'll have so much more time. I'm really looking forward to that week.

It's now, 8:26 and the girls are getting up. So I'll make some breakfast and find some other things to do. I'm still experiencing some real pleasure in the realization that I don't know what I'm going to do today.

Zeke in December 2009 at about 5 months of age. His weight is over 13 pounds.

Millie is below. Her current weight is just over 12 pounds.

Snow day.

Today was going to be one of the most complicated days of this school year...

• Work and school
• Abbie's Jazz class
• Abbie's Holiday Band and Chorus Concert
• Nate's CDYC Rehearsal
• Nate's "13" Rehearsal
• Adventure Club
• Church choir rehearsal
• Kim's Small Group
• ... and an event at St. Rose that Rob wanted to attend

At this point, I suspect that only Nate's CDYC rehearsal will actually happen.

Sometimes things time out just perfectly. A little bit of snow has defused this bomb.

All's Well that Ends Well

by Rob

Kim was in an accident today.

She was traveling to work at about 7:45, headed west on I-88, when the vehicle in front of her lost control, spinning and bouncing off of the guard rails, back and forth across the road. Despite her best efforts to stop and stay out of the way of the other vehicle, it hit her door.

Kim was so badly shaken that she stayed in her car. One of her colleagues from school was traveling behind her and saw the accident. Stephanie stopped and came to Kim's passenger side door. She quickly made the choice to call for police and ambulance. Then they called me at work.

The good news is that Kim is fine. She was taken to the hospital in Schenectady, where I was able to meet her when she arrived. After being examined, she was given some Tylenol and sent home to rest. She'll stay at home tomorrow as well.

We're waiting to hear about our car. It's been determined that the other driver is 100% responsible for the accident. Good thing, since we didn't have collision on this vehicle. The frame of the car is damaged, so we think that it's likely that it will be totaled. Shopping for another car is not something I'm looking forward to, but I have no complaints at this point. Kim is fine and that's all that matters.

The door was in this position after the accident and will no longer close.

Season of Flu

by Rob

This school year continues to feel strange and irregular.

I don't recall a fall when so many kids have been missing school, and the stories that I hear each day about the absenteeism in other districts add a sense that something quite unusual is taking place.

Add to that, we have been missing school and work too. Abbie is home again today. It's her fifth day in the last two weeks. Kim and I had been able to leave her at home alone when she was ill back in September, but with the flu and her goopy sounding cough, we have been uneasy about leaving her. At this point, we've managed to trade off days, but I seem to keep missing the same classes.

I don't care, though. More than anything, I've come to a point where I realize that this isn't anything that anyone will remember in three months. I think what we'll recall is that there was a whole lot of illness this fall, but beyond that, everyone will do what they need to, and that's all.

On the dog front, we've had to make some changes. Last Saturday, Millie figured out how to leap out of the pen we had in the living room. It was quite impressive, but after the fifth escape, we knew that it was time for phase two. We don't want her to get out and run around the house when we're not here, but more importantly, we don't want her to injure herself. So the pen is gone and we have set up a large wire crate that we bought last spring. It's smaller than the pen but still roomy by crate standards. They don't like it as much as the pen, so it's harder to get them to go into it calmly. The upside? When we came home on Monday, they had not relieved themselves in the crate. We had been leaving a pee-pad in the pen, but sensed that this was the time to take that away. I'm hesitant to say that they're house broken, but at this point, I think we're well on our way.

Now if we can just figure out why Zeke throws up so often...

Mid-October

by Rob

Today is October 17. We've been at the school year routine long enough now that it's kind of hard to remember how the summer days felt. For the most part, all is going well. The kids are certainly busy enough, and whenever we're not carting them around, we're looking after the dogs.

Millie and Zeke are a wonderful addition to our family life. We feel like we hit doggie gold with these two. Sure they're puppies and needy at times, but mostly they are just a joy. I'm really enjoying our morning walks now, and they seem to have warmed up to them as well. By the time that I leave for work, they are settling down in the pen, seemingly unbothered by my departure. In the afternoon, we walk again, or go to one of Abbie's soccer games. In the evening we let them out of the pen for awhile. They play in the living room, or we spend time combing them -- which fortunately, they really enjoy. Each night at about 10:00, we get them into a crate for the night. They sleep next to one of our beds. We know that they get awake every now and then, but there has been no whining or barking for weeks, and they wait patiently for me to get up in the morning to take them out.

Abbie's soccer team has done well this fall. Only one loss so far, and that was a close game. They have two more games next week. It's surprising how quickly the season has gone. She has enjoyed it, and tells me that she plans to do it again next year. In addition to soccer, she's taking two dance classes and guitar lessons. Church activities and homework fill up what's left of her time.

Nate is in CDYC and Schalmont's marching band again. He doesn't seem to be nearly as busy as Abbie, but I think that suits him better. He pays a lot of attention to his social calendar now, and he gets a little annoyed if one of his activities gets in the way of a social event. He seems to like school again, and I know that he looks forward to seeing his friends there each day.

Kim is adjusting to her new work situation. She told me the other day that the honey moon is over. I think that means that the kids are now beginning to act out a little more. She only has two students, but from what she has been telling me, she has more than enough to do. She also is learning on the job, since the conditions of these two students are new to her. I think she's enjoying the challenges though, and I believe that the change in assignments has been good for her.