A dollar says he gets it 😊

It's happening! Amphibians here are thawed out (yes, the wood frogs freeze to overwinter, their blood contains an anti-freeze-like substance) and are making their move to vernal pools and ponds. It's a bit of a party here, with folks out monitoring, watching, and waving to cars to slow down. Tell me about your vernal pools! https://mainebignight.org/

Smart. I'm having a moment. I did two little workouts yesterday but have been feeling very blah since getting home. My bp is even higher than it was last week, ugh. I am someone who makes big changes to coincide with things like holidays, new season, the moon phases, etc. and since Easter is a salt-and-candy holiday for me, I'm going to link this change to Big Night, which is happening right now. Today. I will make fresh beet and carrot spring rolls for Easter along with my usual ham and yams. I'm so frustrated, but I can see my way out of this.

Nope, it's not soup, it's golden milk, see that little white arrow? This is the only cereal I like because I hate milk and love golden milk. https://naturespath.com/products/golden-turmeric-cold-cereal-np-us?

Maybe - if she doesn't ask him to take out the garbage, maybe she doesn't do this to him. Indigo, I'm sorry. My blood pressure rises when my 95 year old mom complains, and it isn't nearly as bad as your mom. I would be finding ways to check out which wouldn't be good for me. Glad you're venting here, much healthier.

A workout video yesterday and today, I've been very busy and not quite back in my exercise groove.

At home we have a masonry heater and a well, in town we have electricity and propane heat. So we choose between warm, dark, no water and no toilet flushing vs toilet flushing, water, and no heat. We usually stay home and hope to have run enough water into the tub to flush a few times before the power comes back on.

Two weeks later, I accomplished my goals at my mothers' and will go back once more before the summer season. I came home from my mother's to a wonderful surprise: dh had built a beautiful bookcase across one wall of our living room. It's lovely and simple and looks built-in. I picked up dd for her college break and we lost no time filling it. It took two days to bring all the books inside from the sauna where they have been waiting for several years, we culled the living daylights out of them, then split them into these shelves and some out in the back part of the house. We sorted them by genre then shelved them in descending height. It was so much easier than I expected it to be - if a book was the least bit sentimental to either of us we kept it, but even so I'll be getting rid of 27 dairy crates of books. Now the other kids will need to go through them, but it feels great. There is even room on the bookshelf for open space, new purchases, a big basket of baby books, and board games. This is a many-years-goal, and I am still surprised. The last piece of the small-house-rearranging-puzzle is two large instruments but I think I will find their home today. This week I will: make pysanky, welcome all four adult children home for Easter, and host our Easter party. I will also walk, lift weights, and stack wood. Today I will meet with my new committee and get our survey ready. I need to balance my head with some quantity outdoor time so will prioritize slow moving forest walks this week. I will also start the process of finding our summer staff person. I'm marveling at the amount of transition for our family. Oldest ds is getting divorced after 10 years of marriage and 15 years of commitment. Once way opened for him he moved forward with focus and kindness, even grace. I'm no longer sad for him, as he is so much more cheerful and upbeat about what comes next even without a real plan other than change. Dd turns in her second Master's thesis this morning. It's a complex and interesting piece of work representing extensive research. She has no idea what will be her next move and is waiting to hear from a couple programs. Second ds did not get the job he didn't really want but did get told of the upcoming job that he does want and so felt encouraged. And youngest is home for spring break and we're truly enjoying each other's company. All in all, March has offered us some real change and so far it's been positive.

Thank you for telling your story here, I am so sorry the enormity of the alone-ness hit all at once.

Never lost it here but the ice and underlying slush/water is flooding everywhere and treacherous to walk across. Dh had to use the sump pump to get the iced-over water off the driveway. So glad your neighbor had you and you thought to go out.

Amherst is this too, but it's in a much more beautiful spot and I think their commitment to equity is more than Colby's. I don't know how the lessons work for musical studies, but assume it's the same - not professors but students. That would seem awkward for a student at the level of your ds. Solid!

You know I'm plugging for Oberlin, the music is everywhere. Dc have a dear friend who did the musical studies major and played music throughout his time in the college, not con, and has had the most interesting jobs and travels related to his major. Apparently musical studies kids are considered the smart ones, less cutthroat than the con kids. On the other hand, I also have a soft spot for Amherst. Has he visited both? The campus cultures are so different. Amherst's setting is gorgeous, and the 5 college thing is cool but logistically challenging. The cornfields surrounding Oberlin were/are distressing for my nature-loving kids, but maybe it kept them on campus and noses to the grindstones 🙂 You already know this but one challenge for conservatory kids is the absolutely ridiculous amount of time they are expected to practice and the number of credits they require. Dd's curricular requirements as a con student were so far beyond what non-con students had to do. Yes, it's an incredible opportunity and she was/is grateful for that, but non-con offers at least a modicum of balance.

Congratulations! Welcome Baby Nabby. She is adorable!

Same for a few of my family members, ahem. Will that stop me from buying more bunnies and chocolate eggs? No. My annual Easter party will continue, though with fewer and fewer children each year. We do a big potluck with lots of friends. Our contribution is usually ham, sweet potatoes, and a lemon curd- topped lemon cake with strawberries, plus pretty paper napkins and lots of chocolate.

I think the profound impact is at the societal level, not the individual level. As Regentrude mentioned and my musician dd found, European students and the larger society value the humanities in a different and tangible way. Dd met a mom of 4 who was getting her third Master's in music performance, because she could. The society is set up for her to achieve this goal: she has had excellent health care, childcare, education for her children, and very inexpensive graduate school. She's never going to be a famous performer or have an impact on the scholarly field but what she brings to her family, her community, the larger society, and the "great conversation" across generations is valued and profound in that context. Imagine our American culture adopting the same posture.

You really are a hero. I noticed this in the purse thread, who knew you would have to use it so soon? You've inspired me.

Here's my plug for a third option - finding another adult mentor for her in a subject/extracurricular that she loves. Of course social time with peers is important but this is a great age to find an adult who is passionate and skilled at something your daughter loves eg sewing, snowboarding, nature journaling, etc. Spending focused time with another adult can really take the edge off the interest in school as they realize they wouldn't have time to do that if they were in school. Of course, this might not work for your student but these were important relationships for all of mine and helped make the transition to high school at home easier.

Love Amherst! Yay! Yay for need-affirmative admissions at Amherst too. (Not saying you need that, it's just a great feature of Amherst.)

A brief bit of a workout then ten hours of driving. Not helpful but I get youngest home for a week!

I'm here with you, but ready to get flamed by the responsible parents 🙂 Musician dd has a BM in performance, one Master's in performance, and is a week away from her second Master's in musicology. This last degree is in response to her passion for research, not a true pivot to marketability. My take has always been two-pronged: she couldn't not study music, it's like oxygen to her. Dh and I also deeply believe that music is one of the highest forms of human expression. As non-musical, non-wealthy, and fairly unconventional parents, we completely supported her choice. The world needs more musicians and artists of all kinds. She knows she can always live with us and she can always make some sort of living here if no music related jobs open up. I know this is not the usual parental commentary but I'm leaving it here in case there are others who might find some solace that they are not alone.

Lots of what my kids call lacs-bros there and Waterville isn't a beauty spot but you would have Mainer hive aunties to keep an eye out for him 🙂

Dd is in her way home today too, right before a messy winter storm tomorrow. Yay!

There is a Boardie daughter who is a famous Irish music performer.

I did two back to back videos yesterday for a total of 50 minutes and it felt fine. Today it's cold and blowing a gale so I probably won't get outside, will do some more of the fitbymyk's.

Tide also makes little pencils of stain remover.