The things kids think of:

Ethan wanted to call a friend to go play tennis at noon. It’s ANOTHER hot day in San Mateo. I asked why not wait until later in the day when it’s cooler.

E: “Nah, mom, noon is the perfect time to play tennis.”

Me: “No, it’s too hot and the sun beats down on you.”

E: “Yeah, but at noon you both have equal sun in your eyes.”

Me: “Who told you that?”

E: “Nobody. I just thought of it myself.”

Do other kids think of things like that?

Ethan had his first soccer game of the season today. He played great. He only played the 2nd half, because it turned out he was wearing baseball cleats by accident. So I drove home to get another pair (15 min each way! I had to hustle!!!) We have like 8 pairs of cleats in various sizes. Glen found the other pair that looked like it would fit him and I drive it back to the soccer field. Nope! The ref says those are FOOTBALL cleats. (Apparently American football…)

Why the heck would we have football cleats???

Luckily I brought his regular sneakers too, and they let him play in those. Of course, as the only kid who hadn’t played during the first half, he looked real good out there!

Glen’s grandmother, Florence Green, died last week.

Family occassions, like a funeral or wedding or bar mitzvah, are the times when it is so hard to be far away from family. Those are times when you learn so much about the strength of your family members, about their values for better or worse. Those are the times when you see their faces at their most happy and most sad. Those are the times you remember the memories and make new ones. But not if you aren’t there.

Glen and I have made the commitment that our family vacations (in other words, traveling budget and time away from work) have to be spent with family and that we must commit to those big, meaningful celebrations of life and mournings of death. We want the boys to know their family at the good and bad times, see their faces happy and sad, and hear about the past and help create the future.

Ethan and Jared started school 2 days after Mommer died. Thank god (literally?) for the jewish tradition of shiva. It is such a civilized, meaningful way to deal with losing someone – multiple days to visit and mourn and remember with family and friends. Glen didn’t make it for the funeral (I have no further comments), but he and Ethan went out to see his family for a shiva call.

Mommer was my grandmother-in-law, and I will never forget how she gave it to me straight. When Glen’s family was a mystery to me and so often I didn’t have a clue what I had done to offend, she would tell me. Straight out – no apologies, no sparing my feelings – and it was such a relief! I remember her distinctive voice and the way it softened over the years I knew her. The way she said “Karen,” protesting something or calling her.

Ethan, Jared and Matthew – Mommer wasn’t always the kindest person to everyone, but she was always kind to me and she loved you very much.