Grandma's Kitchen Table

Navigating the Waters of the 21st Century -- Part 2

The Pantheon in Rome

I really need to get into this technological age.  How cool is this:  one of the ICC parents searched the web for web cam sites in Rome and came up with one in front of the Pantheon.  (And, no, I am not getting a web cam for those of you who think that is where this is going.)  So, we were able to see the ICC singers rambling about a bit in front of the Pantheon and getting ready to go into the portico area to sing.  Best of all, Mark had his phone and called just as I was viewing from the web cam, so he stood in the middle of the road and he and Matt waved at me...oh, this was too much fun!  Matt had to go in to sing and Mark talked for a long time, about 5 minutes, all about what they had done and were doing:  Vatican tour, Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, Piazza Navona, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, and the Spanish Steps.  No moss growing under their feet, as usual.  While he was talking I could hear the kids singing in the background...yep, definitely am loving aspects of this technological age.  (Still not getting a web cam, however.)

Across the Waters

Most of the ICC singers on the Italy tour are now officially across the water and the remaining few will be there by early Sunday, finding flights out of NYC and Boston.  Whew...what an ordeal!  Yesterday after singing the Mass at St. Peter's at the Vatican, the singers received special permission to gather in a semicircle around Michelangelo's Pieta at the back of St. Peter's to sing Ave Maria.  Very beautiful and very special for the kids to be able to do that...WOW.  Matthew said it was very moving and he could not believe he was actually there doing all of this..."Thank you so much, Mom.  I will never, ever forget this. Never."  Yep, what a good kid! 

Troubled Waters

My new hydrangas...very pretty!  Mark planted the dwarf variety as he did not want them to grow six feet tall and cover the kitchen nook windows...however, since this is our first effort, and therefore a learning process, these little beauties are going to be transplanted to another bed so that we can find something taller for this spot...probably a taller hydranga.  These are very small, less than one foot high.  The learning process is half the fun!  I love the pink...we have so little pink around here with all these guys!

      Happy Birthday, Shelley!  Hope you are having a great time over there celebrating...I am looking forward to celebrating with you on Monday night with all the other MNO gals, but wanted you to know I was thinking of you today also!   Matt sang in St. Peter's in Rome today for your birthday...how cool was that?!  You like Ave Maria better than Happy Birthday anyway, right?  Maybe you can talk him into a private concert when he returns...he has trouble resisting pleas from blue eyed blondes these days...that and a smile!

     The ICC singers had quite an adventure yesterday...well, 23 of them are still having the adventure in NYC. The tour was flying out on three separate flights and meeting up in Rome. Yesterday morning Northwest Airlines had the misfortune of having their pilots call in with the "flu" (which apparently is known as a "blue flu strike") and Matt's group of singers was on the last NW flight out of Indianapolis.  Group Two was originally scheduled to be routed through Detroit on NW to NYC but never got to leave Indy and were sent home.  (They left very early this morning on a flight to NYC with another airline and are now waiting in NYC hoping to find some sort of connecting flight to Rome.)  Group Three was all on Delta and had a direct from Atlanta to Milan and they went through without a hitch.  Groups One and Three got to sing at St. Peter's today, but alas, Group Two just got to hang out at JFK in NYC.  They are still there as of this writing.  This has never happened before...usually these trips go off without a hitch...apparently the NW airline people aren't quite so well organized these days.  The singers all fly back from NYC via Northwest on July 8th, so it will be interesting to see how that all goes then.  The ones who made it through are having a great time in Rome.  Mark said they were all very tired, but very happy today, enjoying each and every thing they were doing.  Can't beat that!

Thursday's Favorites Fare

One of my tomato plants...click to enlarge, sorry about the focus.  Matthew took my digital to Italy with him, leaving me with this very inferior one.  I am thinking this will never do...might have to go shopping for a new one (gasp from all you who know me and know I don't shop well).  Yep...might have to go shopping...GASP, CHOKE, GASP.

READING:  Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea:  Why the Greeks Matter by Thomas Cahill (4th in the Hinges of History series)

POOLSIDE READING:  Finishing Grapes of Wrath...don't know why, but am on a Steinbeck kick, so am re-reading GoW and have Of Mice and Men lined up next to re-read (read them in high school...long time ago!).

LISTENING TO:  Tom Petty's Long After Dark cd.

COOKING THROUGH:  Pulling new pasta salad recipes to try...today is orzo and grilled veggies with a light lemony dressing.  Very good actually...definitely a keeper.

FAV NEW FIND:   Hundreds of little blossoms and tiny tomatoes on my potted tomato plants...the little 100s should be ready fairly soon...can't wait!

FAV THING TODAY;  Seeing all the ICC kids off at the airport this morning...they were all so excited and having such a great time together...everyone was very happy and cute!

LEAST FAV THING TODAY;  Saying goodbye at the airport...there is always that part of me that has a panic attack thinking something awful will happen and I will never see them again...I have had my world disappear before and I am here to tell you that I do not rally with any sort of ease, agility, or grace.  (At least I kept it well hidden in front of them...smiling in the midst of panic is not an easy thing to do!)

SCRAPBOOK PAGES THIS WEEK;  10 this afternoon...no swim or choir practices to drive!

GOING TO:  The movies...Alex and I are catching up on some of the newer releases.

PRAYING FOR:  Updates:  Tom Hedlund has been moved to an Indianapolis hospital, making it easier on the family.  He continues to struggle greatly...very small improvements only.  He recognizes all the kids and Terri.  Keep praying.  Charles:  Surgery was successful and Charles is home healing and mending.  He will not be able to swim for the rest of the season, beyond that time will tell when he can hope to be back in the water.  NEW:  Praying for the safety and well being of the ICC travelers in Italy, please join me. 

Fishing Waters

Matthew packed and ready to roll...a whole day early!   

There have been lots of requests about info for Matt's Italy tour with the ICC from those of you who enjoy following along with the tour each year...if you would like to see the itinerary, please email me and I will send it via email attachment to you.  It includes the ICC site that is hosting the photos of the trip as they go along as well as the ICC hotline number you can call if you want to listen to daily blurbs about what they saw and did that day.  Prayers appreciated for the safety and well-being of the 83 singers, 14 chaperones, two choir directors, and all the musicians and staff members accompanying them...105 people in all.  What an opportunity for Matthew...he is very excited!

     Have you heard the adage "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime?" Well, all these years of packing for swim meets and choir trips have finally paid off.  Last evening (a full day before said suitcases needed to be packed), Matt and Mark got everything packed and ready to go with very little assistance from me (and what they got, they in truth probably didn't need...LOL).  The suitcases came out:  the clothing all piled in one area, the incidentals in another, the 2 gallon baggies and sharpie marker ready at hand, and within a very short time, everything was labeled, everything was in baggies for each day (marked accordingly), all the suitcases were zipped closed, and now everything stands at the ready by the door.  How much greater can it get than this?  Eleven days worth packed in no time at all!  And, all I did the entire time was bake chocolate chip cookies and wash and slice fruit for snacks.  What a deal!  I am working myself out of a job daily.  (Well, maybe not...let's face it, if this had been Alex, chaos would have reigned at some point...he is still a work in progress, so I am sure I can still feel needed for a couple more years yet.)

Cool! Waters

Matt in the starting position for the 100 Backstroke at the swim meet this weekend.  Lane 4:  that all important, top ranked, Center Lane! 

As of this morning, Matthew Gerth is ranked FIRST in the State of Indiana in BOTH the 100 Freestyle and the 100 Backstroke for the boys 13-14 age group.  How cool is that! 

Water Meters

The Carmel Swim Club Pool at Carmel High School...our home away from home! (Click to enlarge.)

One Happy Swimmer!

We are well into long course meters season...the state swim meet only about a month away.  It was so great to be swimming this meet at our own pool this weekend...very nice to go home between preliminaries and finals each day, and to go home each night to sleep in our own beds.  It was also very nice to see all our swimmers and families working together to host a three day meet.  It's just a lot of fun!   Matt did very well.  200 Free: 1st; 100 Butterfly: 2nd (Who knew that was a possibility?  NO ONE saw that coming.); 400 IM:  5th; 100 Back: 1st; 400 Free: 9th; and the 50 Free...oh, we don't want to talk about that one...disappointment and heartache.  He finished 1st with a new best time, only 5/100ths of a second off a AAAA cut, and got disqualified for moving on the block prior to entry into the water.  He said he felt a shudder, could not stop it, and it made him shake just slightly.  The judge caught it and the DQ was written up before he ever hit the water (the swimmer is not allowed to move on the block in the final starting position or he/she gets disqualified under "false start").  Oh, well, he swam the time and it is definitely there, so maybe at the next meet. Mike finished 2nd, so with Matt's DQ, he got to own the 1st in that swim, and Matt was happy it was Mike taking it home instead of someone from another team.  He was one very disappointed swimmer about not getting to keep that time, but to his credit, he rallied nicely and went into this morning's round of 100 Free and 200 Back with gusto, finishing finals this evening with a 1st place finish in each of those two swims...we are so proud of him!  Everyone kept coming up and saying, "If we could just get Matt to give up this choir business so he could focus on swimming, just think what he could do!"  Matt always takes a lot of grief from the swimming world about missing swim practices, etc. for singing gigs.   He leaves Thursday with the choir for 11 days in Italy...you can imagine the "grief" he is getting for that little adventure!  Yikes...no swim practice for all that time...a swim meet the weekend after he arrives back home, wonder what that one will look like...better enjoy this one right now!   Exciting new times this weekend.  The kid can swim a little.

Water Cooler

Our Kitchen Refrigerator...AKA Dad's Home Front Day Planner

Summer is the time of year when the homeschooling moms can breathe a little freer.  With the books on the shelves and all the projects cleaned up, thoughts can run toward "next year" and how things might improve. Organization is a always big topic, so it was no surprise this week when I got several calls from moms asking me this or that on organizing the whole routine.  My favorite question was "How do I get Dad organized?"  Hmmm...have no idea.  The dad in this house is pretty well organized.  Am not sure I could personally get him there if he wasn't.  I answered that I would think a little on that one and post it here (this blog is great for that:  I only have to type it and respond ONCE!). For myself, I operate with a day planner and it makes everything go smoothly as I have ONE place where I can write it all down, and believe me, at this age, I have to write it down.  The photo is what the dad in this house uses for a day planner as far as the home front goes (he has numerous secretaries and such who all look out for him at the office so I can't speak for what he does there).  The refrigerator here at home is Dad's day planner.  It's the one place I know he will go several times a day...and while he is there, he checks on the day's activities.  All the church, choir, swimming, 4-H, scouting, etc. information goes there.  When we got a new frig, they wanted to put fancy wood on the front, etc. to match the rest of the kitchen and we all panicked at the thought of losing the magnetic quality that this frig has...what would we do without it?  Fancy wood or practicality...practicality wins out most of the time around here.  So, my advice about organizing the dad is to put everything where he can visually see it...don't write it in an appointment book or put it on the desktop where something might get laid on top of it...go for the always visible!  Updating it and circling times and dates are the only things I need to do to help him along...the rest is up to him. It has worked well here for years and years and it is a whole lot easier to say, "It's on the frig," than "Where did I put that?"  Organization 101...next question? 

Thursday's Favorites Fare

Charles

READING:  Still working on the Lincoln/Taney book...not much reading time this past week...will remedy that at the pool this weekend during the swim meet!

POOLSIDE READING:  Tour lists; travel info; Italy guidebooks; packing lists; song lists for the Italy tour

LISTENING TO:  Def Leppard Hysteria

COOKING THROUGH:  Nothing new this week...too many double swim/choir practices and tee times

FAV NEW FIND:  Okay, I can't believe I am owning or admitting this:  a new iPod (see story below)...Oh, my is this ever NICE!  Who knew??? 

FAV THING TODAY;  My early morning swim...nice to just try to swim off the emotional ups and downs over last week and the weekend, busy-ness of this week, and to pray for the families below.  It worked a little...hugs are still appreciated, however.

SCRAPBOOK PAGES THIS WEEK;  0...too many double swim/choir practices;getting ready for Italy, etc.

GOING TO:  3 day swim meet...see you here next week!

PRAYING FOR: Tom and Terri Hedlund and family...Tom was in a very serious accident on June 8th...they have six children (8-17)...Tom's condition is very bad right now and the family can use all the good thoughts and prayers you can spare.  The accident happened in Cincinnati, Tom is hospitalized there, Terri trying to manage everything there and here...please join me and pray for them.  Also, please pray for Charles, Matt's swim team buddy who was hit by a car while riding on his bike and is in surgery today...(Charles is another top notch swimmer in CSC)...please join me and pray for him and his family.  It's been a rough week.

Navigating the Waters of the 21st Century

My new iPod!  Who knew???

I will admit it.  I am not into this 21st Century by much.  Rumor has it around here that I barely made it into the 20th Century before they switched on me.  I am a history nut...Ancient up to about the time the Bolsheviks decided to toss Nicholas and Alexandra off the Russian throne in 1917 at St. Petersburg.  I got lucky when I met Mark...as it turns out, his specialty in history is WWI and beyond.  How cool is this that it worked out that way?  One or the other of us can pretty much handle any history queries you might have at any given moment (okay, that skill is probably not in high demand, but it is there should you need it).  SO, needless to say, the entire field of electronics has left me behind long long ago. 

    To demonstrate just how far behind...one day I was thinking I might like to watch a VCR movie (see, not even a DVD), so I took the tv remote in hand and pushed the button for "on"...nothing.  Again.  Nothing.  Now, we have several television sets in this house, all hooked up to various remotes and computers and fancy stuff because that is what the guys in this house are really into.  I have ONE television that I BEGGED them to leave "normal," meaning one that I could just hit one button and have it come to life and hit another button to see a certain channel.  So far, so good.  Very dependable...I could do that with no problem.  When nothing came to life this day, I literally laid down on the family room floor, stared at the ceiling fan above me and thought, "This is it, I am a dinosaur."  Matt came in and said, "Mom, what's wrong?"  I said, "Matt I have got to get it together here, I can't even turn on one single electronic thing in this house and have it work as it is supposed to work.  I have to advance into the technological age or die."  After discerning the problem he took remote in hand, turned it over, and said, "You can relax a little, Mom, Alex took the batteries out to use for something else, so I will go get some new ones for you and you will be operational."  Whew....I knew, then, however, that I needed to step up my knowledge base in electronics a bit. 

    Matt's high school requires each student to purchase a new laptop computer for use at school...they include it in the fancy enrollment price for the freshman.  With said computer came a free iPod.  Everyone else in this house has an iPod, so Matt and Mark decided that I would be the recipient of said freebie.  They know me well, figuring I would give it away or donate it, so they had my name engraved on the backside so I would need to keep it.  We picked it up yesterday and last night Matt did all the computer work to get it set up.  This morning after the 6:00 a.m. practice, he said, "Mom, let's do it...what do you want me to put on that iPod for you?"  Hmmm...I reached for the nearest CD (yes, I do have CDs and not just my old vinyl albums and tape cassettes, very funny as I know you were all thinking that), and much to my absolute delight, it was Def Leppard's Hysteria, one of my very favorites.  I have to tell you, this iPod thing is REALLY GREAT!  Being led kicking and screaming into most new things, dinosaur that I am, I LOVE this thing...absolutely LOVE IT!  Won't everyone be surprised when I show up with this new little toy at the swim meet this weekend?  It should make those swimmers all come in with faster times just from the shock of it all...those boys have been trying to drag me into the 21st Century for years now.  I have held my ground well.   Who knows...I may have to get my act together and modernize on a few other things around here...might.  (P.S.  Her name is Lily (like lilypad, only Lilypod...you all know how I love flowers!)

Crossing the Waters

Pippin and Vash discussing who is going to get to sit on Alex's lap...Pippin winning at the moment.

Where, everyone is asking, is Alex?  Not a word about Alex for many many days.  Well, I will say I am missing the little guy.  First I was in Iowa and he was not, then I was in Louisville for the swim meet and he was not, and then he was at scout camp for a week and I was not, and as soon as he returned from camp, he packed his bag for the "Aunt Nan and DeNephews Vacation" and left with them and I did not.  Never fear, he and I will be seeing plenty of each other from here on out...well, when he returns, which is next Wednesday, one day before Matt sets off for Italy with the ICC.

     Today Alex is crossing the water on a little boat trip from Vermont to Canada via Lake Champlain.  Each year Aunt Nan takes her nephews on a vacation and they visit all the sites, museums, amusement parks, and baseball parks that they can possibly fit in during a given period of time in a given geographical location.  Everyone should have an Aunt Nan.  (Aunt Nan is Mark's sister, his only sister, for those of you who don't know.  She was raised with 5 brothers and never saw a need to compound that torture of dealing with so much testosterone by getting married.  She has no kids, and therefore has endless amounts of energy and patience for all of ours each summer.  She was hoping for a lot of nieces.  She got a lot of nephews instead, so she is just rolling with it these days...and no one is as great at doing vacations as Aunt Nan!)

     This vacation thing has worked out well for Alex.  Matt always gets the big ICC trip each year (China, Greece, Italy) and Alex gets Camp Tecumseh, Camp Ransburg, and the Aunt Nan gig.  Alex is pleased with the arrangement as those are all things he just loves doing, so while the vacations are not really the same sorts of things, Alex is pleased and that is all that matters in the long run.  This year cousins David (14) and Jonathan (10) are also on the trip.  Their destination is Canada:  Montreal and Toronto to be exact.  So far we have had one phone contact which was rather hurried as they were headed to the swimming pool somewhere in Vermont and we were just "talking up valuable time."  I was going to post a photo, but they haven't sent any of those either.   Sooner or later, we will get to hear all about it, but in the meantime, news of Alex is pretty scarce.  I am certain they are all having a great time.  Montreal and Toronto, what's not to love there?  Great things to do and see in both of those places.  Personally, however, my real love in Canada is Quebec...what I would not give for a week in Quebec right now...yep, Quebec sounds very fine...can think of a ton of fun things to do in Quebec!  Alas...not anytime soon...but still nice to dream and hope, right?  News from Alex when we get it! 

Bottled Water

Matt's typical 5-6 a.m. breakfast!

I think I might have stumbled upon why the swimmers look like they do and why the football players and wrestlers have a slightly different physique.  Swimmers eat things like this for breakfast...portable food, I will grant you as it is usually eaten "meals on wheels" style on the way to the pool...a banana, a carton of yogurt, a whole wheat oatmeal/raisin cookie or muffin, and a bottle of water.  (Then they swim for two or three hours.)  I have noticed that the football players and wrestlers are exiting their cars at 6:00 a.m. with things like bags of doughnuts and Cokes (Cokes at 6:00 a.m. can you even imagine such a thing?).  Therein, possibly, might be at least part of the difference.  I thought Matt was going to have a heart attack when he saw some of them going to "conditioning and training" drinking Cokes!

Negotiating the Waters

Carmel High School -- Natatorium Entrance (click to enlarge)

Uh, oh...it's that time of year again.  We swimmer parents pretty much rule the Carmel High School drives and parking lots for the 5:00 and 6:00 a.m. practices throughout the year.  No one else is up and around at that time so we made our own set of rules about how we negotiate those waters.  We have this little pool run coordinated like a finely orchestrated minuet each morning (well except for the "slow" part of a minuet).  First of all, it is me and the dads in the morning dropping off our swimmers.  At our house, the mom is the "morning person" and the dad, not so much.  So, for years and years I have been accustomed to several things:  I drive the early morning practices.  The other swimmers' dads drive the early morning practices.  Starbucks is not open until 6:00 a.m. and I am well aware that said dads are out driving around without that first cup of coffee.  Dads who are very amiable and friendly at all other times, do not like to wave, nod, or especially chat at that hour of the morning (I am always very considerate in just offering a smile at that time of day).  There is a 10 second drop off time, whereby the car advances through the circle drive, slows down, stops for ten seconds, tops, while the swimmer hops out, grabs the swim bag, and heads toward the pool door, before the driver advances around the circle and on to work, albeit I head home again.  Fine tuned.  We all get it.  We all have been doing it for years and even the newbies catch on real quick.  We cut through the parking lots in a very prescribed way so we don't cross paths and we all know how to do this without fail...and maybe in some cases with some of those dads, half asleep.  However, for a few weeks during the summer, the wrestling and football teams have "early morning conditioning workouts" which calls for them ALL to be there at 6:00 a.m.  There are hundreds of them, CHS is a big big school.

    This is NOT a pretty sight...these people DO NOT GET IT when it comes to the fine art of dropping off their athletes.  They all drive like normal people during the regular school day...go figure!  Who has time to mess with that...going around the long way, not cutting through the parking lots, ignoring the stop signs so that we can each have a one-way lane (of our own devising).  These parents linger at the drop off point to hug and kiss their athletes and hand them packages of food along with their gear bags (we swimming parents know that hugs and kisses can wait until a much more reasonable hour, that our kids are on their own for shoving down whatever food they can find before they head out in the morning, and that each and everyone of them is perfectly capable of getting that gear bag out of the trunk themselves, therefore there is no need for any of the parents to be exiting those cars at that hour of the day for any sort of little niceties in life whatsoever).  Having all these wrestling and football parents clogging up the drop off line is just fraught with frustration for those of us who know the drill and can be in and out of there in less than 15 seconds.  Matt had to sprint to the door this morning as the line was taking way too long.  Dryland before we even reach practice!  Thankfully it is only for a few weeks and then we swim parents can get back to our regular routine...this morning there was a lot of applying the brakes quickly and swerving to miss those drivers who think it is the 7:00 a.m. run...they have no clue that it is a whole different arena with a completely different set of game plans out there at 5 or 6 in the morning!  I am certain those other parents are wondering how we swim parents ever get by the rest of the year...it is such a short amount of time, it hardly seems worth negotiating with them on the rules of the road poolside at the school.  Matt just shook his head and said, "Well, Mike will need to be wearing his shoes if we are going to need to sprint this far to the door every morning!" 

First Water

Matthew, Mark, Alexander:  Two at once...what were we thinking??? 

A Really Excellent Dad spends hours helping little boys find EVERY character at Disney World to sign their autograph books just because that's what they want to do that day! 

The real Knight in Shining Armor is the one without the costume...the one out there each and every day slaying all the dragons for us.  We could not be more appreciative!   

First Water: the highest grade, degree, or quality...Yep, that's the Dad in this house!  Happy Father's Day to the Best of the Best!  To the Dad who makes all our hearts sing on a daily basis...the Dad who never has a bad day...the Dad who is so very patient with all of us...the Dad who is always ready with a hug and a smile...the Dad who can seemingly do everything excellently...how did we all get so very lucky?  Happy Father's Day!

Watery Eyes II

Clowes Hall, Butler University  (Click on photos to enlarge.)

The 300 New Little Singers at Clowes Today

The Upper ICC Choirs and the New Littles at Clowes Today...to give you a sense of size!

Each year the Indianapolis Children's Choir has a week long summer camp to introduce young singers to the ICC.  The singers are recommended by their elementary teachers and there are 300 of them each year...many who go on to become part of the ICC family of choirs.  At the end of the week, there is a special performance at Clowes (our major music hall venue in Indy) where the children all perform, get to hear the older choirs perform, and even get to sing a couple of songs with the older ICC choirs.  It is absolutely magical.  The concert was today and if my eyes were watery last evening at graduation, today was even worse.  I watched the little ones who were so excited to be singing in Clowes with the ICC (could it really be six years ago (not five that I mistakenly spoke of yesterday...how did I forget that first year?) that Matthew was that small and just starting out in ICC)...they had learned ten songs in a week, all very challenging high quality musical pieces.  It is always amazing to see how much the ICC staff can accomplish with one single week of music for these little ones.  Very impressive.  After the new little singers performed, they sat around the front of the stage to learn from the older singers.  This was the last time each of the older choirs got to sing together for this year...next year some will be moving up, some moving on, some staying in the same choir...the makeup of each choir is different each year.  At the end, Mr. Leck introduced all the ICC graduates, calling each down by name and they gathered together one last time at the front of the stage and sang Friends together...not a dry eye in the house...the kids all stood hand in hand, arms around each other, hugging and singing for the last time together as members of ICC.  Oh, gosh, I did NOT need this today...way too emotional...and me without a hankie in sight.  After this they all went back to their spots and the entire choir, plus the new little 300 singers, all sang Its a Wonderful World together...so beautiful.  By this point, the lady behind me sacrificed one of her hankies for me...much appreciated.  I am never prepared for these things...I do not do emotion well and avoid these types of things whenever possible!  Since Matt was in the last row, Mark and I chatted with friends coming and going and then headed for the hallway to "pick up our singer."  Big Mistake...all the kids were out in the hallway hugging and crying and singing little songs together and reminiscing, etc. etc.  Unfortunately, all the moms were doing this, too...the dads all heading out to retrieve vehicles.  Next time, I am heading out with the dads for sure.  No one needs this many tugs on their heartstrings!  My heartstrings had already been tugged at plenty this week...this just sent everything over the edge.  Oh, how we will miss ICC next year, but oh, how we are looking forward to reuniting with old friends in IYC next year who were once part of ICC also.  How can one love and be committed to the old and the new at the same time?  Heartstrings...my watery eyes reveal the depth of all that has tugged away at my heart this week...the old and the new.   I am hoping that next week will be a whole lot more gentle with my heart...after all, a girl can take only so much!

Watery Eyes

Greg, Julia, Alea, and Matthew at the ICC graduation dinner.

Matt getting award and hug from Mr. Leck with Mrs. Dwyer and Mr. Pedde looking on...all choir directors that Matt has enjoyed over the years at ICC.

The 2007 ICC Graduates...all 55 of them!

Graduation night for the advanced singers at the Indianapolis Children's Choir.  Matt's voice has changed and he is advancing to the Indianapolis Youth Corale Choir a year early beginning in August.  It was a wonderful night full of friends, fun,music, and yes, a few tears at the thought of leaving it behind after five years.  Many of the singers are advancing on so Matt will be with them in IYC next year, but it is still always sad to say goodbye at the end of a good run to those who aren't moving on.  I cried once...okay, twice.  Once when Matt and Mr. Leck hugged and I realized just how much Mr. Leck has meant to all of us and just how tall Matt was these days; and then again when I saw Matt standing with the rest of the graduates all smiling and happy.  Happy tears...happy for him, proud of him for all he has accomplished with his music, and delighted that he will continue on with many of these singers next year.  ICC has become an extended family for us and it was just wonderful watching all the singers go up and receive their awards, etc.  They have grown up so much over the past years...it is all going by too quickly.  (If you would like to hear a sampling of Matt's choir, you can go to www.icchoir.org and listen to the song Amani by doing this: Go to the site, you can either listen to the short intro by Mr. Leck, the founding director of the ICC and Matt's choir director for the past three years, or skip it and go to the ICC page where another short intro by one of the singers plays and then click on ICC jukebox and when it pops up in the top left, Amani should be the top song that comes up.  Click play.)  Three years ago this Cantantes Angeli choir was formed by Mr. Leck to showcase the top singers of the ICC...almost 1800 singers at the time.  Auditions were held with the idea of choosing the 80 best from the 13-18 year old crowd.  When the letters were sent, we were very surprised that Matthew had been selected as he was only 11 and had tried out for a lower choir! He became the youngest founding member and fell in love with the CA choir and all the opportunities that he was able to enjoy as part of it.  It is a little sad saying goodbye...but young men grow up, voices change, and childhood gets moved further and further into the past...we are going to see so many changes this coming year!  This evening was a prelude, I think...and as I write this, my watery eyes indicate I may just not be all that ready for it yet. 

Thursday's Favorites Fare

Mike and Matt being goofy...they found these sunglasses in the pool box (from when Matt and Alex were 4 years old) and decided to wear them around all day to swim practice, etc.  Stunning, don't you think?

READING:  Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney:  Slavery, Secession, and the President's War Powers by James F. Simon

POOLSIDE READING:  Guidebooks for Italy...reading about the areas the ICC will tour!

LISTENING TO:  Italian operas

COOKING THROUGH:  Giada's Everyday Italian

FAV NEW FIND:  Elegant navy tie with little bitty silver dragons on it at the Frazier Museum in Louisville...for Mark for Father's Day as he is out there "slaying the dragons" for us every day!  Shhh...don't tell until after Sunday!

FAV THING TODAY;  Getting closer to making it all work.

SCRAPBOOK PAGES THIS WEEK;  6 journaling pages

GOING TO:  Creating Artistry ICC concert; Father's Day doings all weekend...spoil the Father in your home...Dad gets to do anything he wants all weekend! 

PRAYING FOR:  Fathers everywhere, please join me.

High Waters

These pants fit perfectly last month.  No kidding around...less than a month ago, these pants were right on with plenty of growth leeway and hanging well over the tops of the shoes indicating to me that we were not going to be needing any hemming attention anytime soon.  Hmmm....what happened???  Matt had them on today for an ICC performance and, too late to do anything about it, had to head out the door in these lovely high waters!  Earlier this morning we went out to get new ICC dress pants...size 34/36 now and a new ICC dress shirt...large...and to have the sleeves of the ICC blazer re-hemmed to add another two inches so the sleeves reach the appropriate location on the wrists.  It never dawned on me to check the black rehearsal slacks for length as he only wears those once a month.  Oh, and his voice has changed so that he can no longer hit any of the high notes.  I AM NOT READY FOR THIS MANY CHANGES ALL AT ONCE!  Actually, I am ready for the voice changing thing.  He auditioned for the high school section of the ICC, which is the Indianapolis Youth Chorale, and was admitted on the spot...normally one needs to be in the 10th grade to audition, but they let him in a year early because he can sing a little.  So, big changes here for next year...the most exciting being that IYC practices just once a week on a Sunday afternoon, making it no longer necessary for Matt to swim, get out early from practice, and rush down to Butler for ICC rehearsal two nights a week.  This, I am thinking, has got to have its upside, especially with high school classes next year.  So, bring on those high waters!  We are ready for them!

Water Rules

After being on a swim team for 8 years, the Water Rules have been somewhat modified.  What are Water Rules?  You know, "Walk, don't run." (Who wants to run after swimming 10,000 meters in practice?)  "Must pass test to enter deep water." (Yep, did that at age 6.) "No diving in shallow end." (Well, we dive wherever those starting blocks tell us to dive.)   The rules of the pool now run along these lines.  "Mark absolutely everything you own with your name."  (If it is not marked, it will be up for grabs.)  "Even if you do mark everything, there is no guarantee that you will be able to locate it once you set it down, so buy things that are distinguishably yours from across the pool."  (Buy one style of swim towel in quantity...if there are 11 swim practices a week, buy eleven towels of the exact same color and design.  There is a chance that everyone will think you own only one towel, but at least everyone will know that it is your towel and it will be around at the end of the week.)  "Goggles belong one of three places:  on your head, around your neck, or in your zippered swim bag out of sight."  (Goggles cannot be marked and everyone knows this...if you randomly set those babies down, they are goners...the real expense in swimming is not in team fees, meet fees, swim apparel...etc. The real expense is in replacing goggles at $18.00 a pop.  I would not even want to calculate how many goggles we have replaced over the years.)  "Never, never leave ANYTHING unattended in the locker room that you hope to ever see again."  (Swim bags left behind in the locker room are rifled through by countless others and very few items remain intact at the end of such rifling...and this is not from fellow swimmers.)  And the number one rule of the pool for 14 year old boys is "Swim on a full stomach!"  (It will be hours before you get a chance to eat again...this food must sustain you for three hours of practice!)  Hi, Ho, Hi, Ho...it's off to the pool we go...WATER RULES!

Walking on Water

Just how many plates of food does one table of four swimmers need after swimming all day?  Apparently quite a few...and this was before refills! (Click on photo to enlarge.)

Well, Matthew didn't exactly walk on water...but he swam mighty fine this weekend!  Seven of seven new best times and lots of pats on the back go a long way to making a young man feel like he is indeed walking on water!  It's pretty great when your own coaches are impressed, but it is even finer when the other coaches come up and tell you they are impressed!   Matt rocked the Ohio Valley Swim Championships...and I couldn't be happier for him.  What a great weekend. 

    Louisville has a lot to offer...even I could not get it all done in five days...and believe me, I tried!  A return trip is scheduled soon so the rest of the family can enjoy it, too. 

    Now back to catching up around here...Alex is off at scout camp this week working on his progression toward Eagle Scout.  He just loves having an entire week outdoors doing all those guy camping type things.  Mark usually goes along, but this year Alex is winging it alone, and Mark seemed relieved not to have to deal with the heat, mosquitoes, camp beds, camp rations, and all those hundreds of energetic scouts.  A man can only appreciate that sort of involvement for so long until retirement from such looks like a vacation itself. He is going down for parent night on Wednesday while Matt and I are at choir rehearsal...I knew he would not be able to stay away for the entire week...he would miss his little buddy way too much.   

   

Thursday's Favorites Fare

READING:  Louisville, KY brochures and Internet info...am touring about Louisville this week!

LISTENING TO:  Skipping around on the radio for anything NOT Country & Western

COOKING THROUGH:  Nothing...am out of town, but Mark and Alex are grilling brats and eating out quite a bit, so they are well taken care of...according to them!

FAV NEW FIND;  Lilly's (restaurant in Louisville...put it on your list)

FAV THING TODAY:  The Speed Museum's Dutch paintings collection and its Roman columbarium exhibit

SCRAPBOOK PAGES THIS WEEK:  0...but we are making lots of memories and taking photos!

GOING TO:  Ohio Valley Championships (swimming) to see Matthew swim

PRAYING FOR:  Gary who has just been diagnosed with Leukemia...please join me. 

Water Water Everywhere, Many Drops to Drink!

Poker Players...and the two finalists!

We're touring around water, swimming in water, and have been instructed by the swim coaches that water is the ONLY beverage of choice this week for swimmers.  Matt and I are at the Ohio Valley Championships this week in Louisville, KY and are having a great time!  The Ohio River is gorgeous...the bridges, the boats, the waterfront.  The pool the swimmers are swimming in is actually a quarry...very unique and fun!  And, despite unlimited FREE sodas in the hotel lobby, the kids are all obeying the nix on those in favor of, hopefully, better swim times. And, because it is NOT all about the water, the photos were taken last evening while some of the swimmers were relaxing and having fun playing poker with one of the coaches.  Final two for the show down:  Matt and Carly.  Winner:  Matt, who graciously refunded Carly her $2 entry fee.  Kids all toured Mammouth Cave today after practice and I spent the time, where else:  museum haunting!  Louisville is great fun...come on down!

Matrimonial Waters

June 2, 1978

Who knew it would last this long?  29 years and counting...will we make 30?  Too soon to tell.  The secret to negotiating matrimonial waters successfully?  Marry the world's most perfect man.  It helps tremendously!  I am one lucky girl...it's been a wonderful run.  It's always nice when we get something in life that we don't really deserve...I really need to keep working on the deserving part...another year coming up to see if I can get any closer to it!  Thanks, Mark for a wonderful life!  Oh, and thanks for taking a chance on me...it was huge gamble.

Still Waters

Pond and Fountain at Butler University

Waiting for Matthew at choir rehearsal this week was lovely.  On the Butler University campus is a beautiful pond tucked away in a peaceful stand of woods and greenery beneath one of the few hills in Indianapolis.  I have a favorite bench nestled among the trees where I can snuggle down with a good book and while away the hours of rehearsals lost in whatever I am reading at the moment or just sitting and enjoying the lovely scenery.  It is absolutely magical.  Ducks visit, squirrels scamper by, birds flutter about, and college couples stroll the paths hand in hand.  The water is peacefully relaxing.  The fountain's spray never reaches the sides or the ends of the pond so the stillness there is undisturbed.  It is one of my favorite places to be and I love the gentle quietness:  it suits me just fine.  Oh, I know there are those who feel the lure of the waters of the ocean, the beaches, the crowds, the high level of activity and excitement, but that is not for me.  Maybe it's because I grew up in a land-locked world with lakes and ponds that I feel most at home here in the quietness of that world.  Still waters run deep...I am at home and most content beside the stillest of waters.