Nora is walking now. She started taking steps about three weeks ago; now she is walking across rooms (like a drunken, but cute, sailor). So far, the impact of that development upon me hasn't been any worse than her crawling. She could get into the same drawers and nooks then as she can now. Still I know that her running, gaining greater independence and being more daring are just around the corner and that is a bit unnerving.
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My second part-time job helping coordinate a national speech and debate tournament concluded today. While it was nice to supplement the income, I don't think I'll take on something like that again soon. It really did come together well, but it was difficult for me as "judge coordinator" to persuade people to sign-up to judge (to compound the difficulty, the events were through the work week during business hours primarily). Many people did volunteer eventually, after multiple emails and phone calls where I would plead with them. No doubt they did so more out of pity for me than by inspiration of the cause I tried to promote. I'm not a salesman. It's just not my gift.
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It's hard to wash your dishes when you know you're moving across the ocean. I have been fighting the urge to start packing everything up right now. That will come soon enough, I know. So right now (or more accurately, before and after I post this), I am reading the "Guide for Overseas Students."
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We're missing the World Cup. It started today and we don't have cable...any solutions for this tragedy?
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Nora loves being in the pool! I imagine we'll spend a good deal of time at the pool in our apartment complex this summer. We went for the first time a couple days ago; first into the too-warm "baby pool" (that I realized later was the hot tub) before venturing into the shockingly cold bigger pool. Nora handled the cold better than her momma.
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Stephen is nearing the end of his school year teaching elementary age children "just enough about computers to drive their parents crazy" (as he puts it). He loves the TCS community and will miss them next year. They have been so generous to us. Although he never would have envisioned himself teaching those grades, I think he would say the experience was a rewarding one. At the very least, it was good parent training!
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Nora and I spent a week in Indiana around Memorial day visiting the "Nora Fan Club" (her adoring aunts, uncle and cousins). Life as a non-celebrity since then has been an adjustment, but she's been handling it pretty well.
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Stephen and I marked our second wedding anniversary on May 22 with a picture taking expedition at Great Falls National Park. It was glorious to get out and enjoy an evening together.
