High School

My little girl is officially a high school freshman today.  How the hell did that happen?

If I close my eyes right this minute I am back in the moment when David and I walked through a soft drizzle of rain with our 5 year-old for her first day at Kindergarten. 

Now her march to adulthood kicks into high gear.  On the one hand, I’m so thrilled for her – high school is such a time of personal growth and exploration, some bad but mostly good.  On the other, I’m terrified for her, because our world today is so unpredictable, less civil, and more wantonly competitive than at any time I can remember.  My daughter will need to call on all of her social and intellectual IQ to navigate her path to the future; David and I can only help with love, encouragement and, yes, some degree of emotional and financial stability.   At the end of the day, however, her journey will be her own.

But I get ahead of myself, as I often do when it comes to this child whom I love more than anything.

For now, the focus need to be on Algebra, science, English composition, history and electives, so she can come to the task of more demanding work with an open, enthusiastic mind.  In tandem with that, David and I will happily play our parts as cheerleaders at volleyball and basketball games; chauffeurs to dances and hangouts; top cops on first dates with would-be boyfriends; academic subject matter experts where we can be without steering her wrong; and, for me, chef de jour to ensure she’s eating reasonably well so that she can function during the day.

When we look back on these years, I hope we’ll do so with wonder, pride, amusement and a minimum of regret. I also hope the friends she holds in confidence and comradery will remain among her dearest friends for life.  Indeed, this is how it was for me, looking back on my high school career – one of the greatest, most enduring gifts on my trip to today.

Here’s to the Class of 2019 and the lovely young woman I am so honored to call my daughter.

Radio Silent Summer

Hope you’ve all enjoyed the summer months with family, friends and some fair weather.  Although it’s been a while since I’ve been in touch, you and this blog have not been far from my thoughts.  I suppose my brain has been on pause for a bit, trying to puzzle the next stage of life for Mrs. Sedd and her family.  While I haven’t reached any big conclusions with my husband, I think it’s fair to say that we aspire to  “steady state” for some time to come while my daughter continues her march to young adulthood by starting the 9^th grade this Fall.

So, what can I report on that might have a modicum of relevance to your life emotionally if not practically?  Let’s see….

• Hummingbirds will become regular visitors to your yard IF you feed them their favorite brew:  cold sugar water.  My husband has become a huge (maybe even a little obsessed) fan of luring these tiny, tenacious birds to our front yard since visiting his brother’s home on high in the Colorado Rockies.  He peers out at them, records them on his phone, posts to Facebook about them, and searches out other aficionados.  I like them too.  They beat their wings frantically and buzz around like bees when they gather to take a drink, but they are comforting in a weird sort of way, too. 
• We have nothing to fear but fear itself.   Based on an earlier transit this summer, I realized that my Bay Bridge phobia (see my earlier post on that subject, “Bay Bridge Blues”) has become borderline debilitating so I decided to hire the “drive over” Kent Island Express taxi service to take me across.  For $30 a trip, why not enjoy the view of the Chesapeake as opposed to watching my blood pressure soar on my Apple watch to the point of lightheadedness?  Trust me, it was worth it, even if it did signal to my daughter (who was travelling with me to the Delaware shore) that her mother is a little bit of a nut job.   
• Steve Jobs’ Stanford University commencement address is amazing.  I keep meaning to get to Walter Isaacson’s biography of Jobs’ and I’m looking forward to the movie version this Fall (my kind of film) – but I did run across the You Tube video of Jobs’ 2005 speech while reviewing another video for work.  Wow.  In it, he tells 3 simple stories – about the karma of his birth and unconventional education; failure at 30; and death – all pretty profound.  If you haven’t seen it, look for it.  If you didn’t think much of Jobs, reconsider.  If you want some insight into the “putty” that life sometimes molds in miraculous, world changing ways, its worth paying attention to.
• I love good science fiction.  Every now and then I’ll read a book that truly transports me to another world, and when I do, I try to share my enthusiasm with others.  In the past few years, 2 science fiction books have catapulted to the top of my list of favorite books.  I've written about the book Age of Miracles in a previous post; this past month, I added Seveneves by Neal Stephenson to my list.  This book is science fiction at its best:  Earth as we know it has been catastrophically rendered uninhabitable. Against enormous odds, the human race seeks to survive in space.  I don’t dare tell you more.  Enjoy this utterly absorbing saga with big buckets of popcorn.

There are other things I could write about, but maybe I should save them for later, whenever that may be.   Until then, here’s to Fall!