2020 Life Logs, Day 263: Happy Birthday, Shadow
Date: Sunday, September 20, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Still Cool North Winds; High 60, Low 46 Degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, Falmouth, MA
My little buddy, Shadow, was born one year ago today. I didn’t meet him until he was eight weeks old, but we will always celebrate his birth date. We got up this morning and went for our morning walk. I gave him a couple of new chewy toys, and then, unfortunately, I left him for the day. It as a day of getting ready for the new school year for the Goldstones, so I ran errands, took boys shopping for school supplies, and helped to get dinner ready. While running various errands, I was able to bring Sam here to take Shadow for a mid-day walk, and a little later, Ollie and I had to come here to get some things stored in my basement and Ollie got to play ball with Shadow. So Shadow wasn’t alone all day and we had a good time playing together tonight. Happy Birthday, Shadow. You are a wild man that I can’t seem to tame, but you have added so much to my life. But despite your determination, we’ll keep working on the “taming” project.
I have to leave Shadow again tomorrow as I am traveling to Chelmsford, north of Boston, to see my nieces and my sister-in-law. My niece, Lynn, has cancer and is declining quickly. She is being placed in a Hospice House tomorrow and I am hoping to get to see her before she is moved. My sister-in-law Sue, who now lives in Florida, arrived last week and I am anxious to see her as well. Lynn’s father was my brother Bennie who died during my senior year of high school in West Virginia. After his death, Sue and the three children moved back to Massachusetts. My family kept in touch and stayed close through the years. I was seven when Lynn was born and it is very difficult for me to get my head around the fact that we are going to lose her very soon. She only learned that she had cancer in June, but things have progressed so quickly. Such a sad situation.
Heather and Jed had hoped to get a start on laying the wood flooring in Ollie and Jonah’s bedroom today, but there was more preparation than anticipated. So prep work was done and flooring will start next weekend. But there was plenty to do today get the boys and the house ready for the new school year that starts tomorrow, online only for the first week. We are anticipating that school for the entire year will be mostly at home, mostly online, and that requires making sure everyone has a workspace and all the technical equipment needed. The school system provides a Chrome book for each child, but as I learned today, there are lots of accessories needed to make each workspace comfortable. Comfortable chairs for each desk, the right mouse, the right accessary keyboard . . . Sam suggested we get blue light protective eye glasses for the three of them to protect their eyes from so many hours of staring at a computer screen. They had a great time trying out their new looks with the glasses on. I’ll be very anxious to check in with them at the end of the first school day to see how things go.
