OT - NO POLITICS Lazy, Hazy Days of Summah

[Gee Wally]

I had my kids late 30s and early 40s. It was right for me. We’re all different. I think we all have doubts and fears.
I know2 truths.
First by waiting I was able to give my kids more opportunities and better quality of life.
The second truth is the love I have for my children is unlike any other I have ever had or will. It also cant be put to words but is known the first time you hold them and look upon them.

 

[GordonHowe]

I realize many on the board are not actually from Boston, or live in the area.

This essay celebrates much of what I love about my town, Massachusetts, and New England.

There are lovely cities elsewhere, of course, and we all like what we like.

Even so, you couldn't pay me to live anywhere else in the world.

With its problems, I love this town, this state, this region, with all of my heart,

MSN

www.msn.com

 

[Alicat]

I realize many on the board are not actually from Boston, or live in the area.

This essay celebrates much of what I love about my town, Massachusetts, and New England.

There are lovely cities elsewhere, of course, and we all like what we like.

Even so, you couldn't pay me to live anywhere else in the world.

With its problems, I love this town, this state, this region, with all of my heart,

MSN

www.msn.com

I felt all of this last week when I flew home. Every time I come home I have to take a photo of the Welcome to Boston sign on my way to baggage claim and it makes me smile. Seeing the signs on the walls of terminal A that showcase the neighborhoods I grew up and live in gives me that extra sense of pride when I am leaving and that I’m home feeling when I return.

It is stuff like this that keeps gnawing at me as I ponder moving to be close to family tho maybe I need to move for a year or two and then come back to Boston with a new perspective and more appreciation.

 

[NeelyDan]

I plan to buy a condo in Boston in my retirement

 

[Ladyfan]

Honestly you’ve touched on my main concern. I think about being 65 when the kid would graduate high school. I think about how clueless I still was at that age, despite at the time feeling like I knew it all, and how that translated to needing my parents still so very much. Hell, I am 47 and need them just as much in different ways.

I do worry about the notion of being selfish.

Kids are a full-time job. There are times they will drive you nuts.

I was a single Mom since my daughter was 2. I have never regretted having her. I just wish she didn't live so far away.

 

[Ludwig Fell Down]

I had my kids late 30s and early 40s. It was right for me. We’re all different. I think we all have doubts and fears.
I know2 truths.
First by waiting I was able to give my kids more opportunities and better quality of life.
The second truth is the love I have for my children is unlike any other I have ever had or will. It also cant be put to words but is known the first time you hold them and look upon them.

I am the opposite. I was 30 when my youngest was born. I grew up more quickly than many of my peers had to. Met the missus a month after I turned 21, and we were married just before my 25th birthday.

When my kids were young there were many times we were hanging on by a thread financially. We always figured it out. My kids remember the leaner times and don't take things for granted. My daughters also grew up with a brother with severe autism, so learned early on that life is not always predictable.

On Truth #2, my daughters can't figure out why we still worry about them so much. I tell them, "wait 'til you become a parent. Then come talk to me."

The great thing among the HFers here is that we have all navigated our own paths as best we could. I wouldn't trade my lot for anyone else's, and I'm guessing you would all say the same.

 

[Glove Malfunction]

Honestly you’ve touched on my main concern. I think about being 65 when the kid would graduate high school. I think about how clueless I still was at that age, despite at the time feeling like I knew it all, and how that translated to needing my parents still so very much. Hell, I am 47 and need them just as much in different ways.

I do worry about the notion of being selfish.

One of my high school classmates was a "change of life baby". His parents were significantly older than most of our friends. But they supported him just the same. And no one is promised a certain amount of time on earth, so that's a variable that really shouldn't come into play, though I get why it does.

And having children is selfish, regardless of when you have them. But having and raising children is also incredibly selfless, also regardless of when you have them.

I am the opposite. I was 30 when my youngest was born. I grew up more quickly than many of my peers had to. Met the missus a month after I turned 21, and we were married just before my 25th birthday.

When my kids were young there were many times we were hanging on by a thread financially. We always figured it out. My kids remember the leaner times and don't take things for granted. My daughters also grew up with a brother with severe autism, so learned early on that life is not always predictable.

On Truth #2, my daughters can't figure out why we still worry about them so much. I tell them, "wait 'til you become a parent. Then come talk to me."

The great thing among the HFers here is that we have all navigated our own paths as best we could. I wouldn't trade my lot for anyone else's, and I'm guessing you would all say the same.

I had a similar experience. My youngest was was born before I turned 28. I was lucky enough to never be hanging by a thread, though we did make some sacrifices along the way. And I wouldn't change a single thing about it.

 

[McGarnagle]

I felt all of this last week when I flew home. Every time I come home I have to take a photo of the Welcome to Boston sign on my way to baggage claim and it makes me smile. Seeing the signs on the walls of terminal A that showcase the neighborhoods I grew up and live in gives me that extra sense of pride when I am leaving and that I’m home feeling when I return.

It is stuff like this that keeps gnawing at me as I ponder moving to be close to family tho maybe I need to move for a year or two and then come back to Boston with a new perspective and more appreciation.

I feel it.

It's a weird thing, because part of leaving in the first place was that staying in New Hampshire felt like a dead end both professionally and personally. No career opportunities and I was single and it was a very shallow dating pool tbqh. But being away I really do miss it and every time I come home to visit it just feels so comfy. The weather (even shitty winter), local restaurants, family, watching sports games on TV at 7 pm, it all feels so homey. But now I'm pretty stuck on the west coast, which is livable and I'm doing fine but I do wish I were closer to family and such. Hopefully in the coming years I'll have assets and freedom to spend more time back there, preferably get some kind of property out there, especially as my parents are approaching retirement.

 

[Bruinaura]

I'm adopted. My birth parents gave me up for adoption because they were in their early 20s and had not planned to start a family yet. I guess I was a surprise lol.

Anyway...I was in a foster home for a couple months and adopted at 3 months. My parents were in their early 30s when they got me. Thankful for the decision my birth parents made. As far as I know they had planned to stay together, so who knows, maybe I have full blood younger siblings out there somewhere. I've never searched. ....... maybe one of you......

 

[Mione134]

I'm adopted. My birth parents gave me up for adoption because they were in their early 20s and had not planned to start a family yet. I guess I was a surprise lol.

Anyway...I was in a foster home for a couple months and adopted at 3 months. My parents were in their early 30s when they got me. Thankful for the decision my birth parents made. As far as I know they had planned to stay together, so who knows, maybe I have full blood younger siblings out there somewhere. I've never searched. ....... maybe one of you......

Time to get one of those DNA testing kits!!


My sister bought my parents 1 each a few years ago. We found many 1st cousins they never knew about.

I think it was 23andMe.

 

[Kovi]

Even so, you couldn't pay me to live anywhere else in the world.

I'm always a Boston girl. It's part of my fabric. That wont ever change. I was 53 before I traveled to a state that wasn't in the Northeast or Fla. ( I had been to Canada)

We just passed our 5 year anniversary in the southwest. We are thriving here. The difference for me has been (at the time) the housing was so much more affordable here. What we have now we could never match in the Northeast... I also don't think I could have started a business in Mass like I have here. There is so much support here for people who are soloprenuers.

Also, the wide open sky and horizontal vs vertical building makes a huge difference for my nervous system. I'm an entirely different person than I was there...and SO far from the Scarcity Kingdom that I lived in both figuratively, literally and spiritually. I wouldn't never have known the beauty that life could hold. Nature is magical here and it embraces you.

I met my teachers here and now am working with a coach who has really changed/strengthened my professional and healing path. (which are basically interwoven)

However, we visit, once or twice a year. My mom is there in Newburyport. There are things I still love about Mass...and I absolutely adore the city and its history. (and the food, let's not lie), but I couldn't move back.

I'm not arguing, there are pros and cons to each.

I believe we get delivered to exactly the place we need to be to share our gifts

 

[Kovi]

I feel it.

It's a weird thing, because part of leaving in the first place was that staying in New Hampshire felt like a dead end both professionally and personally. No career opportunities and I was single and it was a very shallow dating pool tbqh. But being away I really do miss it and every time I come home to visit it just feels so comfy. The weather (even shitty winter), local restaurants, family, watching sports games on TV at 7 pm, it all feels so homey. But now I'm pretty stuck on the west coast, which is livable and I'm doing fine but I do wish I were closer to family and such. Hopefully in the coming years I'll have assets and freedom to spend more time back there, preferably get some kind of property out there, especially as my parents are approaching retirement.

nods*

 

[Gee Wally]

Man, the years fly by. Many of you I have met in person at training camp or games met my side kick. Son # 1 Connor.
Well, that little guy turned 30 today!

Pics are Way back then and yesterday in San Diego holding a game used BobbyOrr stick. He was at Coronado Beach and struck up a convo with a guy working there that had moved from Canada. He keeps the autographed stick in a broom closet. His dad grew up with Orr.

@DKH , he wanted to know if I still talk to that guy who loved mint chocolate chip like him.

 

[smithformeragent]

Rainy day at the lake.

I made a new playlist last night for this morning’s run. However with the rain, I did not want to risk ruining my headphones so I set out sans music.

As I ran, the cool Summer rain falling on me, I thought about the scene in The Empire Strikes Back where Luke asks Yoda what is in the cave. “Only what you take with you.”

I thought about what I had taken with me this morning. The clothes on my back. The shoes on my feet. And my wedding ring.

I thought about my marriage and I prayed. I did a lot of thinking, about all the blessings in my life. My beautiful wife. Our son. Our family. About how things rarely go the way we plan for them to go, but turn out even more beautifully than we can ever imagine on our own.

About the hours and days I wasted worrying about what might happen. That not a single minute spent worrying ever changed an outcome. That if we offer up all of our worries and anxieties to God, he will shoulder them for us.

And finally I thought about how we aren’t meant to simply pass the days of our lives “wasting time”. That we aren’t meant to count down the hours until it’s time to return to work or until what once felt like an endless Summer turns to inevitable Autumn.

That we are called to live each day as a blessing, transforming the world around us through love, patience, and kindness for all with whom we spend a moment or a lifetime.

And just like that, a rainy morning at the lake has purpose and meaning too. And that God seeks to have a conversation with us, if only we are willing to open up our hearts and listen.

 

[Terrier]

Mark Margolis, ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Scarface’ actor, dead at 83

Mark Margolis, who received an Emmy nomination for playing the silent but deadly, bell-ringing cartel boss Hector Salamanca in “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” has die…

nypost.com

 

[caz16]

Rainy day at the lake.

I made a new playlist last night for this morning’s run. However with the rain, I did not want to risk ruining my headphones so I set out sans music.

As I ran, the cool Summer rain falling on me, I thought about the scene in The Empire Strikes Back where Luke asks Yoda what is in the cave. “Only what you take with you.”

I thought about what I had taken with me this morning. The clothes on my back. The shoes on my feet. And my wedding ring.

I thought about my marriage and I prayed. I did a lot of thinking, about all the blessings in my life. My beautiful wife. Our son. Our family. About how things rarely go the way we plan for them to go, but turn out even more beautifully than we can ever imagine on our own.

About the hours and days I wasted worrying about what might happen. That not a single minute spent worrying ever changed an outcome. That if we offer up all of our worries and anxieties to God, he will shoulder them for us.

And finally I thought about how we aren’t meant to simply pass the days of our lives “wasting time”. That we aren’t meant to count down the hours until it’s time to return to work or until what once felt like an endless Summer turns to inevitable Autumn.

That we are called to live each day as a blessing, transforming the world around us through love, patience, and kindness for all with whom we spend a moment or a lifetime.

And just like that, a rainy morning at the lake has purpose and meaning too. And that God seeks to have a conversation with us, if only we are willing to open up our hearts and listen. View attachment 733428

This is beautifully written. I do not have a God in the same sense but believe there is a higher power in the universe, so I think of God in a different way. I have read a lot of books, trying to find the meaning of life, my reason for being, and you actually summed it all up in much less time. Thank you for sharing.

 

[NeelyDan]

Mark Margolis, ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Scarface’ actor, dead at 83

Mark Margolis, who received an Emmy nomination for playing the silent but deadly, bell-ringing cartel boss Hector Salamanca in “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” has die…

nypost.com

Probably a bit unheralded. Was brilliant in everything he did. One of those "can't tell the actor from the character" types.

 

[quietbruinfan]

It is a rainy, stormy day here. Allergies or the beginning of a cold is bothering me...not good.

 

[KnightofBoston]

Hi friends...

this was a few days ago. 11% humidity

View attachment 726493

Boy, there are certain segments of the growing season I’d love it to be 11% humidity

95% humidity in early fall when you’re trying to harvest plants is no good, molds and blights galore

 

[McGarnagle]

Mark Margolis, ‘Breaking Bad’ and ‘Scarface’ actor, dead at 83

Mark Margolis, who received an Emmy nomination for playing the silent but deadly, bell-ringing cartel boss Hector Salamanca in “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” has die…

nypost.com

 

[CamFan81]

When retired, if I can look out my window and see any concrete or paving I did it wrong.
.
As far as having children at a certain age, I had my daughter when I was in my mid 20's and for me it was perfect (so far). She's turning 17, her personality and humor is starting to round out to lean more like me than the wife and I think we're going to annoy the ever loving shit out of her (more than we do now). However, that also means we're going to go at it pretty fierce...

 

[Shaun]

I miss home until I go back and see the people I grew up with being townies and realize i'm better than them (half kidding). it's just hard being away while people age.

 

[McGarnagle]

I miss home until I go back and see the people I grew up with being townies and realize i'm better than them (half kidding). it's just hard being away while people age.

Home is home and I feel comfy there but also don't want to become a townie which is a lot of the reason that propelled me to move in the first place.

Whenever I'm home my mom always gets all doting like "is there anything you want to do, anywhere you want to go while you're here?" and then I realize that no, there's actually nothing to do there and I'm happy to just hang out and watch cable tv in their condo and go to the restaurant down the road. Taking a walk down the trail by their place suffices for nature, I don't care about apple picking or anything like that. We could drive over to Rye Beach but it's usually mid-November when I'm back in New England so usually not even worth going to the beach.

The one thing that always gets me every single time and one place that I actually legitimately do want to go out of my way to go to: Market Basket. The week before I visit my parents ask what they should buy to have in the house when I'm there and I deliberately say nothing because I want to go to Market Basket and shop the first day I'm there.

Not even joking. It just hits different than any other supermarket anywhere in the world. I get some weird sense of inner peace and nostalgia high when I walk into the store.

 

[GordonHowe]

I miss home until I go back and see the people I grew up with being townies and realize i'm better than them (half kidding). it's just hard being away while people age.

It is.

I am originally from Michigan, and last June my immediate and extended family, as well as long time friends, held a church service/wake to remember my mother and eldest brother in Grosse Pointe, where I grew up.

I had not seen many there for many years, and though I should not have been surprised, it was strange to see how old everyone had become (except me ).

C'est la vie; Que Sera, Sera,

 

[GordonHowe]

I have never watched "Euphoria" and do not plan to do so.

But, I came across this appreciation of Angus Cloud and thought some here might appreciate it,

Angus Cloud’s Eyes Said It All

With his limpid gaze and profound stillness, the “Euphoria” star conveyed the soul of a man trapped by circumstance.

www.newyorker.com