The End of Summer...

 On September 23rd, our little house, like everyone else, welcomed fall. It wasn't exactly magical because we've adopted a "fall schedule" since Little Lewie went back to school on August 28th. Still, as I spent the weekend changing our summer decorations over to apples, pumpkins, leaves, scarecrows, and even some Halloween-inspired crafts, I couldn't help but get excited for everything the autumn brings--hikes, country fairs, pumpkin spice lattes, high school football games, haunted hayrides, and more... (My goal is to stay more current with my blog, so I could write about each of our autumn events as they unfold...)

While the summer for most of us is nothing more than an afterthought, I couldn't let this one pass without writing a recap. 

Allen Brothers Fruits and Vegetables, VT

If you've been reading my blog, you may know I found myself unemployed around this time last year. It was not only an ending to an eight-year tenure as an academic dean, but it was also an ending to a 21-year career at the same college. In essence, it was more than losing a job and a good paycheck; it was losing a family that I greeted for 1,092 consecutive weeks (except for when I took maternity leave to be with my wonderful Little Lewie). I was heartbroken, and I started the summer still feeling this way. Our goal to see another national park was sidelined as I continued to make myself available for interviews, and instead, we had small pool parties, a few day excursions, and a short weekend trip to North Conway, N.H.  Here are our highlights for Summer 2023:

1. Graduation: We had some important graduations to celebrate this year; thus, we were invited to a number of parties, and we had one pool party at our house, too. Lewie graduated from 8th grade, but his cousin Sarah graduated from high school, his cousin Frankie graduated from community college, and my best friend Jen and her daughter Kirsten graduated from nursing school and high school. I was SO PROUD of all of them! 

It poured during Lewie's outside graduation, so I captured a picture at Dunkin Donuts afterward;
 our cousins said he looks like Dwight from 'The Office' with his shirt and tie.

Lewie with cousin Sarah at her high school graduation.
He will be graduating from the same high school in four years. 

Sarah had 20+ medals around her neck from all of her swim and track awards!

Sarah's family (i.e. Lewie's aunt, uncle, and cousins)

My best friend's graduation from nursing school.
She's my age and went back to college for four years to get her nursing degree.

Posing with the graduate...Sheila (in the middle) is another grammar school friend.

2. The Newport Flower Show: After a three-year hiatus (2020-2023), my mom and I finally went back to the Newport Flower Show, which we used to visit anually until COVID hit. My mom (at almost 80) was worried about having enough stamina, but she got around wonderfully--proof that we can still do our fun mother-daughter day trips.

3. Lake Compounce, Pool Parties, & Ice-cream: Lewie's major request this year was "sleep-over pool parties," so for one weekend each month (June, July, & August), Lewie had his friends sleep over to go "night swimming." We have a tradition during the summer. When they come over, they usually watch movies, TikTok videos, stargaze, play video games, swim, jump on the trampoline, and have pizza and ice cream. In the morning, they all let me know their Dunkin Donuts orders, so they can relax and have breakfast by the pool. (On a few other special days, he had a chance to go to Lake Compounce or to spend time with other friends.)

 

Lewie and I had a chance to visit his old preschool teacher, Miss Kristen.
Miss Kristen is not old by any means, but we are so proud of her because
she moved on to start her own nutritional tea and shake business!

4. I.D. Tech Camp: At the end of July, Lewie took another I.D. Tech Camp week-long computer course. (He's been doing these computer camps for the last five years; in 2020 and 2021, they were virtual, but all the other ones have been hosted by local colleges.) Last year, he took one hosted at Fairfield University, and this year, he took one at Wesleyan University. On the last day, they always say a few nice things about the students and present them with a certificate of completion. This year, Lewie earned his certificate in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. He LOVED the fact that I made him pose with his certificate in a variety of campus locations. I am the classic embarrassing mom.

5. Trip to Jackson and North Conway, N.H.: In August, I did the unthinkable. I planned a trip, specifically designed with Lewie's friends in mind. (I still feel bad that he never went on his class trip to Boston or Washington D.C.)  Two out of his three friends could go, and another family decided to come with us, so in all, it was the three of us (Lew, Lewie, and me), Ryan's family (John, Ryan, and Sue) and Lewie and Ryan's friend, Noah. Each of our families drove up separately, but we stayed at the same hotel, The Christmas Farm Inn & Spa, and we did the same activities, which included taking the Cog Railway to the top of Mount Washington, hiking, and going to some of the cutest general stores and family restaurants in the area. I decided to capture the highlights (through pictures) below.

On the first day, we went on the Mount Washington Cog Railway, which they sometimes refer to as the "Railway to the Moon" because of its steep incline with some sections being a 38% grade! Mount Washington itself (part of the White Mountains) is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288 feet, and as our diesel train traveled up the mountain in one hour, we went through three different climate zones to get to the top. You could see the difference through the changes in vegetation or, sometimes, lack of vegetation!

I wish I could say we had a beautiful sunny day with expansive views, but our weekend to New Hampshire mirrored most of our weekends this summer--RAIN. We saw clouds and fog, which to our surprise, is like most days at that high elevation. Thankfully, the temperature was a balmy 40 degrees instead of its average 20 degrees or its coldest temp ever recorded -50 degrees (below zero).

Another big draw of the trip was the vineyards, breweries, and shopping. We had a chance to stop by a few places on the way back from the White Mountains. On Sunday, we had a chance to visit Zeb's General Store in North Conway, Flossie's General Store in Jackson, and the Covered Bridge Shoppe in Barlett, N.H.

The rain disrupted some of our hiking plans, but we did manage to go to a popular 'water hole' called Diana's Baths. The weather also held out, so we could have a campfire during our last night at the inn. (The boys didn't stay at the campfire long--instead, they chose to hang out for over an hour at the playground. Here's my favorite quote of the night: "Hey Lewie, look, there's some girls over there. Maybe you can get yourself a girlfriend."  The girls soon left, however, and the boys had their own fun on the swings.

My favorite part of this trip was "being a fly on the wall' when it came to the boys. At the Christmas Farm Inn, we rented a barn loft (converted to an apartment), which had a small living room and bathroom on the bottom and a large loft at the top. By far, the loft was the most comfortable area with its comfy king bed and two twin beds, but we reluctantly handed it over to the boys, so all three of them could stay in the same room. My hubby and I took the uncomfortable sofa bed downstairs. At the end of the day, though, it didn't matter. The boys laughed and laughed upstairs until at one point, I woke up and thought someone was crying. They were crying alright--crying from laughing so hard!  I didn't hear most of their jokes or conversations, but when I did, they warmed my heart. So innocent...so fun...so coming of age. When they were crying (from laughing), it was because the mirror in the bathroom fell down by itself. They were trying so hard to be quiet and then CLANG!! What a riot!

The Christmas Farm Inn

The Barn. (Our apartment was in the back.)

The loft upstairs where the boys slept.

At the same time that we squeezed in this trip, I started a new position as an Executive Director at a land trust. Then, at the end of August, I started teaching two classes at two different colleges. So, while it was sad to say "goodbye" to summer, the start of the school year and the fall was also a blessing--a chance to get settled into a new routine.

Now we are officially two days into fall, and while I still don't have a routine down, yet, I'm looking forward to more exciting adventures--this time with my high school kid. Oh boy! Something tells me there will be more silliness and laughter in our future.

My Thirteen Year Old Kid

I was terrified when Lewie turned 13.  Being a teenager meant dealing with puberty, hormones, friends, middle school, and all the unpleasantries that come with growing up.  I was worried that my sweet boy would turn into a know-it-all overnight, and I was especially concerned that he might start distancing himself from me or both me and his dad.

Sledding on a warm day in February.

Fast forward six months and Lewie has changed a bit, but so far, he's still the same sweet boy we know and love.  For starters, Lewie went to his well-visit at the end of December, and he's now 5' 6" tall and 137 lbs.  I'm still taller than him, but we almost weigh the same, and his shoe size is larger.  We can also fit into the same size shirts!  The other very noticeable difference is that he has a deep voice--deeper than his father.  Every time he goes to speak, I still get somewhat startled.  The once excited, high-pitched squeal is now a deep, "Yay!!"  We left the pediatrician's office with a prescription for acne medication since the poor boy has it everywhere--even on his arms and back.  But, other than that, he's a healthy kid just trying to navigate life with his new body that's still growing and developing.  (I remember these awkward middle school years all too well.)

School this year has been surprisingly awesome.  The nervous side of me was worried about Lewie going back to school in person after being a distance learning student during his entire 6th-grade year.  Would he make friends?  Would he navigate the wild west of learning his locker combination and changing classes?  How would he like his teachers or some of his new subjects like personal finance, health, and Spanish?  As each month passed, the worries subsided.  For one, Lewie was nominated as Student of the Month, not once, but twice for his grade--in September and November.  He also made high honors for his first two marking periods with teachers raving about his kindness, good work habits, and positive attitude.  

Friends, this year, have become more important to Lewie.  He joined Student Council and Jazz Band because his friends are in both clubs.  He also asks about seeing them any chance he gets.  When COVID surged during late Dec./early January, we told Lewie he needed to stay home; however, now that the infection rate has subsided in the school system and in our state, we've been working on arranging fun gatherings again like snow tubing, bowling, the movies, and laser tag.   He has a group of five good friends--four boys and one girl--who all like to play the same games on the computer, Xbox, and VR.  Lewie gets excited to see them at school, but most of them are in 8th grade.

Lewie's passionate about technology, computers, and coding.  In his spare time, he watches YouTube videos and Ted Talks to teach himself how to code, and I was amazed when he actually helped his sixteen-year-old cousin, Sarah, with her high school coding class.  Still, underneath this "older" exterior is my same old Lewie.  For one, he will still confuse words from time to time.  (My favorite "Lewie-ism" is his word for recliner--he calls it a "reclounge chair.")  Then, Lewie still loves trains and Minecraft.  During the holiday, Lewie shocked all of us when he asked if he could set up his Polar Express Trainset around the Christmas tree, again.  He hadn't asked for it to come out in almost five years!  Then, he surprised us when he asked if we could go to the Great Trains Holiday Show, a train display we hadn't been to since he was six years old!!   It was so fun to relive one of his early childhood memories and see that his same "spark" for trains didn't dim. 

Lewie went to the same Great Trains Exhibit when he was six years old.

Perhaps my most recent favorite memory with Lewie happened this January.  After a large snowstorm dumped more than 2 feet of fresh snow, I decided to take Bruce to a nearby park to play.  It was supposed to be a short half-hour of frolicking in the snow until the unthinkable happened--my cell phone fell out of my pocket into the white stuff.  I never saw it fall, but when I reached for my cell phone and discovered it wasn't there, my heart sank.  How on earth was I ever going to find my cell phone on a trail covered with snow?  I retraced my steps again and again, and I even had a gentleman let me borrow his phone, so I could call my husband and ask him to come and look with me.  My husband arrived shortly to the scene, but he couldn't locate it either.  We called my number over and over until we watched the sun set behind the hills.  Too bad my phone was set on vibrate.

That night I was sure my cell phone would die and be lost forever.  Upon waking, I remembered that Lewie and I had set up 'Family Sharing' on our phones.  Would he be able to locate my phone this way? In one last desperate attempt, I asked Lewie if he could try to help me locate my phone.  

     "I see it, Mother Dearest," he yelled excitedly.

     Sure enough, his phone showed my cell phone location right at the park in the vicinity where I lost it.  "Will you come help me find it?" I asked.

     "Of course," he replied, "I was already planning on it."

    With that, at 7 in the morning, we went to the park and walked to the area.  The snow was causing confusion because the map would first show the phone in one location, then skip to another location a few yards away.  "I have an idea," he said.  He used the chime or sound feature to see if we could locate the phone that way, and within a minute I heard it, saw a flashing light, and uncovered my beautiful phone!  "You're my lucky charm," I said to Lewie over and over again.  I couldn't believe that after my phone spent a whole night in the snow in almost subzero degree temperatures, it still held a charge, and more importantly, it worked.  The battery wasn’t ruined!!

The winter pictures I took before losing my cell phone.

Lewie was genuinely happy he helped me, and I was so grateful for his “technological expertise.”  We went to get hot chocolate together to celebrate.  

Yes, Lewie is definitely starting to grow into his own person, and while it's hard to watch him grow up, I couldn’t be prouder of this teen!