Ugh there is something about snow in March that can't be anything but annoying. It's a test of will and patience and endurance is what it is. But a no-school snow day was a nice little reward at the same time.
Jeff surprised the two boys who could go with a DC trip to the Big Ten tournament. And what a tournament it was! I am so so happy for my uncle. I really feel he deserves this just on the basis of what a good person he is, and what a leader he is to those college guys and how darn humble he is and how hard he works too. I'm so happy also, for Andrew and Patrick who will never forget witnessing in person this win. They all stayed with Joe my brother and Karen his wife who were perfect hosts.
I don't know how many time I print out these brackets every year, but it feels like a lot. (I don't know what that money on the table has to do with it but there must be some sort of illegal betting going down.)
Jeff took Abbey on a ski trip. This is his mocking selfie pose, just as attractive as it is on everyone.
Janey and I found this little purse at a resale shop, almost brand new and she know has another bag to add to her bag lady collection. She is such a sweetheart, such a good easy little girl. I love my days with her.
I've been doing some really really heavy reading lately. They were difficult reads-not because of the style of writing-I read them within days, but because of the content. Etched in Sand is about a women who survived a terrible childhood and escaped to leave a successful life-bearing scars of course.
An invisible thread is about a woman with a successful career in NYC, who one day walked by a boy panhandling, but turned around to connect with him, an action that would change both their lives immensely. Another story of child abuse and neglect and a light on the other side.
It was interesting to read the last three books together-Hillbilly Elegy and these two. They are all similar in the sense that they describe difficult childhood situations and a way out. Children's Services-always feared, even within circumstances of starvation and physical abuse (the one case of sexual abuse was actually a foster situation), drug abuse at the core of all three stories, either just one little action (varying widely in terms of personal investment in all three stories) of a person 'outside' who cared enough making a huge difference in these kid's lives. It all works up to some sort of luck/fate/education intertwined with a strong spirit at the helm-who survives and who doesn't. It is all heartbreaking and terribly frustrating and shouldn't ever happen. Drug addiction does terrible terrible things to families for generations and generations. It is truly the devil's magic elixir it seems-it destroys a person and then shreds their children apart.
I really think it's important, as hard as it is, to read and listen to first-person accounts of human experience. I have been thinking lately (and I'm sure I am guilty of it also) of how today so often one can easily spout off about solutions and causes to social problem but what do we really know if it until we really hear the human experiences. That's listening more than talking. That's real life experience more than statistics and theories. It has NOTHING to do with politics thank the Lord, we need no more of that today.
"I do not agree with the big way of doing things. To us, what matters is an individual. To get to love a person, we must come in close contact with him. If we wait till we get numbers, then we will be lost in the numbers, and we will never be able to show that love and respect for the person. " Mother Teresa
I welcome any book suggestions! Have you read anything great lately?
