7-quick takes

1. The girls and I have been binge-watching old episodes of Frasier on Netflix this summer. They (okay, we!) have become enchanted with Niles Crane and his infatuation with Daphne Moon.

I don’t know why I didn’t watch this show when it was on in the 90s, but I didn’t, so much of this is new to me too. This week we watched Niles and Daphne finally declare their love for each other and I was delighted to turn my head and watch Izzy and Rosie swooning over the romance. We still have a few more seasons to get through, but this is my favorite scene from Season 2

2. We’re back in the pre-cross country running groove. Rosie’s ankles are feeling good and she is trying to build up her endurance and mileage.

The problem is, that girl can run 3 miles at an easy pace, talking with her friends, in around 30 minutes without really trying, and that doesn’t give me much of a chance to get a 4-mile walk in!! What I’ll have to do is be ready to take off as soon as the coach’s car pulls in so that I at least have a chance to walk 2 miles. This is going to make me miss those days when Noah was on the team running 6 to 12 miles – at least that would give me a full hour to walk!

3. Izzy started a semi-apprenticeship at the art gallery this week and is learning to mount her own pictures. She has a 20-foot wall to fill up for her graduation party which is only a month away! She also learned to do some drywall mudding last week. This month promises to be a busy one for her.

4.  Another life lesson learned. If your child decides to cohabitate, make sure they get at least some utilities in their name and pay their rent with checks. It sure is difficult to establish credit without a paper trail!

5. Last week I had to send out the reminders for our family reunion AND Izzy’s graduation announcements. That all came to $43 in postage. Then I noted that I had the date wrong for the family reunion – ugh.  Luckily, there is a Facebook page as well as an e-mail list and I was able to admit my error and ask my cousins to let their kin know of my error.

A double check of Izzy’s announcement showed me that I at least had that date right!

6. Mom left me with a lot of books and I recently started reading them. Many of them are Catholic and she has made little notes in the margins and did a lot of underlining. I thought, maybe reading these might give me some more understanding of my Mom’s understanding of the faith. This will be a long-standing project.

7. We got a new parochial vicar this week. He’s a brand new priest and this week I am helping him with his first ever wedding! He called me today to touch base and ask me a bit about how we do things at the parish. I was thrilled.

After the call, I came downstairs and told the kids how neat it was to have the new priest call me and ask for my help.

“That won’t happen to me again until you get ordained, Noah!”

“If then, mom,” Noah quipped.

Just keeping it real, but I really appreciated that phone call.