Pie

 I was thinking about my last blog post.  I would like, if you would bare with me, to expand on my feeling of nostalgia with a pie metaphor.  

When everyone was young they did not have their own pie.  I provided pie for them.  I could bake endless amounts of pie and give them as much as i felt they needed.  I gave them bigger slices of pie at different times. But  now they have indeed collected much of the ingredients they needed to bake their own pies.  Sometimes they don't share any of that pie with me, me the original baker of the pie! But more often it is a small slice of the pie and other times it is a big juicy chunk of their pie. 

 I am so glad that they have their own pie now. an so happy that they are willing to share  I can go back to my own pie now and it is good but it will never taste as sweet as all of the pie I baked to give away to my children. 

Monty is going back to the breeder

 Just a few days ago I was nostalgic for my young family, those years where there lives simply centered right here at home, where the power of my hug could heal most wounds.  When I got a  front row seat to witness each of their accomplishments, even when those very accomplishments carried them further and further away from me. From their first steps to their first day on campus. I can't even read my past posts because they make me cry and nostalgia is not a good look and often a complete distortion of reality. 

I was recently reminded of some of the harsher realities of those earlier years through Monty.  Yes I know he is just a dog and the pressure to raise him so he can live a productive life and help the world and form meaningful relationships is well, not there at all. That being said the darker and harder emotions that come with a dependent, manic, ego driven being with no ability to self regulate hit me full force yesterday. the monotony of being on call, both dreading and looking forward to the end of nap time then spending hours trying to keep him entertained, out of trouble and healthy day in and day out well lets just say I was wondering if it wasn't too late to return him to the breeder. 

Unlike my precious perfect offspring, Monty lunges, bites and chews furniture when bored or tired, though one point for Monty I have yet to see him have a full blown meltdown in target because I wouldn't buy him a candy bar at the check out in front of what seemed like thousands of people at the time, but may have only been a couple dozen. But then I haven't taken him to target because it is not illegal for me to leave him home alone, though I guess leaving your dog in the car is getting close to illegal these days.  Which as they say is wild, because my mom used to leave me in a stroller outside of King Kullen when she shopped 

However Monty survived his day and so did I, which believe it or not ended with me being proud of his accomplishment!  His first day of school was a resounding success!  He was the very best dog in class. It may have helped that he threw up on the way over and was feeling pretty worn out.  He was calm and focused, unlike the other wild maniacs in class, two of which were Golden

s, the cutest dogs but they are a bundle of energy and muscles.  

Once they pulled out the agility equipment, that is where he really shined!  The ramp was so high, but he went from unsure to confident in literally a minute. He wanted to do all of the obstacles over and over again! He was so excited and not the kind of excited that leads to biting.  Maybe we do have an athlete on our hands !! 

The whirlwind has Left

Three weeks ago Michael arrived home from DC, two weeks ago Cara returned from NYC and 10 days ago, Sam ,Cara's boyfriend arrived.  Today they all left. Its like a vacuum in the space they once all occupied. 

They got off to a late start because the Durango had not yet returned from the gas station. I should have taken a picture of the living room.  The amount of things that were put into the Durango defied logic. There was even space left over which quickly got filled with items they had wanted to bring but didn't dare try.

Though it hurts to say goodbye and I do indeed miss them sorely it helps to think of all of the fun we had not just the highlights but the relaxed conversations and honestly just their presence.

In this short time we squeezed in so much;

North South Lake 
Wayne county fair

 Dinner party with Caitlin and Caroline,
Long Beach boardwalk
enjoying the sun and sand while watching Sam and Cara attempt to catch a wave. 

And of course  the introduction of Monty!🐶🐶🐶

But my enduring favorite is dinner.  Dinner is the Bo thing and apparently a relic from the olden days, because it seems to not be a thing anymore. I am not sure why our family dinners didn't fade with time, because certainly my privacy was given away for funny reels and not having to get my credit card from 5 feet away and entering it myself, meaning I am not immune to shortcuts. 

Dinner seems normal enough to us, sit down say prayers, eat carrots or fennel at the end. Well now that I write it out I can see how we do seem just a bit cultish, but I wouldn't change it for a free dinner at NOBU (if anyone is thinking of offering me that please reach out, I am easily sold) 

 

The County Fair for the deep fried food fan

                                                                                                                                                

 Every year we go, every year we question out sanity. It is dusty, hot, dirty and deep fried but we find ourselves shelling out the ticket price which is nominal compared to the game play price, but a least now they win and as you can see, they win big. The after party made the suffering worth it as it does year in and year out. I have not sat at a bar in quite a bit of time and to sit there with my kids made it even more fun. 

But enough about those people lets discuss our newest member of the family: Monty or more formally knows as The Count of Monte Cristo. He is a good boy, but at 9 weeks old he is still a handful, cycling in and out of  2 hour naps one hour up so really I guess I should not complain. He has learned sit, working on down and learning to settle but there is no command word for it, maybe I should add that, look and find it. 

15 years and counting!

 I am feeling so encouraged, my fanbase has reached out personally to encourage my continuing with the blog, which I have done in fits and starts. One issue is that the W on my keyboard is fickle and on top of my poor spelling well it can look like a 2nd grader wrote it, but that is probably the reading level of my reader base anyway so its fair. 

It was back to  North South lake our annual camping trip to the rainiest region of the east coast, or so it seems. Of course having an RV takes the sting out of that honor. we do the same beautiful hikes and take gorgeous pictures. Since the original trip 15 years ago the size of the friend group accompanying us has diminished but I do like this smaller group.  We still have fun board and card games, drinks around the campfire.  This trip was really great because we had ALL five Bo children, albeit for different amounts of time, but still its impressive and a blast. Sunset Rock, Artist Rock, Boulder, Kaaterskill Falls all spectacular in their own way. But in the end it is the people, the laughs (Michael) the food (Steve) the artistic insight (Chris) the  daring do rock climbing (Mark) the party (Matt) the friend (Cara) and the mix of these people that bring so much joy and light into my life and to my knees in gratitude for how truly lucky I am.  

And just when things couldn't get better :

Need we say more? Rocco and Jo are deeply missed and our new boy here is never a replacement but an expression of how much love we have to share and an honor to what great dogs we have had that let us roll the dice on another bundle of love and trouble! 

Brooklyn, yes we made the long drive from RVC, NY to Brooklyn.  So hip and cool are we. We made it to an improv show at Second City which has been in operation here since 1959 and actually had acts as far back as 1842, a bit of trivia that you can now trot out as needed to impress your audiences. 

Little tables for drinks and a terrible choice of food. The drinks menu was extensive I will have to give them that.  The food menu left almost everything off. Just get the french fries, get the drinks and get going. That's my take. 

The act was good, we were wiped out when we went to this veritable institution but it delivered and we were home back in our cozy places in our cozy home by 9:30.  Winning.

 

No Invite, no guests, what kind of Christmas is this?

 The news wasn't great. No one was coming for Christmas and we were not invited anywhere. Well that stings. I admit I felt a bit panicked. Wondering how I would make the holiday special if we were not with a million people. Though in the last 2 years I have not hosted and have been relieved. It usually made me feel good to host the large groups but it was stressful. But no one and nowhere to go, this was a new level of minimalist Christmastime. 

As with most disappointing news, it ended up opening a new experience, an unexpected way of celebrating the holidays. We as a family have not been together since May, that is quite awhile, 7 months the longest time we have ever all been apart. 

Before Steve and I could focus on that we had many events to attend to, first being 

Cara brought home Sam!  First she made it to Alaska to visit him. Cara has had quite an adventurous semester. If I have it right she study in Australia, traveled to Bali, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia and then to New Zealand and Alaska!  

Then my birthday dinner a murder! A mystery, A suspect named . Chris and A detective of the first order  Mark.   Solving crimes and bringing home stellar GPA firing on all pistons as they say, well not many say, but my dad did so now I do. 

Michael alas, did not make it to the murder he was too busy traipsing around europe like some trust fund baby. Of course claiming to study he seemed to find time to run to ,Ireland, Prague, France, Italy, Germany. I feel I am leaving out something but that is the way it is.  

It is so different from when I started with blog but yet the same. The same intensity and interest in each of their lives, but with zero diaper changes so we will take that. We miss them, yes, but knowing how they are taking on their lives fills us in a different way. 

Our fancy brand new porch, perfect for Christmas decorating! 

Our big night of Italian cookie making got off the ground! There was some squishy cookies, not good, not good at all. But we finally got our grove back and Christmas was saved  Same was put to the test with what our family calls fun Pounce and Oh Hell! I have to admit he held his own. 

    

Finally Christmas eve. Church, dinner, cookie decorating and of course Die Hard. So low key and fun. Matt may have won with his shot gangster cookie, Mark's song choice was "I am going to kill Santa" Cara made the sugar cookies, Chris made the PB blossoms.  We all ate them  

The morning was 6AM stockings, then gifts.  Not one but two Mokka pots for Matt!  I got a great game called Wingspan. Michael's secret Santa did not come through. Despite acting shady no one actually was his secret Santa, so maybe they weren't acting?  This was an unpleasant surprise, who knows where it all went wrong.  Steve's brother came through with a nice visit that we all enjoyed. Then it was time for the Backgammon tournament. I was out early, quite disappointing. Matt came out on top, but this was Chris' first day playing the game and he was in the competition for hours and hours. So from zero game time to to marathoning.  

The next day was the classic Catan game day, with Italian hot chocolate, thanks to matt and some mid popcorn thanks to Aunt Joann. 

So as they say, its a wrap. No invite, no guests but plenty of fun. 

So the table was full of returning Bo's, 

the laughs were real as was the competition 

What seemed like being left out on our own 

went beyond our expectations. 

Go with the flow and find your footing 

what's meant to be will be 

even if its  not of our choosing.