Update From Crazy Town

No Rant Today, Just Wackiness and Wonder.

I’m not in the mind space for a fully developed newsletter post, because things are rather wacky around here. In a good way. So, let me just give you an update of the world of Apt. 11D.

Last weekend, we spent the night in Hudson, NY. We haven’t had a night away from our kids since some point in 1999. First, Ian got epilepsy and needed extreme oversight from us. When COVID hit, my 80-year old folks, his usual babysitters, were off limits. Now that everyone is vaccinated, and his medication is working, they could watch him for the evening. Jonah, who works late nights at the restaurants, picked him up in the morning.

I wrote about the trip on the blog and wondered whether all the new residents of this town — COVID refugees — were ever going to back to New York City. Pictures there. Interesting newsletter post from Will Wilkinson about the migration in and out of California.

Even though we haven’t cleaned up from the last trip — the nice overnight bags are still not tucked away in the closet — we’re packing for another trip. Steve, Ian, and myself are leaving at 4:00 for a camping trip in the Catskills. A location without stable Internet connection or sources of electricity is not an ideal vacation spot for Ian, but he’ll deal. (More info about Roscoe, NY and about camping.)

Ian is coming to the end of his high school career. When Jonah finished four years ago, I was pretty weepy. Parenthood is such an enormous enterprise — like five dissertations enormous — that these milestones are inevitably emotional. Of course, these experiences are very different this time around. Ian’s disabilities have always put him on the outskirts of high school life, so we’re trying to figure out a way to shoehorn him into all the end-of-the-year events.

Jonah took the day off from work and accompanied Ian to the prom last night. I dressed the boys in matching tuxes and took pictures on the front lawn. The prom was low key this year, because of COVID — dance in the gym and food trucks in the parking lot — but no-one cared. We were just happy that Ian attended his prom, thanks to the support of a good natured older brother. (This might become an essay next week.)

The rest of June is packed with other Ian-related celebrations, including Graduation Day and a visit from the grandparents from North Carolina. Cousins from Florida will be visiting. And then the contractor just informed me that he’s going to start re-siding our house in seven days. When I finish this newsletter, I need to frantically buy house numbers and door knobs. And then stuff the back of the Subaru with tents and sleeping bags. And make a pot of chili, so Jonah will have some food this weekend.

I’ll be back next week with a proper post with some snippets from the book draft. I’ve been thinking a lot about home schooling lately - I might talk about that. In the meantime, I hope you all have a great weekend filled with wackiness and wonder.