Family: Update with Links to Photos

Well, folks, I apologize for this, but I'm going to have to send you outside of this site to view the latest family photos. Because of some bandwidth issues, it just became too cumbersome to upload everything onto this blog. I do encourage you to check out the photos, though. There's some good ones in there.

Here's the latest from Jim Thorpe:

WISE MEN FROM THE EAST . . . 

. . . came bearing gifts. Honorary Uncles Travis and Tom came out from NY/NJ to meet up with Stillman. We had a grand time lounging on our deck and traipsing about the environs. Travis, Tom, Vanal and I went down to the Lehigh River to splash around in the current, and had a great time just acting like river rats, throwing rocks, wading, exploring, and best of all, letting the current carry us quickly down back to our starting point. Vanal had an assignment to identify some local plants, so the four of us took to the forested hills behind the house with a guidebook in hand (Plant number one: Poison ivy). Vanal couldn't have known that there are no better people to do this sort of thing with than Travis and Tom, who have an infectious curiosity about the natural world. It's funny because they often defer to me on matters natural and botanical, but the truth is that I learn far more by hanging out with them in the woods because there's so much I've always taken for granted, whereas they're always wondering what this or that plant or tree is. And then retaining the knowledge, which I seldom do. It was wonderful to get to spend time with them again, and great to think about how much Stillman will learn from them when he's a little older.

UNCLE MATCHIE ROLLS INTO TOWN

Yes, the time came for Vanal's dad to come pick him up so he can spend the rest of his summer out in Arizona. It was sad to contemplate Vanal's visit coming to an end, but such a joy for Matchie and TLS to get together, and for Matchie to get to meet his nephew at last. Matchie just couldn't get enough of Stillman, holding him, smelling his head, even watching him sleep. And Stillman was pretty fascinated by him, too. One evening at the dinner table, Stillman just wouldn't take his eyes off his uncle. The visit was too short, but we're determined to make the next one happen soon.

COLD-WEATHER BOAT-RACING

It was dank and chilly the other day -- no more than 60 degrees - but Vanal and neighbor Austin decided it wasn't too cold to race boats down the brook. While we were there, I found a crayfish and caught it for the boys. Austin wouldn't touch it, but Vanal held it for a second, then dropped it and tried to crush it with a large rock. Don't worry; I saved it, and threatened to crush Vanal with an even larger rock. It was a chilly but very fun time for me; catching crayfish and spending time in a brook was a huge part of my childhood. I still retain an uncanny ability to rock-hop, a skill which is sadly not in high demand these days (Nevertheless, there are imaginable scenarios in which my rock-hopping prowess could be all that stands between all of us and the forces of darkness, you know).

VICTORY AT LAST!

With not a minute to spare, Vanal caught a fish before he left yesterday. He almost wasn't allowed to go fishing at all, because he had a plane to catch, but we let him go across the street with some neighbor kids. There's a little "duck pond" -- actually just a wide part of the brook where some local ducks live -- right flush against the street. It was good that Vanal went with other kids, because there was just enough peer pressure for him to keep his line in the water for a while, tend to his own equipment, and so on. I came across the street to bring him home so he could catch his plane. He wanted to try a spot upstream a little bit, so I decided to let him. He no sooner threw his line in there than he landed a nice little trout. We took it home, cleaned it, cooked it, and Vanal showered and rushed out the door victorious. A nice note for his visit to have ended on.

EMPTY NEST SYNDROME

So now we're here with no seven-year-old, and we're a bit sad. No making pancakes every morning. Nobody to wrestle with, or fish with, or hike with. Nobody reading to us in the evenings. Nobody falling asleep on our bed watching soccer, no gangly-limbed body to haul off to his bed at midnight. It's just not the same here without you, Vanal. You sure brightened up our home during your time here, and we can't wait till you can come back again!