Colorado Taylors

May 28, 2014
Ivy took her second plane trip this weekend and she did phenomenally well! Despite a few piercing shrieks (including several that echoed through the cavernous tent at Denver International Airport) she was a great companion through the rigors of travel. She was also supremely well behaved at the wedding and reception--especially considering we completely abandoned any semblance of her normal routine and schedule. We were there for cousin Anna and her dude Kaulin, celebrating their love in Littleton, Colorado, and the Taylor turnout was very impressive, including Mommom and her four sons, their spouses and 11/12 of the cousins! It…

Dorset Bucklands

April 2, 2014
Ivy is an international traveler! We brought her to England to meet her great-grandparents and to experience the idyllic nature of her middle-namesake, Dorset. In the tiny village of Sydling St. Nicholas, nestled in a valley of rolling hills and farmland, life is beautifully simple. Our days involved long walks through the village and surrounding farms, passing through pastures of sheep, cows and horses with our baby in a carrier on my chest. We would walk for hours then return for teatime and delicious meals around a table that expanded as more family arrived daily. The Buckland clan forged by…

SNOW!

February 22, 2014
I was born a snow lover, a few weeks before the blizzard of '78 in Boston, and have always appreciated the convergence of atmospheric phenomena that produces dendrites! Sledding was the earliest form of snow fun and my backyard, with its 15' vertical drop was more than enough to thrill me through my tiny years. When I outgrew that, I would sled down our back steps off a jump onto the patio. I started skiing when I was 7 and was quickly obsessed, following daily conditions in the Boston Globe Sports Section and memorizing mountain statistics; I drew hundreds of…

Philip Seymour Hoffman

February 5, 2014
His death is haunting me. Since the moment I read of his demise, I have been wrestling with the grim details and vividly imagining his final moments. I do not follow celebrity news, but for all his fame, he seemed like a true man of the people. I have seen him around town at various theater events and he was dedicated to that world--one that most movie stars abandon entirely or dabble in only occasionally. He was immersed in the craft and pursued it completely; it is obvious he had a true passion for the work and his career is…

2014

January 14, 2014
Time Check: 2014 is two weeks old. Ivy is five months old. I am 36 1/12 years old.   Free Me-time is extremely limited these days, which is why it has been over a month since writing here and it is 11:00 pm, which has become obscenely late-night for me recently but is the only time that everyone else is sleeping so I can be selfish and creative! In theory I could have these hours every night as I did Before Ivy, but somehow I am drained after a day of work and play and find sleep to be the…

The First Thanksgiving

December 4, 2013
This may rank as my best Thanksgiving ever. I don't really remember the first five or ten of my life and Ivy may someday overlook it in her list of greatest Fourth-Thursday-in-Novembers, but I can't think of another incarnation of this Holiday that brought together such delicious food and incredible expanding family. We spent Thursday in Armonk with Alaina's family and a beautifully prepared, classic spread of Turkey, Ham, Stuffing, Potatoes, Cranberry and Incredible Pies. Ivy is the newest addition to the next generation on this side, with six cousins under 13. It is a fun crew and I always…

The Boston Red Sox Are 2013 World Series Champions!

October 31, 2013
The Boston Red Sox bring me great joy. With an amazing redemption from last year's debacle, they go from laughable losers to World Series Winners! All year long they played with resolve and determination, willing victory from certain defeat, a different teammate stepping up every night to deliver when it mattered. It has been an incredible ride beyond this season that stretches back as far as I have memories; The Red Sox are always part of my life. Through pain and suffering to joy and celebration, I love this team and feel fortunate to have grown up in a geographical…

Two Months

October 15, 2013
Time has lost any relative meaning it might have had for me. It is impossible to believe that two months have passed since Ivy was born; it still seems so new and yet hours pass instantly with me doing nothing but holding her and staring in amazement. She is always incredible. But in many ways my life is the same! Every day I go to work as I did since before the dawn of Ivy! I still have friends that existed before she was ever imagined! And my eternal devotion to the sports teams of my youth has never been…

Six Weeks

September 25, 2013
It has been a challenging six weeks and we are still adjusting to our new sleep-deprived lifestyle, but it has also been incredible and amazing. Watching her grow and develop new skills (eye-tracking! head-swiveling!) has been wonderful and inspiring and I look forward to seeing her everyday when I come home from teaching. Even a frown and scrunched-up crying face is the cutest and most adorable sadness, and when she smiles I am enveloped in joy and love. This is the greatest adventure I have ever embarked on and my life has been enriched more than I could ever have…

One Week

August 20, 2013
Seven days we've spent with her and I am still out of my mind with joy and happiness. There have been some challenging moments but most of the time is bliss, enjoying the simple company of this child as she sleeps serenely or opens her eyes wide and sees the world unbiased and pure. She is so sweet and delicate as I hold her in my arms and have no choice but to nuzzle her nose and kiss the softest skin I could ever imagine. I am completely in love. I have always loved being around kids and looked forward…