Family

My dad’s father died when my dad was about eight years old. As a result, he lost touch with most of that side of the family. A few days ago one of my dad’s uncles passed away and the two sides of the family were brought together again.

The family bond is definitely a strange thing. When my sister and I were in high school, we could get in the worst fights in the 4 minutes is took to drive to school. We’d stomp into the building, charge toward our separate lockers, and as soon as we ran back into each other before the first bell we’d be whispering gossip and begging to borrow each other’s clothes as though I hadn’t just cursed her and she hadn’t just thrown her boot at me. Nope, non-related people just wouldn’t tolerate such behavior.

It’s been years since my dad has seen some of his family and decades since he’s seen others, but because they are family, everyone just picks up where they left off. I like to think that family gives us an identity and lets us belong to something. Our roots are tied to theirs. Even when we don’t like our family, we still love them. Unless you had a genuinely awful family. In that case, I’m sorry for your loss.

My favorite in-laws

We had a lovely time with Sam's parents for the past few days. It was so fun showing them the in's and out's of our new life. And they brought us kringle (a heavenly Danish pastry)!

Sam's family is definitely what we miss most about Colorado. But, as they say, you can't have the enchiladas without making a huge mess of your whole kitchen and cutting yourself on the lid in the process of opening the enchilada sauce can. Or is it that you can't have the whole enchilada without getting that pukey full feeling afterward?

Our decision to venture out has come at a price, but we're hoping it's a good investment.

Who would have guessed?

OMG! My life has order! Without me realizing it, a routine has slowly been seeping into my life.

I wanted some kind of schedule and rhythm from the moment we arrived in Ohio, but it seemed impossible. Too many people to take into account, too many unknowns in each day, and a lack of knowing what I really wanted to get out of each day all contributed to a general feeling of madness. But last night I was thinking back over the day, and then the week, and then the month…and suddenly I saw it. Shape and form and beauty! What happiness!

In other good news, I finished the GRE with a score I'm happy about and Sam's parents are coming to visit tomorrow. Life is just cruising along.

The best things I've found in October...so far

The amazing variety of colors and shapes of the fall leaves. Brilliant!

Plus, how cool is this?! A heart shaped leaf! That's better than a four-leaf clover.

Fun things to do in Cleveland in the fall:

- Ride a tractor-pulled wagon to the orchards and pick apples

- Drive out to the country to see the historic covered bridges

- Pick up fresh food for dinner from the West Side Market

Sophistication

I think our big move is starting to work…I think we’re becoming world wise! Well, maybe it has less to do with moving and more to do with simply trying new things, but either way we’re marking a lot of things off the life to-do list.

Last weekend Sam went sailboat racing with a friend from work. He’s going again this weekend as the yacht club wraps up the season. Last night we attended our first waltz lesson. I must say, Sam’s got moves! And, because I work the least in our household (i.e., not at all), I’ve been cooking like crazy. So far every meal I’ve made has contained an entrée and at least one side. That’s major progress for me. Oh, and on a walk today I passed a house with a pear tree, so now I know what those look like!

What can I say? We’ve practically conquered the world.

Unlocking the secrets of the GRE

I happen to be studying for the GRE these days so that down the road I'll be able to get into graduate school...and quite frankly I'm a little shocked. So far I've learned that you must possess an exquisitely rare vocabulary to have the best chance of winning the verbal portion. If this vocabulary is beyond your grasp, you may be able to scrape by if you happen to know nearly every suffix, prefix, and root used in the English language. In my case, I'm just going to try to impress the test machine with my short-term memorization powers.

Now what goodies does the math review have in store for me?