Compelling, Maryam. And a timely lesson for many.

OK, so you know I'm not one of your poetry people, Dick. My opinion? I love this piece!

Oh, Claire -- what a wonderful time you will have sharing all that with your beautiful little Bug! Your parents would both be so happy to know how much you cherish those memories, and are replicating them for your own daughter now. If you chow down on any friend clams while you are there, please send a thought in my direction, OK? Oh, and if there's lobster on the menu at some point...ditch the mere thought, and send me a plane ticket!

Yay! Thanks for continuing to provide our weekly "fix" :-) No pressure, though, should the spirit fail to move you now and then. She's adorable whenever we can catch a glimpse.

Woooo! Very wonderful news indeed. We're all happy to celebrate with you on this one. Those down days were well-worth the result, I'm sure. Which reminds me to ask...in the aftermath of the surgery, are you back to feeling fully your old (oops, sorry -- very poor choice of word there ;-) self again these days?

Beautiful, Claire! Your parents would be so happy for you :-)

Not like me to miss a birthday party, that's for sure! My beloved husband (of 42 years this very week :-) and I snuck away for a quick celebratory road trip down to So Cal (which, OK fine, actually does have its merits ;-) via an overnight in Santa Barbara, followed by three days at a fabulous Bed and Breakfast on Catalina (never been before and we had a great time thanks to meeting quite a few of the locals instead of hanging with just the tourists) and then up to Big Bear for some long-overdue hugs with our elder son. And why am I completely comfortable revealing all this in the comments on your blog but not on my very own Facebook page? It's a mystery!

Happy (belated) birthday, sweet baby! We were away last week, and the very first thing I did when the computer was back on was check for these photos! Love to you all from Cupertino :-)

Then you must!

I love when you write about this stuff, Dick. You know you're preaching to the choir, in this direction at least, and it would seem to your other equally-enlightened readers as well. And with regard to your remark regarding my rant on your prior post...change *is* coming! I had the very exciting privilege of being called upon as a "consultant" a few months back by a group of parents in the town adjacent to ours who, since our school is full to capacity and with in-district wait-lists, so can't accept "outsiders", have been unable to even consider driving their children to our area. (Wretched sentence structure there -- sorry -- too tired to go back and fix it) "Let's start a school like that of our own!" they thought. And hey, why not? Thrillingly, their proposal was met with sincere enthusiasm by the powers- that-be in their own district. Our school, and others like it had to struggle against all sorts of "freaky/hippie" stereotypes when we first started three decades ago. But now that we are full and flourishing, with kids who, you know, actually do learn stuff along the way, why gosh yes, every district would love to have a school like ours! I'm so happy for these people. They have been given space at a well-located campus, an enthusiastic and supportive principal, and plan to open this coming Fall with three or four (depending on demand) combination grade-level (K-1 & 1-2) classes for which, I firmly predict they will have waiting lists from Day One. Your John Wood was well and truly a Miracle Man, and "kids" like you prove daily that being listened to during those formative years really does pay off :-)

Maryam, with your photography skills, I do believe even your dust bunnies would look like works of art!

Very much as I thought. Except where (Oh, WHERE!) are the piles of laundry, children's toys, and dust bunnies. Surely there must be dust in Morocco! It's lovely, Maryam. I so hope someday I may get to see the public parts of it in person.

Does it count if the anticipation is current not past? At the moment, I am surrounded by friends who are happily becoming grandparents while I still need an additional daughter-in-law, and a successful pregnancy for the first one. In truth, although I'm sure I will be over-the-moon with my own feelings when that day comes, it's the anticipation of seeing my sons become fathers which really stirs me. And, Internet? (Shhhh!) If you promise not to tell my younger son's lovely wife...that diaper bag would make a most excellent container for all the little baby things I've had bought and stashed away since (believe this) before they were even married. (Hey, at least they were engaged! She loved that he wore Birkenstocks, not Vans...I saw a pair of baby Birks...how could I resist? And, she wears Uggs, so later when that pair of Baby Uggs was in the jumble of clearance items...) So do they make that diaper bag in "Extra Large"? I'm glad you've joined the ranks of giveaway bloggers, Claire. It's very fun to read the comments' stories :-)

Jean, you're right! I work with students who are preparing personal statements for applications to transfer from our local community college to 4-year universities. In trolling the on-line ads for "writers wanted" at Craig's List recently, I was shocked (and, mind you, I don't shock too very easily) at the profusion of requests offering payment for essays, surrogate test-takers, and even thesis writers. What in the world?? How is an ethical student supposed to survive/compete in that atmosphere, and how do academic professionals ever manage to weed out the cheaters? And doesn't the pressure that brought us to this sorry state start in the very grocery line Dick encountered in rural England just the other day? Or conversations between *pregnant* not-even-yet-actual-mothers as to whether there's still time to enroll their progeny in the "right" educationally-stringent day care so these unborn children will have a shot at getting into Harvard? Really, people! Get a grip!! (Foaming at the mouth here in Cupertino)

Yes, please! Oh yes. Please!!

Love the little hair bow. There *is* some hair under it someplace, right? ;-)

"Our school" (and I use the quotes advisedly to indicate that it's the place my now-30-something "kids" attended in their younger years but with which, as you know, I'm still connected) has evolved to the use of portfolios and presentations for end-of year evaluations by self, peers, and teachers, and has opted out of virtually all standardized testing. There remain a few state-mandated ones in the upper grades to which our staff steadfastly refuses to gear their teaching. Consequence? The bright students do very well on those tests. The less bright ones, ess well. None however take the results too seriously, nor do the parents and staff. I'm sure the "back-to-basics" place (our fellow "alternative" program within this district) points fingers, and nickers behind our backs, but hey, that's cool with us :-) (Ditto to Kass's comment about the unfortunate line truncation issue.)

Most definitely, yes!

I know this touches on the whole "woo woo California thing", but it would not surprise me at all to discover that your dear mother already does know quite a bit about sweet Veronica. I'm glad you continue to feel such a warm embrace from the Boose family. Veronica's reality may be different from what you would most have wished for her, but there is no doubt that she will be well-loved by her extended family :-)

The very same to your and yours, Sweet Maryam! Here's to a far better year to come, and many happy more in the future. (Grammatically odd, but I'm sure you get my gist :-)

A hug for you this blustery night from far away Cupertino -- just so you know that people *do* come back to read the comments you leave to our comments :-) I think the "front page" of a blog like yours is but a window into the soul of its writer. A blog such as yours, like all fine gifts, needs very careful and attentive unwrapping.

Well, this is what passes for "busy season" in what I do that passes for "work", so that's my excuse. I take solace in knowing that I'm really giving you a "freebie" here -- my not being a blogger means you've no need to comment at my place to keep me coming back. By the way...a crow's nest? I think NOT! We have crows right here in Cupertino, and they are maddening birds. I refuse to believe I could possibly have brought a crow's nest home from England. If not a nightingale (which sounds by far the most romantic) then I will at the very least claim it was from a magpie. When you come visit, you can set me straight again if you must, but 'til then I suspect that none of my friends or family are likely to be the wiser.

What fun -- the purely joyful celebration of childhood, enabled with so much beauty by her beautiful mother who just happened to have the requisite supply of tents and carpets and poufs, and the MOST beautiful balloons on hand! Lovely, Maryam. Thanks so much for sharing it with us, your "Faraway Family" :-)

Love it! You taught me the Magpie superstition, and I never so much as noticed the (lack of) earlobes. Say, that reminds me...was it a magpie nest I retrieved and brought home? I've been saying nightingale, but I don't think that's right. Do you remember?? I was showing it to someone just the other day, and I love how it takes me back to that magical stroll past the church with Rosy's little hand in mine for a while :-)

Woo, and it isn't even Wednesday! Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa Boose!!!! :-)