All State

The girls' All State Band concert was last weekend and it was a great show.  After three weekends of rehearsals, all of the bands came together for one performance. We are proud of all of their hard work and their commitment to their instruments.

Emily was in Gala Band.

Elizabeth was in Symphonic Band and Flute Choir.

Damuth Scholarship

When Elizabeth and I went to our first Northwest Catholic Event, we picked up several informational flyers, including one that had information about a music scholarship.  The scholarship required a written application, an audition and a recommendation from a music teacher.  After some hemming and hawing, as well as a few nudges from her school music director, Elizabeth decided to apply. She auditioned in early February and when she was there, saw many of the same students she sees at all All State every year.  In fact, her music teacher told us that more than 50 incoming freshman auditioned for the scholarship, and every instrumental musician is part of the current All State program.  On Tuesday, Elizabeth learned that she was awarded the Damuth Scholarship, a four year music scholarship that is awarded to ONE member of each class at NWC.  I have to say, she was very excited, as was her music teacher!  The scholarship comes with a lot of requirements - certain music ensembles, music theory classes, minimum overall and course specific GPA - but she is up for the challenge.  We are so proud of her hard work!!

8th Grade Semi Formal

Last Saturday night was Elizabeth's 8th grade semi-formal.  It was a great night for the kids, as almost everyone attended and enjoyed a sit down meal with their classmates, followed by dancing and photo booth fun.  I was impressed with how lovely all of the girls looked and how everything went off without a hitch.  We have an amazing group of parents that made the entire evening so special for the kids.

Friends since pre-school!

Candy bar. 

Dessert cart. 

February Odds and Ends

Some photos that didn't make a February post:

Emily's Harry Potter bed (and wall) is finally complete!

Visiting Northwest Catholic for a music scholarship audition. 

Last audition.  All of the hard work is finally over. 

Reffing for the first time - an eye-opening experience for these two.

In a (hopefully) brief flashback, Emily played goalie for a half.

Just an average Sunday morning in the zoo...

An easy goal for Emily.

M10

M10 Decision Day was filled with heartache for our family.  Elizabeth was accepted to Kent, waitlisted at Choate, Groton and St. George's and rejected by Deerfield.  Although we were filled with excitement when the Kent acceptance package arrived on M9, we watched Elizabeth's world shatter in a span of five minutes on the morning of March 10th.  She had herself a good cry (actually, I think that all four of us might have had a good cry) and then picked herself up to continue her day, which included four hours of All State band rehearsal, followed by the 8th grade semi-formal.  It is hard as a grown up when someone tells you that you aren't good enough - it is even more difficult when you are 13 and you've truly had your heart set on something for several years.  We are spending time explaining to Elizabeth the excellent options that she does have - Northwest Catholic and Kent - and also working hard to explain to the WL schools why they should pick her should they have the chance to take anyone off of their waitlists. But we are realistic - she has a less than 3% chance of getting in off of a waitlist, so we need to move forward with Plan B.  Love the school that loves you.  Bloom where you are planted.

End of the Season

The girls ended basketball season last week, with three straight games.  The second half of the season was not nearly as good as the first half, but were are more than proud of how well they played, how much they improved and the fact that they gave 100% at every practice and every game.  Elizabeth started every game and Emily improved so much over the course of the season.

Last home game for the 8th graders - all with their parents and the coaches. 

8th grade girls 

Elizabeth with a steal and a breakaway. 

All of the 8th graders.

The girls lost their last game of the season, but Elizabeth had a terrific game - 4 points, 11 rebounds and a couple of steals.  Depending on where she goes to high school, it may have been her last ever basketball game.  Lee and I are so proud of her.

A Life Well Lived

Last week, we lost my mom.  After a three year battle with Alzheimer's, my mother's journey on earth ended and she peacefully went to heaven.  My mom lived an amazing life and as kids, we've always said that she lived the American Dream.  She was born during the Great Depression and was incredibly poor as a child.  She met and married my dad in the late 1950's and theirs was a great love affair.  Even when we were kids, we always understood how much they loved each other.  They worked hard and for their 25th wedding anniversary, took their first big vacation.  After that, they visited five continents and close to 20 countries.  Until Alzheimer's began to steal her from us, she loved to sing, bake and spend time with her children and grandchildren.  Click here for the link to the video we prepared for our parents' 50th wedding anniversary, more than 8 years ago.

Below is the text from the eulogy I wrote and delivered at her funeral:

Good morning. Thank you all for being here today to celebrate my mother.

Mom was born in 1936, in the heart of the Great Depression, and she had a difficult childhood. Her parents separated when she was a little girl, and my grandmother struggled to raise 2 young girls alone. At times, food and clothing were scarce and Mom began working at a very young age to help support the family. 

After graduating from St. Joseph High School for Girls in 1954, she took a job at the Telephone Company. In 1958, she met my father and as he tells the story, by the second date, he knew she was The One. They were married less than a year later. My parents’ honeymoon included a Giants/Steelers game and then Niagara Falls. I’m sure my mother thought that she had taken the trip of a lifetime – little did she know how things would turn out.

Mom and Dad settled in on Candia Road – buying the house next door to this church where my father still lives today – more than 57 years ago. Together, they raised the four of us – Michael, Kathleen, Joe and me. We all have memories of sharing a hot breakfast together every morning, taking homemade lunches to school every day and sharing family meals together every night. If one of us missed regular dinner time because of work or sports, mom always had a warm plate waiting when we got home and she would sit and keep us company while we ate.

Mom was a wonderful baker. Her bread and rolls won blue ribbons for years at the Deerfield Fair. Her baklava was famous; her fudge delicious; her blueberry pie considered second to none by family and friends; and her chocolate cookies were so good that my college friends affectionately called her “Mrs. O’Chip” instead of Mrs. O’Connor.

Mom and Dad had a great marriage. As kids, I’m certain that we didn’t fully understand their partnership but it had an impact on us. Their love left an impression, as they modeled for us what a good marriage should be like. The greatest evidence of their influence is that the four of us all chose such good partners when we got married. What a gift they gave us.

After many years of hard work, saving money and raising a family, mom and dad began taking trips together. Other people take vacations. My parents took trips.  

Two weeks in coastal California; two weeks in the southwest touring national parks; two weeks in Hawaii (twice); and three weeks in Alaska. And then, the real traveling began. A month in Japan and China; a month in Australia and New Zealand; weeks traveling through many countries in Africa; Ireland; the Canadian Rockies; Turkey; Greece; Israel; Germany; Poland; Italy; and years later, one final trip, to South Africa. In all, they traveled more than 200,000 miles together.  

And mom didn’t just visit these places – she EXPERIENCED them. She walked the Great Wall of China; fed a koala bear in Australia; pet a cheetah in South Africa; visited a former concentration camp in Poland; toured mosques and synagogues in Istanbul and Jerusalem; watched a pride of lions kill its prey on safari in South Africa; watched the sun rise from a hot air balloon over the plains of Tanzania; and walked ancient ruins in Athens. Thinking about her childhood, never could my mom have imagined all the places she would go and all of the things she would see and do. Truly, she lived the American Dream.  

In her final years, my mother suffered from Alzheimer’s. Although it is important to remember how she lived, not how she died, I would be remiss if I did not mention the toll that this disease took on not only my mother, but also my father and each of her children. We were, however, incredibly lucky. My sister Kathleen was with my mother every step of the way as she battled this disease and for that, and so many other things, we owe her a debt of gratitude. May you all be so lucky to have a Kathleen in your family. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson said “it is not the length of life, but the depth.” Mom lived fully and deeply. She loved each of us fully and deeply. She taught us how to love and how to live. We are forever grateful for her legacy and we will always carry her in our hearts.