That is wonderful news, @shawbridge !
Been busy, busy, busy here. My company’s business has been booming, which is great, but it means I’ve been out on the road almost every week so far this year.
My children are meeting up in Athens, Greece today for a vacation - so happy they both love to travel!
Checking in to say an actual hi. I’m back on CC in a more active way, with S2 (a junior), but I’ve been keeping up with you all as a lurker. It’s wonderful to hear your voices again.
I was never all that vocal so my feelings are NOT hurt if nobody remembers me. 
Yep, I do. I have been fascinated with your picture.
A junior?? Wow, you make me feel so old. LOL
Say hi more often.
cq, so very nice that your kids are together. SIL is visiting family and friends in Seattle today and is making a special effort to see our S (his BIL) and family. Good feeling.
shaw, that is just uber cool!
Back today from cruise vacation with H. Great time. Back to the newish job that im liking so far anyway. My boss travels a lot so leaves me to do my job. Love not having someone breathing down my neck constantly.
Glad to hear all the good things.
Things are moving with the wedding. Picked up D’s wedding dress. Most vendors booked.
D2 is graduating from law school. H and I doing fine.
Glad to hear good things, @downtoearth.
How is everybody. Nice to see pics of MP D1 wedding. beautiful.
Wedding for D2 is going well. Lots of work.
D2 has a job then will go into the JAG she is very excited. happy for her. It is hard to get in and she really wanted it
Wait. JAG is Judge Advocate General corps? Did D2 switch from nursing to law?
ShawD and BF are heading to the Bay Area in September. She is excited I think. It is for his career. She loves being a Family NP but is not crazy about the way the practice where she works is managed.
ShawWife has a one-person show coming up later this month in London. I’ll post an invite on the FB page.
Per post #41521, my CEO and I turned down the $3.5 MM investment – didn’t like how controlling they seemed to want to be – and are now working on a smaller amount with a different group that is not trying to take over.
Yes, @missypie - the wedding photos were stunning! I hope it was an amazing experience.
My S and his fiance’s wedding plans for December are coming along - she has picked a wedding dress, they have a caterer, and a florist. He graduates from law school in May, and will take the NY bar this summer. They are moving to Boston in August, where she will begin a 16-month social impact MBA program. He plans to work for a legal temp firm until he gets his bar results back, since he wants public interest law, and they don’t typically hire until the bar is passed. Fortunately there are many states with reciprocity with NY.
D is doing well - she just received a nice promotion and raise. She gets to attend a United Nations investment conference in Paris in September to manage interviews and social media for her company. She is taking advantage of her London location to travel when she can - headed to Barcelona with a friend next week.
We are in the midst of H’s job search for the next temp position. His contract here goes to the end of May. Time to get ready to move again! H really wants a pet again (current lease doesn’t permit pets) so that may be in our future as well.
My work continues to be really busy. I am NOT traveling this week for the first time since February. I just set a personal record for 11 weeks of trainings in a row (one was remote so I was home) and that’s a lot! Fortunately I love what I do and I actually enjoy the traveling, for the most part. Right now I am tentatively scheduled to travel to Fiji in September, which I’m VERY excited about!
Hope everyone is doing well!
@college_query, Fiji! Wow. ShawWife lived there for the better part of a year in a Peace Corps-like thing.
Exciting re S (wedding, career moves) and D’s job. fun places for weekends from London – Dublin, Lisbon, Copenhagen as well as the obvious (Paris, Barcelona).
Good luck with the next job search. Interesting to be that mobile. We are going to sell the house we bought to raise our kids. Trying to figure out where to be (I want some of Sausalito, Florida, Boston and ShawWife wants some of Boston and the Laurentians in Quebec where we have a house). We can’t figure out where we should put the house that our kids can come and visit (especially with grandkids should there be any).
I also enjoy the traveling, though I don’t know that I have ever been gone for 11 weeks.
Posted about ShawWife and ShawSon on the FB page.
Good morning, all. The wedding was a month ago. I’ve been doing a whole lot of nothing (and watching both the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments) since then.
The wedding was a lot of fun and totally draining. The bride was amazingly chill. The week before, we had what we said was the “high school” version of her - eye rolls, nothing we said was right, etc. But on Friday and Saturday she was fabulous. As I said on Facebook, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bride enjoy her own wedding more.
As mother of the bride, I had to do SO MUCH at the Hindu ceremony. I asked in advance what I would be expected to do and they didn’t tell me a quarter if what I had to do. Maybe that was for the best. The priest was great and telling folks what to do is old hat to him, as many Indian folks don’t understand all the Sanskrit. He was like Sanskrit Sanskrit Sanskrit [then under his breath saying what to do in English without missing a beat] and so forth. I am left handed, and he kept having to tell me “right hand” …I know that it’s not good to do things left handed in India, but I certainly couldn’t remember that as I had to present flowers to the groom, throw rice, etc.
Anyway, I got to wear a fabulous outfit, of which D now has custody for future events.
The Christian wedding was wonderful. H, Son and younger D sang a trio - my idea, and it was beautiful. (All have classically trained voices, so it wasn’t amateur hour.) I got to sit in the front pew and just be the matriarch.
The reception was a lot of fun. I don’t know whether it is just this generation, or the mix of Indian and American music and people, but the the guys danced…all of them, all the time. Usually it’s women on the dance floor, but here, the men all danced, too.
The next day we had an open house. The groom’s mom thought about a dozen of their relatives would attend. But virtually all of them came - I think a one point I had about 40 people in the house. I was ready, as they had all RSVP’d, but it was exhausting to have to get up in the morning (time change and all) to get ready. Among other things, I had a mimosa bar and a mac & cheese bar.
Two days later we got on a plane to Palm Springs. Stayed in 10 room mid century modern property. The trip was exactly what I needed.
The bride and groom went to Barcelona and the south of France and are back up north now.
MP sounds wonderful.
So many changes. Shaw will D work out there?
I will be in London in June sorry to miss Shaw wife.
CC always wondered how you had to move all assignments are temporary?
It is D1 who will join the JAG she has a clerkship first for a year.
One of my good friends is relocating. I will miss her
I want to change too and am envious of all the moving. Moving as a kid, I always wanted to stay now I think its over rated
Makes more sense, @downtoearth. ShawD has already applied for and received her nursing license. Now has to get certified for furnishing and nurse practitioner-ing (advance practice?). She will work out there hopefully doing family practice. She is thinking of working in a startup/newer company that uses technology to run its clinics better. But, we’ll see. NPs get very well paid out there because the cost of living is so high.
Sounds like the wedding turned out great and the relaxation afterwards equally great, MP. Congrats.
@downtoearth - H has intentionally been taking temporary assignments. They usually last 18 months - 2 years, although can be as short as one year and can last longer. I intentionally found work that was portable so we could do this. If he/we decide we don’t want to do the temporary assignments any longer, he can look for a permanent position, but for now we are enjoying the journey and the variety.
Haven’t been on in a while - just busy. Not sure really with what but busy. 
All good. Sounds like everyone is busy and enjoying life.
Agree that the pictures of the wedding were fantastic. I have no interest in moving.
We have lived in our house for 35 years and are still fixing it up for the retirement years.
Like my new job and have found it interesting. Seem to be doing okay with it. Boss doesn’t say much but his boss has complimented me numerous times as has his counterpart.
H is off to duathalon nationals and will be gone until Mon/Tues timeframe. He drove by himself- it’s 13 hours so will be some today and some tomorrow. I’m sure that the weather is not going to be great for his race on Sunday in Greenville, NC. Oh well - as long as they don’t cancel it after driving that distance.
D had a brush fire in the back of her house last weekend. Was close to her property line but the fire departments took care of it - 10 feet prior to her fence. Ugh - never a dull moment.
worked the Marathon today. the weather was so crazy- rainy, hot, rainy cold. for the most part the runner did well. although some hypoglycemia, hypothermia and disappointed runners lots of cramps with the heat. yesterday was nice tomorrow should be nice
Devastated about Notre Dame
DTE, it’s so cool that you work the Marathon.
I thought of posting this in the Parent Café but feared it would devolve quickly. Here’s the puzzler. (Note that this didn’t happen in my presence. It’s the Easter Weekend story from BIL and SIL.)
FIL is 90 and is mentally pretty darned sharp. He does not show signs of dementia and is extremely fit for 90.
FIL went to visit his son and DIL over Easter (a relatively short drive). For Easter Sunday church he wore jeans and a polo shirt. The family he visited and the church at which they worship is a “suit and dress” type. He knows that, he owns suits, and he has visited there many times before. Okay, chalk that one up to wanting to be comfortable. On Sunday afternoon, they went to visit several of DIL’s relatives. It was about 60 degrees and FIL wore shorts and a sleeveless fleece vest with no shirt underneath.
With old people, I always try to figure out what I would want if that was me. I like being at the stage in life that I can wear pretty much whatever I choose. But if I was dressing inappropriately (e.g. the fleece vest over bare skin), would I appreciate a “It’s kind of chilly. You might be more comfortable in long pants and a shirt under the vest”?
If I was dressing in a way that would make others think I was losing my marbles, I’m pretty sure I would want to be told. I think I would appreciate a kind “Mom, can I help find you a different outfit?” Or should the elder’s fashion choices be respected if they are not suffering from dementia? Any thoughts about what you would want?
While the jeans and the polo shirt could possibly be chalked up to wanting to be comfortable, the fleece vest over bare skin is definitely inappropriate. For out of character clothing choices, I would try the “It’s kind of chilly” approach. No need to respect fashion choices. They could also be a manifestation of early dementia, even if it hasn’t been noticed in other areas.