WH Chronicle GHD 2019
February 1, 2019
Happy Groundhog’s Day Eve!
Are you snuggled near the fire with kith and kin, drinking warm hognog, and waiting for that big furry butt to make its way down the chimney? Wait...nevermind….mixed meta"go"phors.
“Wow, I can’t believe we lived through that!” ...seems to be the routine sentiment at Whaleherdienda. Lesser families, with common sense and a pragmatic nature, might remark annually “...yet another year is transformed into memories”. But here at Whaleherdienda, we either have bad memories or a yearning to go headfirst into the fog. Like the first rule of Italian auto racing, “What’s behind you doesn’t matter.” Fair enough.
With that sentiment in mind, and because it’d be really difficult to describe the future, I’ll instead give you a 2018 rundown in a keyword format: teenagers, high school, broken foot, Interlochen, Medellin, puppy, car wreck, Quito, ER Visit, RV trip, Montana, sinus fungus, Toluca, home school, Cortina, failed house training, San Diego, Cancun, mad park ranger, musicals, blow outs, crappy insurance, surgery, Charleston, Rome, bassoon, lawyer, singer/songwriter, french horn, computer science, Venice, aquarium, hell bird, Advil, bowling, racquetball, vodka, Tanzania, blown radiator, cat, 8000 miles, "hemahoma", beach, etc.
Just in case you don’t remember, or haven’t done it, raising teens is not for the squeamish. I’m extraordinarily thankful that our teens are enduring trials and tribulations while living with us, allowing them to have a soft landing and guidance for circumnavigating any potential disasters they cheerfully invite into their lives. But, “extraordinarily thankful” is not necessarily the vibe those teens might detect from me during the heat of battle. Regardless, I am. And, while I wouldn’t advocate for them to make completely conventional choices, stability is encouraged as it surely lends itself to tending retired musicians.
Personnel Report:
Daryl: Took a broken foot to a dance camp last summer, so the camp choreographed a one-footed dance for the the troupe. She was the stationary singer (‘park and bark’) stationed in the rolling chair, boat, and other set pieces on stage. Surprisingly, she’s now playing Dorothy in 42nd Street--the character that can’t dance because she broke her foot. Hmmm...
Sam: Spends happy days volunteering at the Austin Aquarium. He loves it so much he wants to ‘sleep with the fishies’. The birds, kangaroos, sting rays, lemurs, alligators, and pythons all receive his attention. He traded in our face-eating sun conure for a new computer. He currently sports 70’s rockstar hair.
Nathan is thriving and consistently brings levity and humor into our home. We are lucky to have him with us. He did get at least one haircut last year.
Carolyn is working in Wisconsin. Hilde is working in Australia. Jamilly is working in Kazakhstan. Sophia, pregnant, is working in Tanzania. Kaghondi is finishing his PhD in Minnesota. All chickadees are healthy and wise. It is a bountiful blessing to have them all as family.
Menagerie:
Guido did 8000 miles in the RV this summer. He loved roaming the hills of Montana, but there is a RV park in San Diego from which we are banned because of his overzealous separation anxiety.
Mooch also did 8000 miles, but he is more apt to suffer narcolepsy than anxiety.
Louwise sat in her drinking water singing her bathing song. Seriously--that’s what this bird does.
Tom drove the 8000 miles for his vacation, and a good 20 miles of that was on the shoulder of the road because the radiator went nuclear on us. Luckily, the truck finally died near a swimming pool.
Daris went swimming.
“My education wouldn’t be nearly as good if I hadn’t made so many mistakes.”
~PawPaw
“Heredity is what sets the parents and teenagers wondering about each other.”
~Laurence J. Peter
“The alternative to a vacation is to stay home and tip every third person you see.”
~Author unknown
Wondering what to do with all of that future,
Daris
Are you snuggled near the fire with kith and kin, drinking warm hognog, and waiting for that big furry butt to make its way down the chimney? Wait...nevermind….mixed meta"go"phors.
“Wow, I can’t believe we lived through that!” ...seems to be the routine sentiment at Whaleherdienda. Lesser families, with common sense and a pragmatic nature, might remark annually “...yet another year is transformed into memories”. But here at Whaleherdienda, we either have bad memories or a yearning to go headfirst into the fog. Like the first rule of Italian auto racing, “What’s behind you doesn’t matter.” Fair enough.
With that sentiment in mind, and because it’d be really difficult to describe the future, I’ll instead give you a 2018 rundown in a keyword format: teenagers, high school, broken foot, Interlochen, Medellin, puppy, car wreck, Quito, ER Visit, RV trip, Montana, sinus fungus, Toluca, home school, Cortina, failed house training, San Diego, Cancun, mad park ranger, musicals, blow outs, crappy insurance, surgery, Charleston, Rome, bassoon, lawyer, singer/songwriter, french horn, computer science, Venice, aquarium, hell bird, Advil, bowling, racquetball, vodka, Tanzania, blown radiator, cat, 8000 miles, "hemahoma", beach, etc.
Just in case you don’t remember, or haven’t done it, raising teens is not for the squeamish. I’m extraordinarily thankful that our teens are enduring trials and tribulations while living with us, allowing them to have a soft landing and guidance for circumnavigating any potential disasters they cheerfully invite into their lives. But, “extraordinarily thankful” is not necessarily the vibe those teens might detect from me during the heat of battle. Regardless, I am. And, while I wouldn’t advocate for them to make completely conventional choices, stability is encouraged as it surely lends itself to tending retired musicians.
Personnel Report:
Daryl: Took a broken foot to a dance camp last summer, so the camp choreographed a one-footed dance for the the troupe. She was the stationary singer (‘park and bark’) stationed in the rolling chair, boat, and other set pieces on stage. Surprisingly, she’s now playing Dorothy in 42nd Street--the character that can’t dance because she broke her foot. Hmmm...
Sam: Spends happy days volunteering at the Austin Aquarium. He loves it so much he wants to ‘sleep with the fishies’. The birds, kangaroos, sting rays, lemurs, alligators, and pythons all receive his attention. He traded in our face-eating sun conure for a new computer. He currently sports 70’s rockstar hair.
Nathan is thriving and consistently brings levity and humor into our home. We are lucky to have him with us. He did get at least one haircut last year.
Carolyn is working in Wisconsin. Hilde is working in Australia. Jamilly is working in Kazakhstan. Sophia, pregnant, is working in Tanzania. Kaghondi is finishing his PhD in Minnesota. All chickadees are healthy and wise. It is a bountiful blessing to have them all as family.
Menagerie:
Guido did 8000 miles in the RV this summer. He loved roaming the hills of Montana, but there is a RV park in San Diego from which we are banned because of his overzealous separation anxiety.
Mooch also did 8000 miles, but he is more apt to suffer narcolepsy than anxiety.
Louwise sat in her drinking water singing her bathing song. Seriously--that’s what this bird does.
Tom drove the 8000 miles for his vacation, and a good 20 miles of that was on the shoulder of the road because the radiator went nuclear on us. Luckily, the truck finally died near a swimming pool.
Daris went swimming.
“My education wouldn’t be nearly as good if I hadn’t made so many mistakes.”
~PawPaw
“Heredity is what sets the parents and teenagers wondering about each other.”
~Laurence J. Peter
“The alternative to a vacation is to stay home and tip every third person you see.”
~Author unknown
Wondering what to do with all of that future,
Daris
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| Mile 5867: We are clearly in Wile E. Coyote's neighborhood. |
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| San Diego: Gweeds is not longer allowed in this city. |
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| Definitely not right. |
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| Wurstfest! |
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| Halloween |
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| Not Halloween. This is what she wants to do for a living. |
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| It's hard to relax after a long day of having blue eyebrows. |
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| He makes 60 look good! |
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| Fake backdrop? |
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| Why is she the only one smiling? |
