Life of Wry

(Not a nick name I say aloud.. no reason why.. but one I say to myself all the time.)

Today was Maya’s birthday, the day after Peter’s. So she gets an entry of her own!

Grateful Peter and Maya found each other (during the pandemic, while sequestered together in their coop, in both of their first days–>weeks–>months in Ann Arbor). Glad they’ve spent the years since becoming such a sweet couple. I’m sure they’ve both learned and grown a lot together.

As a mom, a parent, I can say it’s been one of the most wonderful parts of raising Peter…seeing how he’s become part of a couple… to see what he values in a partner. To see the kind of person who values him.

These are super swell kids!

Some Maya pics (the first three of which pre-date Peter and which I mined from Facebook):

While it’s a bit disruptive to Jim’s sleep, I’m partial to setting an alarm at 2:21am on June 24 each year so that I can be in that moment and remember delivering Peter Keaton Frame into the world. It was a very very key milestone in the lives of (at least) three people! Jim was right there for every grunt in those wee hours (twenty six years ago!), so it doesn’t seem too out of school that he be slightly awakened once a year to honor the moment. Amiright?

Thought so. [smile]

So, like I said, this guy turned 26 today! Twenty six!

I can say it here (you know, because it’s my blog and this is why I have a blog): I am so unbelievably in love with this guy. I’m in awe the man he is becoming. That seems like a trite thing to say.. I hear people say it a lot about their children. But it also says a lot. It says there is growth, and development, and adapting, and lessons learned. It implies curiosity, open heartedness, a thirst for knowledge and understanding. If you possess those things, you are going to grow and become. Peter cares about people, about the world, about knowing things and experiencing things. He is incredibly principled. He’s analytical, thoughtful. He’s got a broad set of interests and a broad set of talents. He’s confident, yet very modest.

And yeah.. he kind of reminds me of my husband. Which I don’t think is a coincidence.

Anyway.. he’s 26. He’s becoming. He’s got all kinds of things to learn yet, all kinds of skills to refine. But, damn, he’s got a solid foundation of smarts, integrity, thoughtfulness and open-mindedness.

I am really, really proud of him.

How ’bout a pic or two?

I can always be assured of something to write about, even when I have nothing to write about… meaning: Our political world is soul-suckingly rich in material and, as I so often say thank goodness for the funny people, who can find the humor in our anything-but-funny world.

Here’s a selection of the latest social commentary.

Super creepy, but says it all.

Juneteenth happened on the 19th, and was the third year of our newest national holiday.

And this one… it’d be easy to laugh if it weren’t so true!

One more.. from a Woman’s March a while back:

I’ve always liked my movies to pack an emotional punch.. tragedy, sadness, betrayal… anything that reaches in, touches the heart, evokes a response. Even if it’s hard to watch, even if I cry through a good part of it, even if I walk out a zombie.

The movie Jim and I saw on Friday was one of those. About a 30-something father who has terminal brain cancer, who is solo-parenting a 4-year old boy. The boy’s mom (maybe the protagonist’s wife at one time) walked out and left her son when he was an infant. The dad is very working class (cleans windows for a living in Ireland) and the movie follows him as he’s looking for a family to adopt his kiddo, the center of his world. It’s all about finding the right family for his sweet boy (whatever that might look like, and the story includes numerous variations on that theme), the immense sadness and loss at not getting to see how his son’s story will unfold, and just the deep and beautiful bond between a patient, loving dad and an innocent, vulnerable (and very cute) kid.

I found it affecting, moving and just so beautiful. Worth seeing. A story about the precious love between kids and their parents and a reminder of what matters most in life. It’s surprisingly direct and understated… a quiet study, not a manipulative move in sight.

Nowhere Special was made in 2020.

(That ice cream’s going to drip all over his dad.)

At the suggestion of our friends Margie and Wes, Jim and I agreed to serve as Mandela Fellowship hosts for the next six weeks (or so).

From its website, “The Mandela Washington Fellowship will bring up to 700 young leaders to the United States in the summer of 2024 for a comprehensive executive-style program that is designed to build skills and empower Fellows to lead in their respective sectors and communities.”

The program started during the Obama administration and this is their 10th anniversary.

Being a host involves, basically, inviting two young African leaders to dinner, which we’ll be doing this coming week. Additionally, there is a reception next week Jim and I will attend, and at the end of the program there is a celebration, which we cannot make. We may try to squeeze in one other social gathering with our fellows before it’s all said and done.

I attended a potluck at the I-House this evening and met a number of the fellows, most of whom had just arrived the day before. There are 24 of them at UC Davis this summer (and, as I understand it, there are 28-ish other sites around the country doing the same). One fellow told me that in Nigeria there were 10,000 applicants for 55 slots. Extremely competitive and a very popular program!

More to come. For now, a not-very-good pic of the potluck, which was hugely attended and quite fun.

I see this fellow every time I circle the creek. Been there a long time… I suspect it’s tar that either spilled out of somebody’s can or was dabbed there intentionally to cover a divot or crack in the pathway.

Down at the Arb yesterday, Putah Creek/lake looked like this. Getting more dry and cracked by the day. This is the middle lake.

This made me laugh.

…Father’s Day! Happy to honor a great dad.

Here are two shots that suggest that Peter’s been climbing on Jim for most of those [I’d say all of those] 26 years…

Love these pic, love these guys.