Nothing better than spending the day with my son, Patrick. Last week my son called me complaining about his work load at school. Exhausted, he said “Mom, I just want to spend the day with you. Just you and me.”

  Some of you may know that my daughter has accepted a new job for the fall. She will be working at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor doing health economics policy research. We are all super excited -- but that is not the purpose of this blog.

 

A good number of us gather with family this weekend. Some gathered today for Easter. Others including members of my family gathered Friday and Saturday eves for Passover. Usually we host one night and visit with family or friends (Appreciate the invites). Periodically, if find ourselves out of town, we participate in communal seders.   This year, we hosted both nights.

Do you remember Natalie "Nadia" Suleman? I didn't until I ran across a follow up news story.   She is the Octomom, giving birth to 8 babies from one pregnancy. Well, they just celebrated their 10th birthday and all are seemingly healthy and well adjusted.

I’ve come to the realization that there are three stages of life: Youth, Middle Age and “You Look Good!” I can’t resist that line when someone tells me I look good.   Actually, in my case, the third stage is what I call my Afterlife.   No matter how long I live I will never retire.  Rather, I will revel in this stage as a sort of enjoyable, no holds barred Afterlife.  

This is a continuation of Nancy’s blog on Tuesday. The vision was familiar. Flames from an iconic building in the City’s skyline. As I watched, the feelings of 9/11 percolated through me. I then remembered. The visits. Walking through the massive doors. The beauty. The history. And I remembered visiting Paris in December after 9/11. It was cold. I wore a scarf fashioned after the American flag. Parisians, not previously known for their friendliness to American tourists, expressed empathy and made us feel welcome. The recent disaster that we had experienced was felt by them.

Never have I ever witnessed harmony in nature like the National Park in Pointe Reyes, California with this special girl named Christie. What a treat to have toured some of the most beautiful terrain in the United States, by foot. Elk, cow, chickens, sheep, oysters, wild birds, redwoods, cyprus, eucalyptus and the ocean all co-exist together, in one environment.