all that's past is prologue...

Christmas 2025. The Ordway for Jesus Christ Superstar on December 23. Beatrix's last Christmas at home. Just yesterday, seemingly, she was this old: All the feels.

I hope you all know at least one person as spectacular as my friend Marta. I fist met Marta when our kids were in elementary school, and I attended an amazing presentation session she gave at Expo (somewhat of a sister school to Randolph Heights) on the importance of Payments In Lieu Of Taxes (PILOTS). Marta's presentation was brilliant. I was in awe. I had known her tangentially through mutual friend groups, but had never encountered her force in depth and in person. You know, that feeling when someone you sort of knew turns out to be a SUPERSTAR? And then afterwards? Twitter was still a thing, and she tweeted something about similar about me! (still totally unwarranted, but I'll take it). Over these years, Marta has been That Friend, over and over again. The one who shows up with food when my dad was first sick, and a wrap when I broke my wrist and could not put on sweaters. But also who has reached out when she needed an ear, knowing that true friendship is reciprocal. We...

The most Saint Paul thing happened to us tonight. We decided to go out for a drink after both working the CJ show, and wanted to go to a Christmas-themed bar. My friend Kate had said we should check out the Eagles Bar over on the East Side where she volunteers, because they were decked out for Christmas and had drink specials for $6. Let me just point out here that the holiday bar at the Omni hotel in Eagan's holiday drinks are $25+, so we were sold. The minute we walked in, as we headed for some bar stools, we ran into our friends Barry and Kristen. Turns out our friend Jane Prince holds her annual holiday party potluck there, so all of a sudden we were crashing her party ("I *thought* I invited you!" mused Jane) and ran into literally scores of friends to hang out with.  Plus we had desserts.  Plus we ran into other people, like a different Barry who we had hung out with at the Kaohly Her election night party. His wife has been instrumental in revitalizing the place. He...

It's Early Decision time for many colleges and universities — Tufts University, my own alma mater, included. Beatrix did not apply to Tufts, and it breaks my heart just a little, while at the same time I know that she is on her own decision path and needs to make her own choices. Whatever school she picks will be So Damn Lucky to have her. She's had great support from her school in applications, and I'm so proud of her. SPA had college counselors when I was there, but it was different. It was a much more self-directed search. Kids applied to fewer schools. My class, the class of 1985, was an over-achieving brainiac class, and my 3.85 GPA did not place me high in the pack; also, there was a lot less of a focus on other activities than there is now. Beatrix was even horrified to realize I had to *mail* in my application, which I typed. I visited Tufts on a whim, of sorts. I had one college visit trip, where I accompanied my mom to Boston for a conference and did visits on my ...

In 2010, we replaced our original 1886 ("Burns wood or coal!") octopus furnace with a "high efficiency, modern" model. Not a day goes by when I have not cursed its inefficient, loud system; our old furnace may have been temperamental sometimes, but gravity heat was amazing. My father-in-law, who is housesitting, told us yesterday that the heat was struggling to stay above 60 degrees, and today it was red-tagged after we finally found someone this afternoon to come take a look at it (kind of a struggle from 1,200 miles away on the day after Thanksgiving). The fact that a 10K furnace lasts only 15 years — SUCKS.  We start the drive back tomorrow and will arrive Sunday night to...a lot to handle. These 4-to-5-figure housing expenses a couple of times a year (this is on top of a huge landscaping debacle at Summit just last week that will that will likely cost 8-10K to rectify) are getting really stressful. But I am incredibly grateful for friends: for Jessica, who broug...

One of the reasons we like the drive down to New Orleans every year is that it gives us time to reset and reflect on the way down. We have our traditions that are a big part of the trip. We leave early after kitty scratches and puppy pats to last a full week long (though maybe a little later than we wanted, but Patrick made up time on the road). We eat brunch in Iowa City. It used to be at the Hamburg Inn 2, but they changed hands a few years back and are not as good, so the last couple years it's been at the Dandy Lion. We drive through Hannibal and make remarks about Mark Twain. We get all the way to Cape Girardeau before we stop for the night. We always stay at the same Drury Inn, where there is free dinner (and 3 drinks!) at the Kickback Hour. The first time we encountered this phenomenon Beatrix was tiny, we had been driving all day, and we almost wept with joy to have someone feed us dinner and give us huge cups of wine. We watch Hallmark Christmas specials (this one, A  Buff...