Aug 27,
Today we wrapped up the weekend by going to Canobie Lake Park for the company's yearly event - similar to Dividend Day at Kings Island. The park is much smaller than Kings Island, and it seemed like they had more rides for little ones than adults, but I am glad we went to check it out. It took us out of the house for a little while, and now we know what the park is all about.
Aug 26,
This afternoon we went to Portsmouth to explore, and this time around we didn't let Lionel stay behind. It was a lovely sunny afternoon to be out and about. After walking around for about an hour and a half we got to a place to board for harbor cruises and I realized I had actually been here before. When I first took my current job, and came for a week of meetings back in September, we came here precisely for one of those cruises. We didn't walk around that much, which is probably why I didn't recognize it before. But this was definitely the place as I confirmed when I looked back at the photos from that event.
Aug 26,
On Aug 26, 1998, I arrived in Cincinnati with 2 suitcases in tow. So today it is my 25th anniversary in the US. I have spent more than half my life here at this point.
Aug 26,
This memory popped up today. It is from 12 years ago, when my girls went together to the Goddard School. I vividly remember those days and yet, at the same time, it feels like a lifetime ago.
Aug 26,
Step by step, and slowly but surely, today I completed one of the long runs as part of the Queen Bee training. It was really muggy, and there were plenty of walking breaks, but I still made it.
Aug 25,
Today was the last day of my vacation week and Bella and I continued our exploring of New England by going to Newport RI. We first had lunch at the Lobster Shack, by suggestion of one of my coworkers, and walked around a bit in the downtown area. We then drove to Breakers, the former summer home of the Vanderbilt family. There are many old, totally over the top homes in that area, and Breakers seems to be the most famous of all of them.
To round up our afternoon we drove the ocean drive that takes you right by the water. It was windy, but the views were beautiful. It was a cooler day, but it was still great being by the ocean - my most favorite place ever. And being there with Bella was even better.
Aug 21,
The bittersweet, and emotionally tough moment of dropping Sofia off for college finally happed today. One minute I had a cute little girl, and the next one I was dropping her off for college 2,000 miles away from us. Because once upon a time I got my wings, and now it is her turn.
It was a steamy one, making it all the way to 95. We emptied the rental car, rolled everything inside the dorm, and helped her unpack. We unpacked the suitcases, opened the boxes we had mailed to Isabel's house, and unpacked everything we bought at Target the last couple of days. We also did one last Target run to buy a few things we realized she would need as well.
After everything was unpacked and put away we took some photos and lingered a little bit, because we were not sure what else to do. Sofia didn't seem fully ready for us to leave, and we were not looking forward to leaving her either. But I also knew that the longest we lingered, the tougher it would be to say good bye. I could feel the lump quickly forming in my throat, and I didn't want to make it tough on her by falling apart in front of her. So we said good bye, hugged her, and headed out.
I knew I wouldn't be able to share with her everything I wanted to share in those last few moments together, so I had written her a letter a couple of days before for her to read when we were gone. I hope that as she reads it she knows I love her deeply, that I am proud of her, and that today, tomorrow, and forever, I will be here for her.
Aug 20,
For our last family dinner, at least for a while, we went to a nice French restaurant and then walked for a few minutes before heading back to the hotel. In general terms, Sofia was in a good mood. Lionel and I think that she is ready to get started with her college life, but also probably a little bit apprehensive. After all, the anticipation before a big change is always the worst. Tomorrow she is supposed to move in at 10:30 am, and I am sure it is going to be a stressful day. I am also pretty sure that regardless of what we say or do, she is going to be annoyed with us. But we will press on, do our best, and hope she has a great first day - while hesitantly (at least me) drive away without her.
Aug 20,
After taking showers, and getting ready, we walked to Pearl Street to have lunch with Isabel. It is always so nice to see her. It was the summer of 2015 when we first met her, so it has been a full 8 years since she entered our lives. It was nice catching up and getting some general advice from her since she also went to CU and she has been living around here for a while.
After lunch Lionel went back to the hotel, and Sofia and I did some shopping at Pearl street. It was really hot, so the one purchase I did for myself was some sunscreen. We also bought some small posters and postcards for Sofia to decorate her dorm, and a couple of CU t-shirts and sweatshirts also for her. We then walked back to the hotel (which is about a mile away) and took a small break before heading back out again. Sofia needed a few final things from Target, so off we went.
