June 15, 2010

• Okay....breathe.....

  It's been awhile between entries but there is ample reason for that.  In short, I've been too busy living life to blog much about it.  But there is a lot to catch up on so here it goes. 

  First, I want to mention how relieved I am over the recovery of my daycare provider's husband.  This spring, he was diagnosed with spinal meningitis.  This obviously made for a few unnerving months for him and his family, but fortunately, he is very close to a full recovery and is currently back at work.  Alice and I were without daycare during that time, but we were more than happy to adjust our work schedules accordingly as she has done so hundreds of times for us.  She has been an invaluable part of of our family unit during the early lives of our children, and we couldn't ask for anything more. 

  
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  In February, I began my classes at the Quincy Citizens Police Academy.  This class met every Thursday for three hours for ten weeks.  I can't say enough about this program.  I highly encourage anyone in the Quincy area to enroll in the fall session.  Even with 9+ years in local law enforcement, I gained valuable knowledge and insight into the behind-the- scenes machinations of every aspect of the local law enforcement agencies from the Emergency Response Team (think SWAT) to the K-9 unit to forensic crime scene investigation, and the whole thing is free of charge.  In fact, I was overwhelmed how happy the organizers were to have us there.  Plus, you get to shoot a gun!  This is my target from our trip to the Barry shooting range.  Ten shots from a glock .22 at about 15 feet away.  Not bad considering I haven't fired a gun since I was 13.

  
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  In late April,  President Obama made a tour of the midwest that included Quincy, and thanks to the great patience of my parents who waited in line several hours to get tickets (I had the kids), I was able to attend his speech at the Oakley-Lindsey Center.  This was a great experience.  I parked at the former   Adams Cinema - security had most of downtown blocked and it was as close as I could get.  That made for about a 20-minute walk, but I was able to listen to that week's episode podcast of Real Time with Bill Maher, which seemed like a fitting opening act for the President.  I only waited about 10 minutes to get in the building and the security at the gate was comparable to what you might have at an airport.  The speech was excellent and focused mainly on health care and the country's financial woes.  It's a bit surreal seeing a future historical figure in person, but what really struck me was the crowd.  Quincy is predominately a white (93%) and older (41% over 45) community, but you'd never know it from the crowd inside.

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  What an eventful Spring this was for Spencer!  Throughout the month of April, Spencer celebrated his fifth birthday - party with the Bobbers, party with the Arnolds, party with the classmates and friends from daycare.  Are we setting him up for disappointment when he's down to just one party for his birthday?  Anyway, everyone had a great time, and pictures abound here.

  

  Then, on April 26, after an exhaustive search and lengthy decision-making process, Quincy crowned its Little King of the Dogwood Festival - and it was Spencer!!  All credit goes to Alice as she entered Spencer into the contest and took care of the entire costume from the bouret to the suspenders to the bouquet of flowers he handed the judges.  He beat out the other two contestants and was on his way to an epic Saturday as he and Alice (and the Little Queen) led the parade via a convertible as Erica and I watched with pride from the sidewalk.  It was a memorable weekend, and pictures abound here.

  

  Spencer reached another milestone this May: he graduated from preschool.  When I first heard that the phrase "graduating from preschool" and learned that there would be a graduation ceremony, the whole thing seemed kind of silly.  If I remember right, my graduation ceremony consisted of something like "Say goodbye to Grandma Neil, Aaron."  "Good-bye".  But the more I thought about it, the more appropriate it became.  For the last two years, Spencer was taught by Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Koester.  Next year, he will learn from Mrs. Makarewicz (crash course in spelling right off the bat).  For the last two years, he attended school a few hours per day, a few days a week.  Next year, it will be all day Monday - Friday.  Next year he will be in a different classroom with some unfamiliar classmates.  It really is his first scholastic transition, which of course means it is a transition for me as well.  After 5 years of Daddy Days, it won't be the same without him.  Again, pictures abound here.

  

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  Hopefully, I can resume more regular blogging now that I've covered everything that happened this spring.  But I kind of get the feeling I'm forgetting something.

  • 2:58 am
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