The Number Field

Since moving from Texas, Jewel has adopted a new behavior. We don't know where it came from--my best guess is that she liked cuddling with stuffed animals so much that she's trying to recreate that feeling.

In the past, Jewel never wanted to be under the bed covers. If she was meowing too much, we would discipline her by bringing her into the bed for a few minutes. Now she gets mad when the bed is made and she has a hard time finding a way to get in there. She'll nap the day away under the covers, and sometimes even comes up to snuggle near Jenny's feet while we're asleep.

Jewel's burrowing hasn't been all cute and funny. When nestled in, she doesn't like to be disturbed, especially by Elena. If Elena tries to get to her at all, she's prone to hiss first and ask questions later. This is not acceptable behavior, but we don't yet know how to stop it.

Maybe because she noticed that Jewel likes being under covers, or maybe because she discovered funny cat pictures , Elena wants to get in on the action. Elena's been trying to sneak up on Jewel and drape her in a favorite blanket. She usually hits her target the first time she tries, when she still has the element of surprise. After that Jewel shakes it off and avoids Elena's further attempts until she loses interest and moves on to something different.

We had seen lots of TV ads for low admission prices at the National Aquarium Fridays after five, so we decided to give it a try. I went online to buy the tickets, and made sure to choose the package that included the dolphin show. I have many fond childhood memories of time spent at the aquarium; even though Elena won't remember this trip, I hope this becomes a small part of our family culture. I do remember one "dollar day" promotion, when we must have spent hours in line waiting for our chance to get in, but am thankful I don't have to relive that familial bonding experience, thanks to on-line ticket sales.

We had a hard enough time just getting to the aquarium that it's a good thing we didn't have to wait in line once we got there. Rush hour traffic was crazy for the first several miles, and then we had to put up with a construction project on the main road to the aquarium. I was worried that we wouldn't make it to the dolphin show in time--and it was an hour after we had planned to get there. A phone call to my sister, who used to volunteer at the aquarium, helped us find parking nearby, and we made it just in time.

At the dolphin show we sat up front, in the splash zone, but didn't get wet. We did have a good view of the dolphins both above and below the water, so that Elena could say 'hi' whenever they went by. On our way in, I tried to be cute with Elena when we were walking by the show host, so that she would be chosen as the one who got to pet the dolphin, but she's still too young for that.

After the dolphin show, we took a brief break for dinner in the food court. All the vendors were closed, but that was okay because Jenny had smuggled our chicken salad and crackers in Elena's diaper bag. As she says, it's generally okay to take food everywhere, as long as you have a toddler.

We didn't spend too long on dinner, because we had lots to see. Elena loved it all. She couldn't get enough of looking at fish--from the first exhibit, which contained fish from the mid-Atlantic coastline, all the way through to the shark tank.

The whole place was absolutely packed, no doubt because of the low prices and heavy promotion. But Elena knew just what she wanted--she maneuvered and squirmed and pushed her way right up to the front of every tank so she could look at and say hi to the fish. I took on the role of tour guide/bodyguard, trying not to lose sight of her or block other people's view as I pushed in behind her and looked at the fish with her. Jenny stayed back as the photographer; she was also carrying our bag, which made it a little harder for her to get through the crowds.

Despite the hustle and bustle, Elena behaved herself very well. Whenever I said that it was time to go to the next tank, she was happy to move on; she must have realized that there would be plenty of interesting things to look at everywhere, so she couldn't get attached to any one thing. By the time we got to the rainforest at the top, several of the little kids near us were fast asleep, dead weight in their parents' arms, but Elena was still going strong. We saw some birds up there, but the sloth must have been asleep and in hiding, so we didn't get to see him.

At last we came to the giant oval coral reef and shark tank. Elena might have enjoyed this one the most because it was so big and there were places where she could sit down and look right in, without having to stand on a step or ledge. I showed her all the fish that I found hiding in hard-to-see places (my best find was a puffer fish), but I think she liked the big fish most of all. Sharks are really scary looking--I had forgotten how fierce they are. At the end of our tour around the shark tank, Elena was ready to make her way to the great egress. On the short walk back to the car, we did see one exasperated set of parents waiting out their son's tantrum, and were again happy that Elena had such a good night.

We moved into our new townhouse last weekend. Our movers did a superb job and we've been spending lots of times getting things in order. There's still lots of work left to do, which is a partial explanation for why my last post was more than a week ago. This evening we spent some time in the office/guest room, getting it to a livable state before our first house guest--Jenny's brother David will be staying with us tomorrow.

It's already late, so a more thorough rundown of what we've been up to will have to wait. In the meantime, here are some pictures of our visit to Spring Meadow Farms last Wednesday. Elena liked the pumpkins and farm animals, but especially enjoyed playing with her grandparents.

For the next few days, Jenny and Elena are spending time with Grandma Nancy, Jenny's mom. Jewel just reminded me that I'm not all alone here; I have her, my parents (of course--it's their house), and my brother all right here. We enjoyed being close to family in Texas, and we're glad that we still have that dimension in our lives here. On this particular trip, Jenny is helping her mom out with some things. At first, her mom was worried that asking Jenny to come down would be taking advantage of us, but Jenny replied that one of the main features of being close to family is doing just that, and she insisted on going. Also, she was ready for a change of pace.

This is the second time since we arrived that Jenny and Elena have been down to see Grandma Nancy. The first time we all went together, over Labor day weekend, because we succeeded in finding house and car so quickly. Under light traffic conditions the drive took us just over four hours of driving time, but our plan for Elena to sleep the whole time only worked halfway. As a result, the last part seemed much longer than the first, because Elena continued to voice her disapproval of long car rides.

Upon arrival, Grandma Nancy had a bucket of toys all ready for Elena in the living room. We spent the first half hour watching to see what she would like and what she would ignore. Jenny and I appreciated the rest, and I think that the grandparents really enjoyed watching Elena play. Over the course of the weekend, Elena played with almost everything that was in the bucket at one time or another; grandmothers seem to have an excellent sense for toys.

Jenny and I enjoyed the opportunity to relax, but still managed to do some things. Kevin made some excellent barbecued chicken one night, and put on a mandolin recital the next day. Jenny toured the veterinary office where her brother works. Jenny and her mother got pedicures. On Labor day morning I went for a run through their very hilly neighborhood.

Confined to a pack-n-play, Elena slept better than she did the previous week. We did some light shopping at the local mall; for Elena, the highlight of that trip was a ride in a coin-operated kiddie ride. Elena and I spent a fair amount of time collecting acorns that had fallen on the trampoline. At church, Elena amazed everyone by integrating into the nursery with no trouble--Jenny and I weren't surprised, because that's just what she does.

On the return trip, we tried the strategy of departing at bedtime, hoping again that she would sleep the whole way. Although the strategy is time-tested, our implementation was lacking: Elena usually wakes up when the car stops, and we didn't have enough gas in the tank to make it the whole way. After we stopped, Elena refused to get back in the car, and when she finally did, she wouldn't fall back asleep.

We had an unopened bag of Cheetos for the ride home, but knew that if we started in on it she would want some and fuss even more. After singing all the songs in our repertoire until we started to go hoarse, we caved and opened the snacks. They kept me awake and Elena appeased for the last ninety minutes of the drive.

Elena helps me appreciate the moment of arrival at the end of a long car trip. The first breath of fresh air and footstep on terra firma signal a return to freedom. Most importantly, my distance from Elena is no longer fixed. I'm free to come closer to her at first, but eventually move further away.

Fragments of a birthday past begin to coalesce in my memory. A few weeks after the start of the school year, my father picked me up one day and took me to the mall. He had a cover story about looking for new camping gear or some such. I didn't notice how out of the ordinary this was until we had done that and he suggested that we stop off in the food court for a bite to eat. I was too dense to realize what was going on; I just wanted to go home. When we got there, I was truly surprised by the party that was waiting for me.

I extract bits of information from the fragments to help me figure out which birthday it was. The mall Dad took me to was close to my high school, but for most of my friends at the party were from middle school, so it must have been the birthday I had at the beginning of ninth grade. I had gone off to a magnet high school and wasn't around those friends any more. Perhaps my parents were worried that I wasn't making new friends quickly enough, and wanted me to remember that I did have friends. As it turns out, that was the last time I saw some of those guys.

In the piecing together I find a clue about why that memory surfaced just now, deeper than the obvious fact that it's close to my birthday. Growing up, a September birthday always came at a time of transition with the beginning of a school year and all its attendant changes. Sometimes the birthday got lost in the shuffle, and sometimes I preferred it that way, such as when I went off to college and didn't want to draw attention.

Although I'm no longer connected to the school cycle, this is still a time of transition, with life changes similar to those that coincided with the start of high school for me. Last weekend I celebrated with my family, at least the members of it that live nearby. They've been so good to us during the transition, but after we move in a couple of weeks, we'll see less of them.

My birthday celebration had three main components, none of which were a surprise. While Gran Ann cared for Elena on Friday night, Jenny and I went out for dinner at Matthew's Pizza , which lived up to its lofty reputation. We had the crab pizza, which was excellent. Afterwards we took in the view of the city skyline from Federal Hill, and then set off in search of ice cream for dessert. Every place that we found on Google maps was closed, so we never did get dessert, but our quest wasn't without success--we ran across a block party with some rocking live music where one of the ice cream shops should have been.

The following day, with Leisa and Sam visiting, we all went down to a park where I spent many childhood afternoons that are remembered only by my mother. Elena liked walking over the little bridge to the island in the middle of the pond. We threw around the frisbee and cooked bratwursts over the open charcoals. We had a few stale hot dog buns left over after dinner, which we put to good use as fish food. We had seen some in the pond when we first looked, but didn't realize how many there were--bread crumbs at dusk caused a feeding frenzy.

The third component was my birthday cake, designed so creatively and decorated so beautifully by Jenny that it deserves mention as the third key component of my birthday. Her plan to make it clown-themed fell through when she couldn't find clown heads at a craft store, so she made it math-themed.

My mother found enough candles to fill it up. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't blow them all out on the first try, but I blame poor strategic planning, not a lack of lung capacity. The cake was as tasty as it was beautiful, paired with two of my favorite ice cream flavors. Elena took advantage of the opportunity by sharing and ice cream with me, Jenny, and Leisa. She probably had more than was good for her, and by bedtime she was bouncing off the walls even more than normal. She didn't have a sugar crash meltdown, and went down without complaint, which might have been her birthday gift to me. All's well that ends well!

Among the many differences that we've noticed since the move, some stand out more than others. A sampling follows.

• Sleeping Arrangements: My parents don't have a pack-n-play, so at first we put a mattress on a bedroom floor to serve as Elena's bed. We thought it was worth a try. Taking into account the expected adjustment struggles, her sleep was mostly okay, however issues arose when she woke up. A friend of ours once said "crib equals cage," and we now understand that. If Elena can't fall asleep in a crib, she'll be quiet and keep to herself. Without the crib's bars, we would frequently find her with her blanket, Linus-style , at the top of the stairs waiting for someone to put her back down. Jenny's mother let us bring back her pack-n-play, and since then things have been easier. Jewel has also taken some time to find places to sleep. As usual, she has several, but her favorite area is an old bassinet--one that I slept in when I was just born--filled with old stuffed animals. Sometimes she burrows in all the way to the bottom, but mostly she lays on top. It gives her a good view of the door and out the window. Since finding this spot, she seems much happier.
• Weather and Outside Play: We had hoped the mid-Atlantic weather would be cooler than what we left behind, but the first week here it was still definitely summer. This probably caused some further difficulties with Elena's sleep--it was still warm outside in the evening, and my parents' idea of climate control is to let the (outside) climate be the control. Last week was more temperate. During the first week, when we were outside we wanted to find ways to cool down, so Gran Ann had us pull out the blow-up pool, which Elena loved. More recently, it's been pleasant to spend lots of time outside. We can go out and walk or play without immediately wilting. One evening we went out and tried to teach Elena how to kick a soccer ball. Yesterday Gran Ann and I took a walk with her and Luna to find some cows, horses, and geese. She also likes collecting acorns wherever we go.
• Pets: We've all had to get used to Luna, the big white dog that belongs to Luke and is taken care of by him and my parents--twice I inadvertently left the front door open for a few seconds, which was long enough for her to make an escape. She sees Elena as a sibling to play with and sometimes scares Elena with her playful yelps. She got too close to Jewel once, but luckily Luke was close and managed to pry Jewel off Luna's face before either of them sustained injuries * . Also, after our visit to Grandma Nancy's, Elena seems to have realized that other kitties are sometimes more friendly than Jewel.
• Toys: There are lots of fun new toys, and lots of room to play with them. Elena's older cousins are all boys, and the youngest of my siblings is a boy, so the kinds of toys here tend to be more boy-oriented. We don't mind; Elena likes playing with action figures and cars just fine. There's a healthy number of My Little Ponies and other girl toys, along with gender neutral toys like Little People. She's starting to engage in pretend play, which is incredibly fun to watch. We probably should start encouraging Elena to help with cleanup, because with all the toys and all the space it's easy for her to leave them strewn about the house. Elena brought back a right-sized stroller and baby doll from Grandma Nancy's house. She loves holding and hugging the baby doll, and sometimes tries to share her food and drink with the baby. But her favorite thing is to go for "walks" with the baby, pushing her stroller around the house at maximum speed. Another favorite of hers is the piano--while technically not a toy, Elena treats it as a plaything.

* Another possible explanation of Jewel's time with the stuffed animals: Luna camoflage.

Now that we're living with my parents, it's easy for my father to mention that my last blog post is getting stale--I guess that's a sign that I need to update. We've been busy, and one of the most delicate adjustments in the moving process is that of finding time and space to write. I don't entirely understand his complaint, because the main function of this blog is to provide pictures of Elena, and he now gets to see her every day. He must be thinking of all the other readers who don't get to see her as much.

We had two major things to find once we got here: a place to live and a car. We took full advantage of the internet to lay the groundwork for both of them, which made the process mostly painless when we arrived. We didn't want to commit to anything without seeing it for ourselves, but were able to take care of both things in our first week, giving us enough freedom in our schedule to visit Jenny's mom, Grandma Nancy, last weekend, but more about that later.

In the month before we left Texas, I regularly checked militarybyowner.com which, despite its name, is not exclusively for the military. Jenny set up email alerts on a real estate website. We may not have seen every available rental in our search area, but we saw most of them. One day a new listing for a townhouse popped up--it seemed to have everything we wanted: the right size, an ideal location, a local landlord, and a price that fit into our budget. I was so excited that sent the landlord an email as soon as I saw it, and then made a follow-up phone call less than an hour later.

When I told Jenny about it, she wasn't easily convinced. She checked out the walk score , learned about coupon policies for nearby grocery stores, researched the community, and eventually came to the conclusion that it would be a good place to live. Just when we were fully invested and excited about the prospect, the landlord contacted us and said that the current tenant had decided to stay on. Crestfallen, we resumed our search.

About a week before our move date, the landlord contacted me and asked if I was still interested--the townhouse wouldn't be available until the beginning of October, but we could take the first shot at it. We visited it two days after we got here, and it was almost everything we had hoped for. We still didn't want to make a decision on the spot--at the very least, we wanted to check for other options.

The landlord allowed us one night to sleep on it, but wanted a quick decision. We quickly realized that there wasn't anything else even close, and pulled the trigger. When we went to sign the contract, the landlord told us that in the one week the listing had been posted there were more than two hundred emails from other hopeful renters. Mine was the first, and I promised that we would be excellent tenants, and in the end that was enough. As much as we appreciate living with my parents, we can hardly wait to get settled in a place we can call our own.

I used craigslist to find a car, but the difficulty was the high volume of postings. Even after narrowing down my options I read lots of listings. We were still in Texas, so I didn't plan to respond to any of them; I figured everything good would sell before we got there. Still, when I found one that looked perfect, and decided to give it a shot.

The listing was for a single-owner 2000 Honda Civic, and appeared well-loved. The ad said that they were looking to send it to a good home, and I decided that we qualified. When I wrote to them, I said that I needed the car because I would be moving for a new job after completing my graduate work. The seller empathized--she finished a Ph.D. a year ago. When the first prospective buyer fell through, they contacted me to see if I was still interested, even though they had several other offers. After a test drive, I knew it was the right car for me, and we filled out the paperwork.

The car needed a little work to pass its safety inspection. As a result, I've learned how to buff and restore headlights , and made Jenny jealous in the process--she's pretty sure she'll need me to do the same for her car before we register it. I can't replace the frayed seatbelt myself, but I'm getting that done tomorrow and then I'll be street legal, just in time to drive it to work on Monday.

I'm almost certain that we found the best travel day of the year: the Saturday after school starts. It was a good thing, because we knew that our trip would be a challenge for us even in the best of circumstances. We were right--the day was stressful, but we made it through with no major scars.

With a flight departure in the early afternoon, we woke up at a normal hour and still had plenty of time for breakfast and final preparations. We tried to give Jewel some Benadryl to calm her down, but she rejected the notion, as if she wanted to prove to us that she could travel without any pharmacological help. She was our travel all-star for the day.

When the time came, we managed to fit all of our luggage into the compact rental car. It was a tight fit--I worried that something would fall on top of Jewel if I accelerated too quickly, and the stroller was poking into Jenny's seat. Elena gave big hugs to John, Karina, and the cousins. Jenny teared up as we drove down the street. This was really the end; a farewell to part of our family, and the end of the Austin chapter in the book of our life.

Because we had Jewel, we couldn't check in online, but as soon as we walked into the airport, an attendant came out to help us to the desk. A trainee employee checked us in, but he had plenty of help from an experienced desk agent and everything went smoothly. Everyone complimented our cute Elena. As a gray cat turned nearly invisible in a black travel bag, Jewel surprised people whenever she would meow.

The security line was virtually empty, so we were able to occupy an entire x-ray machine without inconveniencing other passengers. Jewel went through in Jenny's arms with no complaints or escape attempts. Elena didn't understand why her shoes and stroller had to go through the machine, but gave up her complaints once we went through and got them back.

Because things had been so easy to that point, we had a long wait at the gate. While Jenny and Elena explored the airport, I got online using my Clear iSpot . Later, Jenny left Elena with me while she went to buy a book, and we waved at people in the terminal and looked out the windows at the planes. The time passed quickly enough, and soon we were ready to board.

This was the first time that Elena flew in her own seat, and it made a huge difference in our comfort. Also, Delta still has preboarding for families, so we were the first ones on the plane. We sat down and ate lunch before the plane was fully loaded, and still had time to sing Elena to sleep before takeoff. She didn't sleep for very long, but was calm through the rest of the flight.

We deboarded for a layover, but the same plane (with a different flight number) was set to take us on the second leg of the trip, so we didn't have to go to a new gate. We wanted to stretch our legs, so we decided to walk the terminal in search of some sort of treat--we settled on frozen yogurt. When I headed to the restroom, Jenny abruptly discovered Elena's new ability to climb out of her stroller; she started to run after me before Jenny even knew what was happening. Elena spent the rest of the time in the airport climbing into and out of her stroller.

Our second flight had a rough start. Elena didn't want to part with the stroller, and loudly voiced her displeasure until well after she was in her seat. She started kicking the seat in front of her, earning disapproving looks from its occupant; when I prevented her from doing that she just cried louder, so I had to pick my poison and decide who we wanted to offend--just him, or him and everyone else nearby. I had less sympathy for that guy when he appeared to recline his seat later in the flight.

It had already been a long day for Elena; she fussed because she was tired, but didn't want to fall asleep. I decided to show that I could be more persistent that she was and sang her favorite songs over and over until she finally fell asleep. Jenny probably wished that I would pay more attention to her, especially during some pockets of turbulence, but I had to prioritize.

The turbulence also shortened Elena's nap; she started to cry, even though her eyes were still closed. We tried to calm her down, but it didn't work and we decided to wake her up all the way. She wasn't happy about that, so we went with the nuclear option and queued up Barney for the last part of the flight.

Upon landing, Elena decided that she wanted to push the stroller instead of sitting in it, which slowed us down considerably. It didn't make a difference, because even though we were the last people to the baggage claim, we still had to wait for the baggage claim to start. And that didn't make a difference either, because after we had collected our bags we still had a long wait before my mother came to pick us up. By the time she came, it was late and we were all tired. Even our champion traveler Jewel, who hadn't made a peep since the first takeoff, seemed a little flustered to be waiting in the loud, busy pick-up area.

We're staying with my parents until we can move into our own place--more news on that front soon. It was nice to have a familiar, comfortable place to go home to. But still strange, especially since I hadn't really lived there since leaving for college, and didn't think that I ever would again, even for a little while. That's enough for now, because much like our travel day, this post has gone on long enough.

Our moving week went by so quickly and there was so much to do, that I didn't have much time for reflection and writing. Now we're situated, at least temporarily, and things are starting to stabilize, so I have time to tell the tale of our move.

Our graduation/farewell party on Friday night kicked off the week in grand fashion. Jenny did a great job preparing most of and coordinating the rest of the refreshments. She also planned the decorations, but we have the crew of Miriah, Sam, Jason, Adam, and Brandon to thank for putting them all up. Still, the guests were what brought the party to life--we felt a great sense of love and belonging in seeing so many good friends who came to wish us well.

We spent much of the rest of the week saying goodbye to close friends in a more personal way. On Saturday evening, we had dinner with Sam, Jessica, and daughter Mckensie. It was great to get out of the apartment after a day of packing suitcases. After an excellent dinner we all went swimming; the warm water felt so pleasant and refreshing that it made the heat almost bearable on the walk back to their condo when we were done. Elena enjoyed having an audience--recently, when we've gone swimming she hasn't wanted to go underwater, but when she realized that everyone would clap for her, she couldn't get enough of it.

After a quiet Sunday at home, things picked up on Monday when we made our final trip north to get together with Jeremy, Amy, Ben, Jean, and all their kids. I had over-scheduled my last few days at school, but figured out a way that I could take the commuter bus to a convenient location where Jenny could pick me up. That meant that she had to deal with terrible traffic and a fussy baby without any help, but it was all worth her while. Jeremy outdid himself working the grill, and we admired their new patio and pergola late into the evening, until the time came to say our goodbyes. We gave and got lots of hugs; they've been an important part of our lives ever since before Jenny and I started dating.

Tuesday turned into the hardest day of the week. Our packers arrived in the morning, took one look around our apartment, and immediately started commenting on how much stuff we had. It took them until late into the night to finish packing; their company probably should have sent three instead of two. I dropped off our remaining car with the auto transport truck at noon, and after that it was just the three of us trapped in an apartment, unable even to help them.

In the morning Elena had no place to nap because they were packing her room. In the afternoon when it was done, she was overtired and couldn't fall asleep. I eventually got her to relax and close her eyes by holding her on my lap and rocking her, but foolishly tried to transfer her and woke her back up. We eventually resorted to watching the Barney episodes I had copied to my computer for just such an occasion. Eventually Brett and Carrie came to pick us up for dinner, but I stayed with the packers just in case they needed something. The dinner was again lovely--they brought some back for me--and was prepared by their mission-bound son Zack, who is learning to cook. Brett was sad that we couldn't have a final nerd discussion, but everyone else was probably thankful.

On Wednesday we tried a new strategy with Elena: we sent her to spend the day with the grandmotherly Carol. We can't thank her enough, because all of us had a much better day. Elena loved playing with all her grandchildrens' toys, and we tended to affairs without always having to be mindful of keeping Elena happy.

We had expected the movers that day, but didn't know when they would arrive. I called our coordinator, but she said that a scheduling mixup meant they wouldn't be there until the following day. A little while later, she called back with the good news that they could make it that day, but what was supposed to be early afternoon turned into late evening; it was after seven when they arrived. The loading task was straightforward so I helped, but it still took us until late at night. I decided I was done after damaging one of our bookcases. There's something very lonely about a completely empty apartment. We left Jewel there and headed down to stay in John and Karina's guest room, picking up a very sleepy Elena along the way.

On Thursday we left Elena to play with her cousins while we returned to clean the apartment. Jewel had perched atop the kitchen cabinets--it was either the same loneliness that we felt, or a refreshed sense of adventure. Carrie and Zack came to help clean (more mission preparation), while I went in search of new mini blinds. Early in the summer we put a reflective emergency blanket in the window to keep our room cool and the electric bill lower; apparently it trapped enough heat to warp the blinds between it and the windowpane. After two unsuccessful attempts I deduced that it was a non-standard size and gave up. Aside from that, the apartment was cleaner than on our first day.

We picked Elena up for lunch on campus with Caroline. We met her and left her at the table where she was working to recruit a new class of novice rowers. We filled lunch with the usual small talk, but the final goodbye was probably the most tearful of all our farewells. We do get to see her again soon, when we return this winter for her wedding!

Jenny and Elena had their last playdate with Michi and Mason. They returned to the Hoppin' House. Mason has learned to say 'Lena whenever he sees her, but will they ever see each other again, and will he remember? This time, no older kids invaded the toddlers' play area.

At dinner we said goodbye to my former student Ben at a very fitting location: Pluckers , the excellent wing bar that he introduced us to. We're sad to say goodbye to both of them, but while we might find another place to eat hot wings, there will never be another Ben. He has a bright future ahead of him, and we hope to see him someday, but don't know when or where that will be.

On Friday we finally removed Jewel from the apartment and turned in the keys. I had to take care of some final business on campus. I attended the group meeting for my summer project team, met with my advisor one last time, and had a final tutoring session. My student had never taken Calculus before, but wanted me to help him learn it well enough to test out of it. He worked hard, but I still had my doubts. I was pretty happy when he emailed me yesterday to say that he got the score he needed!

With all the running around, I was unforgivably late to our final dinner with John, Karina, and the cousins. The restaurant was also running behind; they were packed, which is to be expected on a Friday night, but seemed understaffed. Our waiter was certainly working hard, but it didn't make the food come any faster, although it was good when it got to us. We finished the evening with playtime at a nearby playground. Elena loves her cousins and will really miss them.

Saturday was our travel day, but that deserves its own post. I promise to put it up soon. I also have a lot to say about Elena and how much she's grown in the past few weeks. I need to get it all down before I forget.

At dinner on Thursday evening, after an excellent dinner prepared by Isaac, we adults wanted to play a little game of Apples to Apples . In order to distract Elena for a few minutes, Jenny recommended something with songs and dancing, and Julie pulled out Mary Poppins . Elena loved it, of course, although she would wander over in between songs to see how our game was going.

We finished our game before the movie was over, so we all gathered around the TV to watch the exciting conclusion. I was able to sing along with some parts of the songs, but it's been a long time since I last watched it. I don't think that I ever understood the plot and the character dynamics that drive the movie; I was too busy trying to figure out how to make my pants look like Bert's in the penguin dance.

As we watched I was struck by how applicable the story of Mary Poppins is in today's society. It's about the relationship between parents and children, and how the swirling forces of economics and politics affect families. Father and mother are too occupied by work and suffrage issues to take an interest in their children, who act out because of it. Mary Poppins handles the childrens' behavior problems with a two-pronged strategy: she imposes discipline and engages the imagination. As a result of a financial crisis * and resulting layoff, the father reconsiders his life and reconnects with his family, thus finding happiness.

We're inundated by film remakes, reboots, and sequels; I was surprised that the only reference to a new Mary Poppins was a discredited old rumor about Spielberg being interested. I couldn't help but indulge in some speculation about what an updated version would look like. Here are some thoughts: Mr. Banks would work at a hedge fund, or possibly Lehman Brothers in the days before its collapse. Instead of being a suffragette, Mrs. Banks would be a rising political star, possibly a young congresswoman. Bert would have a Ph.D. in one of the evergreen liberal arts disciplines, but be unable to find a job. Even better, how about this all-star cast:

• Mary Poppins: Amy Adams
• Mrs. Banks: Anne Hathaway
• Mr. Banks: Antonio Banderas
• Bert: Hugh Jackman

I'm not sure about the other roles. Leave suggestions and disputes in the comments.

* The book Mary Poppins was published in 1934, in the middle of the Great Depression.