The Chicago Years, Volume VI
Has it really been since March that I bothered all of you? In that time, a robin has laid not one, but two sets of eggs in a nest on our front porch. The first brood hatched and flew away from the nest, somewhat ironically on the last day of school (as one mother's babies left the nest, our kids came back to theirs). The next brood just hatched a few days ago and we spent the weekend watching the mother feed them. They will be leaving soon I'm sure. Or be eaten by a hawk.
In March, Regis and I spent 8 days in Rome, Italy, the first vacation she and I have taken since our May 2001 trip to Scotland. Were it not for our three wonderful children (who stayed in the States with my parents), we may not have come back. It was an incredible week, with great food, tremendous sight-seeing, wonderful times with our fabulous tour guide (my sister Joan), and inhuman portions of gelato. We are both ready to go back soon. To fully cover the extent of this trip would require a separate 5,000 word missive about the Vatican, the Flavian Amphitheatre, the Pantheon, the 73 hills we climbed to get yet another panoramic view of Roma, and the 127 different kinds of gelato we consumed (the pronunciation of each I mangled in some incomprehensible dialect that sounded like a Kazakstani speaking Italian with some Portuguese intertwined).
In April, I was the guest of Margaret Watson to the 3rd annual "Father-Daughter Dance" at All Saints Academy (the kids' school). Maggie was beautifully attired in a new spring dress, which was purchased a few days before the dance, allowing her to set a record for consecutive attempts at asking a question ("is it time to get to ready for the dance") and getting the same answer ("not yet"); the new record is now 94. Maggie even picked out my outfit, so as to not be embarrassed by her date, a notion I've grown quite accustomed to. Another familiar happening for me occurred when we arrived at the dance when Maggie, as almost all of my previous dance dates before her, abandoned me to hang out with her friends. Fortunately, when the DJ played the Chicken Dance, she quickly scurried over to me and pulled me to the center of the gym. She must have realized that was the song that caused her mother to fall in love with me decades ago. Maggie and I had a wonderful time and I look forward to next year's dance when Annie will be old enough to attend and she and I will be hanging out at the refreshment table or perhaps playing tag.
Jimmy has kept quite busy, playing basketball for the Illinois Basketball Academy (we must like Academies in our house...perhaps I will start referring to our family as the Watson Academy for Sarcasm, Tomfoolery, and Excitement). He also attended golf camp and started football camp this week. Lacrosse camp starts next week. With any luck, he can work curling and caber toss camp into the schedule. For Maggie, the time has been spent at Daisy camp (I'm told Daisies are a precursor to Brownies and Girl Scouts) where girls learn about the first steps toward the mass marketing of addictive cookies and cookie-like products. Annie attended an arts and crafts camp, which resulted in no injuries to her or any of the camp counselors.
Annie (or Annimal as she is known in our house) also recently participated in the Naperville School of Performing Arts Dance Recital, where she and her classmates performed a stunning routine to the hit song "Witch Doctor" by Alvin and the Chipmunks. The scene was similar in some ways to Maggie's first recital in June 2006, only Annie was a little less nervous. In fact, Annie relished the limelight and rather than worrying her parents as to whether she would enter the stage, she made us nervous that she may not leave it. The DVD has been ordered and if I can find a way to send the 2 minute portion in which she is featured I will.
Lest you think that children at that Watson Academy for Sarcasm, Tomfoolery, and Excitement are not entitled to some leisure, rest assured that the Watson kids have spent plenty of time at nearby Centennial Beach. Centennial Beach is an old rock quarry in Naperville that has been filled in with chlorinated water and converted into a public pool, complete with sandy beach. Regis and the kids have been able to take advantage of the beach and swimming for most of the summer. We've also enjoyed more than one backyard fire, roasting s'mores and hoping that Annie doesn't try to incinerate a neighbor.
Over the recent Fourth of July holiday weekend, in order to fully appreciate the art that our country's independence allows, we enjoyed a performance by Ted Nugent, the man responsible for such hits as "Cat Scratch Fever," and ..... "Cat Scratch Fever," as well as the cookbook "Kill It and Grill It." Ted was performing at Naperville's annual Ribfest, which is a charity BBQ cook-off that draws thousands of people over the four days and hundreds of dollars from my wallet in order to pay for massive quantities of meat and carnie games. All we have left to show for this experience are the $27 stuffed pigs (retail value: $1.50 each) Maggie and Annie each "won" at a water-gun shooting gallery. That and the indelible memories of Ted's show. You might imagine that Ted drew a slightly different demographic to Stepford, er, I mean Naperville, as a militia of mullet-laden bikers descended upon the Ville to dine on swine with the usual pink shirt and seersucker crowd. Thus proving that Ted is a unifier, bringing together diverse peoples from many towns. Or maybe the ribs did that. "Ted Nugent (and/or Uncle Bub's Ribs) for president!" Ted concluded his show with an encore unlike any ever seen outside of Detroit. Resplendent with an authentic imitation Indian headdress, Ted fired a flaming arrow from his hunter's bow into a guitar, drawing a vivacious cheer from the crowd. God Bless Merica.
Hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day
In March, Regis and I spent 8 days in Rome, Italy, the first vacation she and I have taken since our May 2001 trip to Scotland. Were it not for our three wonderful children (who stayed in the States with my parents), we may not have come back. It was an incredible week, with great food, tremendous sight-seeing, wonderful times with our fabulous tour guide (my sister Joan), and inhuman portions of gelato. We are both ready to go back soon. To fully cover the extent of this trip would require a separate 5,000 word missive about the Vatican, the Flavian Amphitheatre, the Pantheon, the 73 hills we climbed to get yet another panoramic view of Roma, and the 127 different kinds of gelato we consumed (the pronunciation of each I mangled in some incomprehensible dialect that sounded like a Kazakstani speaking Italian with some Portuguese intertwined).
In April, I was the guest of Margaret Watson to the 3rd annual "Father-Daughter Dance" at All Saints Academy (the kids' school). Maggie was beautifully attired in a new spring dress, which was purchased a few days before the dance, allowing her to set a record for consecutive attempts at asking a question ("is it time to get to ready for the dance") and getting the same answer ("not yet"); the new record is now 94. Maggie even picked out my outfit, so as to not be embarrassed by her date, a notion I've grown quite accustomed to. Another familiar happening for me occurred when we arrived at the dance when Maggie, as almost all of my previous dance dates before her, abandoned me to hang out with her friends. Fortunately, when the DJ played the Chicken Dance, she quickly scurried over to me and pulled me to the center of the gym. She must have realized that was the song that caused her mother to fall in love with me decades ago. Maggie and I had a wonderful time and I look forward to next year's dance when Annie will be old enough to attend and she and I will be hanging out at the refreshment table or perhaps playing tag.
Jimmy has kept quite busy, playing basketball for the Illinois Basketball Academy (we must like Academies in our house...perhaps I will start referring to our family as the Watson Academy for Sarcasm, Tomfoolery, and Excitement). He also attended golf camp and started football camp this week. Lacrosse camp starts next week. With any luck, he can work curling and caber toss camp into the schedule. For Maggie, the time has been spent at Daisy camp (I'm told Daisies are a precursor to Brownies and Girl Scouts) where girls learn about the first steps toward the mass marketing of addictive cookies and cookie-like products. Annie attended an arts and crafts camp, which resulted in no injuries to her or any of the camp counselors.
Annie (or Annimal as she is known in our house) also recently participated in the Naperville School of Performing Arts Dance Recital, where she and her classmates performed a stunning routine to the hit song "Witch Doctor" by Alvin and the Chipmunks. The scene was similar in some ways to Maggie's first recital in June 2006, only Annie was a little less nervous. In fact, Annie relished the limelight and rather than worrying her parents as to whether she would enter the stage, she made us nervous that she may not leave it. The DVD has been ordered and if I can find a way to send the 2 minute portion in which she is featured I will.
Lest you think that children at that Watson Academy for Sarcasm, Tomfoolery, and Excitement are not entitled to some leisure, rest assured that the Watson kids have spent plenty of time at nearby Centennial Beach. Centennial Beach is an old rock quarry in Naperville that has been filled in with chlorinated water and converted into a public pool, complete with sandy beach. Regis and the kids have been able to take advantage of the beach and swimming for most of the summer. We've also enjoyed more than one backyard fire, roasting s'mores and hoping that Annie doesn't try to incinerate a neighbor.
Over the recent Fourth of July holiday weekend, in order to fully appreciate the art that our country's independence allows, we enjoyed a performance by Ted Nugent, the man responsible for such hits as "Cat Scratch Fever," and ..... "Cat Scratch Fever," as well as the cookbook "Kill It and Grill It." Ted was performing at Naperville's annual Ribfest, which is a charity BBQ cook-off that draws thousands of people over the four days and hundreds of dollars from my wallet in order to pay for massive quantities of meat and carnie games. All we have left to show for this experience are the $27 stuffed pigs (retail value: $1.50 each) Maggie and Annie each "won" at a water-gun shooting gallery. That and the indelible memories of Ted's show. You might imagine that Ted drew a slightly different demographic to Stepford, er, I mean Naperville, as a militia of mullet-laden bikers descended upon the Ville to dine on swine with the usual pink shirt and seersucker crowd. Thus proving that Ted is a unifier, bringing together diverse peoples from many towns. Or maybe the ribs did that. "Ted Nugent (and/or Uncle Bub's Ribs) for president!" Ted concluded his show with an encore unlike any ever seen outside of Detroit. Resplendent with an authentic imitation Indian headdress, Ted fired a flaming arrow from his hunter's bow into a guitar, drawing a vivacious cheer from the crowd. God Bless Merica.
Hope you all had a wonderful Independence Day
posted by Watts at 10:46 AM
