Fall Transition

After returning from Castle Park, we had two weeks at home as the summer wound down. The fall always seems like a new year, with the start of school and new chapters for all of us. Christopher left for Iowa to start a ten-month program with Americorps - as a part of FEMA (which as of this writing appears pretty dismal and boring). Patrick started high school, with an ambitious schedule to accommodate his desire to be in both jazz band and musical theater.....and requires me to take him to a separate high school at 7:30 each morning. Nathan starts 7th grade and has already started hockey and he'll likely make the basketball team again. So our schedules will be consumed by sports. (And he even has the two of us embroiled in a 'fantasy football league' that will be a time-suck.) Martha's work has picked up, which gives her satisfaction and helps the household balance sheet. As the end of August approached, "The Picnic" loomed ever larger. I became more focused on my song assignments and planning for the trip to Chicago. For better or worse, I wasn't nearly as anxious about my performance as in years past; either because I passed muster last year or because I felt pretty confident in handling this year's selections, or because I'm also feeling more comfortable with my friends and the support network they offer. After having done this seven years now, I've gotten more comfortable with the process, the people and the expectations. And I'm undoubtedly a better drummer than I was seven years ago -- as Danny observed. I drove out to Indiana on Thursday the 30th and stayed with the Smiths -- and had to endure watching the Republican convention with them. On Friday I drove to Chicago and met Wade and Ellen at "the former Ricarrdo's" on Rush, then headed up to my aunt's. Bright and early Saturday I met Dan for breakfast and then set up the garage and drums for the day-long practice. I had a few hiccups -- mostly due to Bobby "distractions", but they didn't seriously shake my confidence. The day of the Picnic Dan, Lynn and I went out for breakfast, then made it to Dam #1 by 8:30 for set-up. Again, I felt fairly relaxed -- at least compared to past years -- but the whole day went remarkably fast. And it was extensively documented. The pattern and growing tradition continued; going back to Bob's after tear-down with Doug and Fran picking up fried chicken as all of us verged on adrenaline-drained collapse. On Monday, like everyone else, I recuperated, but took a few hours to drop in on Dan and download some of the video discs -- that will keep him occupied for months. That evening I took my aunt out to dinner at Hackney's. She is noticeably declining and I'm increasingly concerned about how my siblings and I are going to handle her very complicated - and compromised - situation. On Tuesday I headed back to Indiana to stay with the Smiths. Wednesday I did the long 10-hour journey back to Virginia, taking my time with several stops. I thoroughly enjoyed the drives out and back, with no obligations or distractions I was able to both enjoy the moments and think about a number of things. Among them the job search. Now that the August break is over, the kids have started school and the Picnic is finished, it's time focus full time on the next chapter of my career.