Family, Boston, and Friends

Posted on | May 6, 2007 |

I cannot believe how long it’s been since I was last on my blog! I’m so sorry that I’ve been neglecting the blog lately. It’s not that I’ve been ignoring my art, but more that I’ve become so wrapped up in it and family needs that I have had to put the blog aside for a while.

So here’s what’s been going on: Our cousin was in the hospital right before Dave and I went off to Boston. (She is fine now, by the way!) I spent my days at her bedside just being supportive. I was glad I did it. And so was she. I came home at night and pretty much crashed, having used many spoons! But it was worth every second. We really connected in a way we haven’t before. For most of our marriage, Dave and I have not lived near family, so this has been a wonderful opportunity for us to see family here in town, to have his parents here, and to all be here for each other. It’s been a hugely positive change for us.

Then, we went to Boston. Actually, we started off in Stoughton. Stoughton is on the South Shore of Boston - about 25 miles from Boston. My sister-in-law, Andrea Gropman, MD, was inducted into the Stoughton High School Hall of Fame. As a result, I was able to see my niece, Eliana, and you all know how I feel about her! My MIL and FIL flew in, too. This was their first trip back since they moved here, so they got to visit their friends. We also got Uncle Herb and Aunt Gloria to come in to see us, as well. Dave and I haven’t seen them in quite a few years - I think it’s been more than five, so it was wonderful to see them. To the left is a photo I took of the family at the luncheon after the ceremony.

The next day, my brother-in-law’s sister hosted a brunch at her home. We had a lovely time, having that side of the family together for the first time since she had two grandchildren. I got to spend more time with Eliana, to catch up with the family, and took lots of photos. Ellen was kind enough to take a photo of our family, which is to the right.

Eliana loves taking photos and she wondered what it would be like if we took a photo of us in Ellen’s dining room in the mirror. So, to the left, you see the result of that experiment. Of course, it’s a bit dark, but I had to turn off the flash so it wouldn’t flash in our faces! We had a lovely time and it was, as always, great to see the family and to spend time with Eliana.

After brunch, Dave and I headed into Boston. Dave was to teach on Sunday and Monday at his annual convention. I love Boston. It’s the city where Dave and I met. It’s the place where I went to college (actually, that was Waltham, but it’s still considered Greater Boston!). And living in Boston helped to make me into the person I am today. I had hoped to sit in the Boston Commons or the Public Garden and to take photos in-between painting and sketching, but for the most part, the weather was quite humid and rainy. You don’t notice how humid it is on the coasts until you’ve lived in the desert, as we do now!

That evening, we had made plans to visit my oldest friend, Eric, who I met at Brandeis the first day of Orientation. We’ve been friends ever since, and he was about to turn 40. Yes, this is the year of the 40th birthdays of many of my friends - and mine, too! We adore spending time with him and his family. He and his wife and little girls are such a treat. To the right is a photo of Eric, Victoria and Elli. It was such a treat to spend time with all of them, as it always is.

The best part was that Leah, Eric’s wife, picked us up at the train station.
During that ride, We got to hear about her plans to surprise Eric for his birthday. And I got to be part of that surprise! Monday morning, I met Leah and Eric (whose eyes were closed in the front seat) at the T station. I quietly slipped in the back seat, for the trip to our destination. Eric, apparently, had no idea that I was in the back seat for quite some time. Leah said something that tipped Eric off that there was someone or something in the back seat. Eric kept turning off the Aretha Franklin CD that was playing, turning his head (eyes still closed!) to try to hear someone breathing, talking, anything… but he couldn’t. And so we were driven to what Eric knew as a an undisclosed location. I knew we were headed to Waltham’s Moody Street, near where we went to Brandeis. When we finally parked, got out of the car, and I sneaked out the back of the car, Eric was completely disoriented. We met some of their friends for a lovely lunch of Indian food.

Then Eric asked how long it had been since I had visited our old campus. Well, I hadn’t been back since our 10th reunion in 1999. So we headed over there. Now, for those of you who have never had the pleasure of visiting the Brandeis campus, it’s, well, HILLY. And, well, let’s just say that when I lived there, I was in much better shape! LOL But somehow, I kept up. We had a lovely walk around the campus and I purchased a T-shirt (I saw no reason to be coming back to 100 degree weather with a sweatshirt! LOL). Then I headed back to town, where I met up with my husband.

On Tuesday, I had an exciting thing happen. It was the day before we were to leave Boston, and I received an email that I had SOLD one of my encaustic paintings through my Etsy Store! It is the first actual art I have sold, rather than collage sheets. I cannot tell you how excited I was! Well, it turns out that one of my friends, Martha, who lives in Rhode Island (and works in MA) bought it after “Googling” me and finding this blog. I immediately called her. Dave was meeting colleagues for dinner. I was going to join them, but as soon as I mentioned to Martha that I was in Boston, she stopped what she was doing and drove in from Fall River to Boston. We had dinner and talked for over two hours non-stop. Catching up, as if we’d seen each other just the other day. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

Right now, we’re headed off to visit my MIL and FIL, so I’m going to head out. I’ll share some art I’ve been working on tomorrow or later today. Thanks for watching and catching up!

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