July

July was filled with family!  Mark and Matt both had to get their wisdom teeth out so we decided to get it done early this month.  Luckily there were no complications or any significant issues so we got it off the list with minimal impact to our Summer fun.  Within a week we were out and about visiting colleges in PA.  Mark is interested in going to schools more than an hour from home and South!  He doesn’t like the cold so no plans to attend Holy Cross.  I am not too sad since HC is so expensive, but most of the schools we have visited are equally intimidating!

John and Susanne were in town from London for their annual visit.  They stayed on the East Coast this year so we got to spend quality time with them.  I even took a road trip to West Virginia to spend a couple of days in an Air BNB with Mimi, John and Susanne.  It was a quick trip, but loved hiking and driving through the mountains.  Cooking delicious meals and grooving to Mimi and John’s tunes!

John and Mark had an eldest sibling bonding afternoon golfing at the Independent park (http://www.uppermac.org/independent-park/) free pitch and putt course. John won but Mark gave him a run for his money!  Thanks so much for the clubs Priscilla!!!

Of course the big event of the Summer was mom and dad’s 80th Birthday party.  We had a fabulous dinner made by Local Mama Catering and a spontaneous dance party initiated by the youngest member of our crew Reid Landau.

Have you ever heard of Lake Ariel in the Poconos?  It is a quaint private lake with beautiful homes and cabins lining either side.  We have been a few times and it is always nice to relax by the lake.  There are tons of fun water sports too.  Kayaking, fishing (I didn’t catch anything but the boys and Jack caught many!), tubing (I always get dumped!), and new this year – paddleboard.  I wasn’t too sure about the paddleboard at first, but once I got the hang of it, it was really fun!  Sorry, no pics of me on the water…

So then the kids went to Wildwood with Dad… what’s a mom to do?  Get in the car and see friends!  I was so thrilled that I was able to meet up with Laura and Chris in Massachusetts – thank you again for your hospitality Laura! I spent 2 days in Maine with Cheri and her family. Cheri and I did more kayaking in the ocean this time from Cape Porpoise Harbor (no we didn’t see any) to Goat Island (no goat sightings either) http://www.coastalmainekayak.com/kayakandsuptours/.  We DID get to climb up the light house and chose not to ring the bell since our ears were still ringing from the others…  Kennebunk and Kennebunkport are such cute towns.  I don’t know that I would like sharing my hometown with so many tourists, but Cheri is the BEST tour guide and I had such a great visit.  I even got a wardrobe upgrade https://cheripoulin.cabionline.com/ with my own personal stylist.  Much needed Cheri!  On the long trip home, I stopped in New York to have lunch with Christi and Gonzallo.  We all realized that we don’t live that far from each other and we need to see each other more often!  Anyone going to Homecoming?

What else did I learn?  I am not alone in my frustration with work.  The stories are all different, but too many of my friends are unhappy with where they work from Accounting to nursing or IT.  So many are working incredibly long hours for organizations who either don’t share their values, are completely disorganized and waste the time of talented people because their systems are a mess, are punishing for performance by assigning more and more workload.  Seems to be an epidemic out there.  How can we be leaders in the working world and help change this?  I am determined to find or create reasonable working conditions for myself and commit to doing what I can to ensure those who work for or with me have a better experience.