There were some celebrations

[And now, a review of all of the things I didn't have time to blog about during dissertation revision season...Part 2]

Yet another weekend during revision season
found me traveling through the northeast,
in order to arrive at the home of Dave & Kara,

for family time and celebration.

Though there was the mention of
that little thing called a doctorate,
the big celebration focus of the weekend was on these two,

for whom 60 came and went in this year.

Kara put all of her baking skills to work
to make this gorgeous cake,

over which we oohed and aahed 

(the belly laugh uproarious kind...),

and gobbled right up.  

[We loved the cake Kar; we loved the laughter.]

The rest of the weekend was dedicated to making sure the parents knew they were the stars.

First, we took them to the George Eastman house,

 where we wandered around the gardens,

drinking in the gorgeous,

dwelling in the together,

 enjoying all the place had to offer.

Then, we moved onto the house,

where Dave and Kara may have gotten a little proprietary.

 [A little? Hmmm...]

I for one fell in love with some things I am determined to have in my personal life at some point:

 
1) this amazing plant,
2) this beautiful piano,

 3) this hoofed ashtray? [oh, wait, wrong list...]

4) and a conservatory that may or may not include an elephant head, but where wrought iron is particularly welcome.

In order to say--hey, you're our parents, but we know very little about you, and would like to know more--

the weekend also included these little papers full of very meaningful and somewhat hilarious questions, 

which were pulled out at random intervals,

and provided us with rich conversation.

Ranging from childhood memories to favorite objects, from intriguing secrets of college days to advice they'd give their younger selves, these parents were queried and cajoled in order to reveal some very interesting information.  For instance, our investigation disclosed that one of these parents is pretty convinced that if America's Most Wanted came calling, it would likely be for engaging in fraud [who knew?!?]; the other has very strong feelings regarding tractors [we all knew...].  Further, one may have a chocolate problem [yep, not surprised], the other may have at one time been 'a stupid idiot' [hmmm...].  

[Regarding their favorite Goldendoodle, however,

the response was unanimous, 

in case anyone was concerned.]

So, you can see that our afternoon enjoying the sites of Rochester

unfolded into a raucous birthday crepe dinner,

after which we made our way along the Erie Canal for a bit,

before ending the evening with 

a walk along the pier at Rochester Harbor.

Our next day began with church, [which also houses Kara's job and allowed us to tour a bit of Kara's life]

and then--killing time before lunch--we accidentally found ourselves in this beauteous-ness,

which nearly sent me into apoplexy of joy.

We played, 

 in sheer wonder,

ridiculous delight,

and absolute soothing of soul.

Eventually, we tore ourselves away, 

to a final lunch and partings good-bye,

with gratitude in our hearts,

 for a chance to visit the home of these two cuties,

and to celebrate the lives of these generous and loving parents.

[Happy Birthday kids, hope you felt as loved as you are.]

HOL, the Adirondacks Version

[And now, a review of all of the things I didn't have time to blog about during dissertation revision season...Part 1]

Once upon a time, 

I climbed into my car,

and drove off into the mountains.

I arrived at a tiny cabin in the woods,

unloaded my things, and called it home.

I explored a bit,

 and found a view quite stunning,

and a scene quite mine.

I settled in, pulled out my revisions, 

and proceeded to conquer them, lakeside.

The breeze blew through the quiet air, and the lake hummed in gentle support of my presence.

I basked, I drank of its welcome; 

I was the happiest of women.

After the sun reclined, 

the revisions and I moved inside, the quaintness of the cabin surrounding us, the tune of the cabin next door accompanying us.  [Apparently, the memo regarding peaceful Adirondack get-aways didn't reach all members of the camp...]

Diligently I chipped away at the task before me, motivated by the incentive that soon Lisa & Geoff would arrive, and Summer HOL [Adirondacks Version] would officially begin.

Arrive they did, and talking late into the night commenced.

And then, the rest of the weekend unfolded, according to loosely defined HOL requirements.

Since early mornings are my HOL introvert time, the next day I awoke, got up, made coffee, revised for a few hours,

 and then wrapped myself in morning and the rising of the Sun, until a man in a tractor started dumping rocks down the side of the hill right outside of L & G's bedroom window [speaking of peaceful Adirondack get-aways...]

We then leisured over breakfast,

talking, talking, talking,

before unfolding ourselves from our little home away from home in order to explore the surrounding area.

We found:

 the most delicious tasting olive oil store,

 the requisite iced beverages over which to talk,

and scenery,

mixed with a bit of shopping.

We then returned to our lake,

for a bit of reclining,

for talking, talking, talking.

The next day was more of the same,

but included:

 a visit to the place where Lisa & I first bonded,

 street-side fairs and freshly squeezed lemonade,

 quintessential scenery,

[Lauren & Frankie secretly bonding time],

snacks

[over which to talk],

and treats reminiscent of childhood.

The day long and hot, we returned to our cabin and cuddled up on the porch with books and quiet,

as rain fell and cooled us off,

as sun set and brought us into night.

The rain cancelling all of my campfire plans, we gathered inside and reveled over one last meal,

before turning ourselves in for the night, barely facing the fact that the next day would bring a return to real life.

The next morning we awoke early, packed up cars, and hugged good-bye, thinking:  Ah, HOL.  You never cease to offer us time to Hash Out Life with raw and real, with peace and tranquil.  

With Good.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered

A month has gone by since last I was here,  for two reasons:

1) That dang dissertation still wasn't done.

and

2) I no longer had it in me to talk about it.

Following defense weekend my nose went to the revision-stone, and any spare moment I had was still spent at my dining room table.  So much time did I spend in this spot, in fact, that eventually I had to call in a buffer between me and this chair:

Despite long time spent together, 

our relationship grew painful instead of supportive, 

and something needed to be done.  

Indeed, there were many painful moments--

physical, mental, emotional for sure.

You see, there were days when no matter 

how long and productively I worked,  

the to-do list just got longer.

For every one aspect I fixed, 

two more were revealed that needed fixing.

Pain I tell you--PAIN.

Fortunately, other buffers offered me their services as well, 

and I realized--

sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do 

to get the dang thing done.  

And somehow, it worked.

All the necessary paperwork was ultimately signed.

I found myself checking final small details, 

ready to seal everything up.

And then, the moment I thought would never arrive:

Submitted.  Delivered to the powers that be.

Done.

Finally.

Signed Sealed Delivered

Indeed.

And as for you, dang dissertation?

Let's just say:

I am NO LONGER yours.