Weekend Update

On Saturday we had a small lunchtime party for my older son who is getting his PhD degree. I am so proud of how hard he worked the past six years to earn this. The ceremony for the doctoral graduates is Wednesday night.

My brother-in-law from California was here, which made it feel special as we don’t see him that often. It worked out perfectly for him flying in for just a weekend, as he had another function to attend Saturday night and Sunday morning.

We had the food brought in - sandwiches, wraps, pasta salad, veggie salad, fresh fruit, and of course a cake. Everything was delicious and we had enough for dinner that night and lunch and dinner Sunday.

When my mother-in-law passed away in 2017 (at age 89), she was still living in the huge house in which she had raised her children. Meaning she never downsized anything. There was an estate sale for the big stuff, but 10 or so boxes of photographs and memorabilia have been in my other brother-in-law’s basement ever since.

He brought all the boxes over to our house Saturday. After the party, my husband, my California BIL, and I went through and tossed a ton of stuff. On Sunday, the three of us did some more.

I’m glad to report that we are down to 5 boxes / bins. My husband moved them down to our basement. I’m okay with that as we have the room. I am sure those boxes will sit there untouched until the day we move!  That’s the funny thing about sentimental items, isn’t it? Nobody wants to get rid of them, but at the same time nobody actually wants them.

Boxes of memorabilia in my living room 

Greeting cards from almost 100 years ago 

I must mention that my California BIL is an Ironman and marathoner. He is the real deal - he has sponsors and he medals in his age group. He is modest; he says “I was on the podium”. He also works full time and manages to fit in all his training.

He did a 5.5 mile run Saturday before the party and an 8 mile run on Sunday in a torrential downpour. Like my son and his PhD, if you are motivated you can find time for everything.

Unfortunately, their motivation didn’t rub off on me this weekend - I did nothing as far as exercise. I did get in two workouts last week and, since I forgot to report, four workouts the week before.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and belated Happy Mother’s Day to the moms.