We started the second half of June with summer heat in Ardmore. Some felt it might be a bit too warm with the humidity, but I love sunny days in this lovely part of the world as much as anywhere else.
I noticed the blooming of lovely orange lilies in gardens all over the Philly suburbs just before the Summer Solstice, emerging like Easter lilies in that season.
The patterns for most days at home involve pleasurable activities like morning exercises, watching Phillies highlights with my first cup of coffee, a walk around the neighborhood or one of several nature trails near our home before noon, playing the guitar for an hour in the afternoon, happy hours on the backyard deck punctuated tasty, nutritious meals at home, followed by evening TV.
It is a pleasure to awaken each day to the tunes of singing cardinals and other songbirds, foliage in bloom. Between our regular daily activities, we do some work and chores, seasoned with family visits.
Gina and Laszlo hosted a family brunch celebrating Emma's birthday at the Refectory in Villanova, a casual restaurant across the street from that beautiful university. Emma's other grandparents Z and Ria were also there.
We all enjoyed delicious meals. Julie and I split Chicken and Waffles, but I think I will get the Bob sandwich with fries next time, because Z's lunch looked particularly alluring.
We agreed it would be a great place to return, especially because it is near light rail stations for the Mainline that runs by Gina and Laszlo's place and the Norristown Highspeed Rail near us. We all drove on that sunny day.
After this fabulous event, Julie and I drove to New Jersey to watch Amy's roller derby match.
We have heard about her skating for years --- and worried about her broken bones --- but this was the first time we have been to a game.
Amy (#321) started and played a lot of minutes. There are lines of skaters that change out regularly, because the match involves continually skating in a circle, or more correctly beginning to skate in a circle for most of the players who then stop in a scrum with the other team so their jammers with stars on their helmets can race around to try to lap the other team's defenders for points.
All contestants seemed to enjoy the action, and afterwards one of Amy's teammates said that she really missed having Amy on the bench, quickly clarifying that was because Amy is a great team manager. In any case, Amy contributed to her team's win, with one surprisingly petite jammer using Amy's line of blockers to somehow squeeze through a hole like a gifted halfback in football.
With the arrival of summer, Emma no longer ice skates several times a week, downshifting to one private lesson. However, she added a modern dance class for one evening and tennis camp every morning to her routine to stay engaged.
For Emma's birthday, Julie and I took her to Dick's Sporting Goods where she picked out a teal Wilson racquet and matching bag. I bought a lime green Prince Thunder racquet --- the color of my Fiat 850 Spyder from college --- that was on sale for myself.
Last Sunday, I finally tried out my racket rallying with Emma, Laszlo and Gina, with father/daughter teams on opposing sides of the net. The object was to keep the ball in play rather than trying to win points. It was a lot of fun, and I already got my $30 worth out of my new racquet, I feel.
It has been thirty years since I played tennis (except briefly playing paddle tennis for a few minutes with my good friend Mike on a Princess Cruise ship on our South America cruise) in thirty years. I have to remember that as with all ball sports, I must keep my eye on the ball. I found myself looking away to see my family rather than focusing.
I was surprised how tired I felt from an hour-plus of this aerobic exercise. I haven't sweated as much as I did on that warm summer evening in a long time. It felt good, like being a boy back in Westminster playing sports in the summer. I look forward to the next time we play. I look forward to playing again.
Earlier that same week, Gina's college held a family day, where families can see where loved ones toil away their days in a fun atmosphere.
We picked Emma up from tennis camp and boarded the Mainline train, with Gina meeting us at the station in Philly to walks us over.
Emma, Julie and I missed the scavenger hunt and meditation sessions, but we grabbed some healthy snacks and got to meet the wonderful people that Gina works with.
Several mentioned how happy they are that Gina won promotion to Dean, saying how much she deserves it and how lucky they are to work with her. No argument here!
Speaking of California, Jay regularly shares cute photos of little Owen. While I'm not supposed to share his picture on social media, Julie thought this one at the beach should be okay because you can't really see his smiling face. In any case, he and his parents are often in our thoughts.
The day before the college family day, we scored free tickets to see the fantastic Philadelphia Orchestra perform at the Marian Anderson Theater at the Kimmel in Centre City.
What a fantastic concert! Our seats on the first tier couldn't have been better for enjoying the show. All of the musicians are masters at their instruments, and the hall has terrific acoustics.
In addition to the expected John Phillips Souza marches and patriotic anthems, the conductor arranged a fantastic medley of Western Movie Themes from the 1960s, including The Magnificent Seven, which inspired me to watch the movie on YouTube a couple of days later. A terrific American flick!
Another fun musical choice was Colonel Bogey March from Bridge on the River Kwai, with the conductor turning to the audience to lead us in whistling the iconic theme. Wonderful music and great joy! He similarly led us on syncopated claps
A tribute to the armed forces included snippets from each of the force's songs, with me standing along with my fellow Air Force vets for Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder. I think we had the biggest representation of any of the forces.
Another great musical salute to vets came with accompanying narration by a resonant-voiced guest reciting inspiring words by Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan. Gina, Laszlo, Julie and I all enjoyed the show.
Soon, Fourth of July fireworks will be lighting up the sky. Enjoy the holiday!
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