family

Kamil’s Last Olympics

Tuesday 10 February 2026

Three golds and a bronze in previous Olympics makes you a legend who gets to carry your country's flag in your sixth and final Olympics.

Tonight was the Girl's final evening at home. She heads back tomorrow for her second semester of college. (Is it only her second semester? How is that possible? It seems she's been studying forever, and we've only just begun this adventure in independence and eye-watering expenses.)

"What do you want for dinner that final night," K and I asked her. She thought for a while and replied, "Fettuccine alfredo."

"With shrimp?" It's her favorite, and I would have been surprised if she said no, but "No" was indeed her response. "With chicken, I think."

But how to spend our last evening together? We long ago realized that we are only a small part of our daughter's circle, and that meant we'd only have a little time with her this evening. "I want to go visit M one last time," she explained. M, her closest friend from high school, studies at Fordham; they only see each other when they both happen to be home. So a family movie was out, and besides, there's not much socializing with a movie. Additionally, since the Boy has regional band auditions tomorrow, he would be more than reluctant to spend so much time away from his trombone on the evening before such a significant audition. In the end, we played cards.

Visiting Aunt D

Sunday 04 January 2026

Aunt D is a saint. A generous soul with a kind heart and a desire to throw her arms around her entire family and pull them close for a never-ending hug. My memories of visiting Aunt D stretch back to my childhood, to an age younger than the Boy. We spent alternating Thanksgivings with Aunt D and Papa’s extended family in South Carolina and Nana’s family outside of Nashville. That constituted the majority of our visits.

We haven’t spent a Thanksgiving with Aunt D in probably a decade, but she almost always arranges some kind of family gathering around the holidays. This year, we missed the reunion, and the plan was to have a mini-gathering last Saturday. Alas, Aunt D was sick, and the whole get-together had to be canceled. But the holidays are just not the same without a visit to Aunt D, so we drove through the pine forests on pothole-filled roads (a staple of childhood memories of visiting SC) today for a quick visit -- our first since Uncle M’s memorial service this last summer.