My--it has been so long since I have posted. I did begin to once during "down time" at school one afternoon, but was interrupted so frequently, I found it too difficult to accomplish. So, again, please pardon the delinquency here, and I'll see if I can complete this one before my attention is called elsewhere. Pray all are having a blessed and cheerful spring. Our spring is taking awhile to get here. Been a bit wintry (more snow and below zero temperatures) again in the past week or so, and we still have a foot or so of dwindling snow covering the ground. Still do appreciate the sunshiny days, which we have had an ample amount of this winter, comparatively. Such a blessing, soaking up the cheery warmth out in the brisk freshness of late winter air. Praying for more sunshine anytime God decides to gift us with it.
And speaking of decisions, MIT decided to reveal their application decisions on-line, posted on Saturday, March 14 at 1:59pm (Eastern Daylight Time). Clever, posting them precisely at "pi." 3.14159. . . Since our brilliant son has memorized pi out to the hundredth digit, I thought there may be some positive connections going on. We drug him out of bed around noon (we're two hours earlier than Eastern time) to log-in to the site and check it out. He was much more relaxed about the whole shebang than I was, having dreamed all night about the outcome--with both possibilities playing out rather dramatically in my subconscious. Clad only in his scant sleepwear, with both parents peering over his shoulder, he calmly input the needed user name and password to reveal a very diplomatic and professional letter informing of their regrets that they were "unable to offer" him a spot at MIT at this time. He matter-of-factly responded with something akin to "So, now we know. . ." and calmly proceeded with other web-surfing journeys. It seems that while he would have thrilled at the opportunity to study at MIT, and had the drive to go through the intense application process, he knew the acceptance statistics (about 12% of applicants) and figured his chances quite slim. He feels he probably did not have as much involvement with extra-curricular math/science activities as they would have liked to see. So, I don't think he is experiencing major disappointment, and is probably feeling relieved to finally know the decision. Looks like his plans will be to attend MSU in Bozeman, so we are looking into what scholarships are available, and continuing to meet deadlines, fill out forms, and all else that goes into finalizing and formalizing all this college entrance stuff. Calm and inquisitive son just seems excited about the whole idea--being out on his own, studying "cool stuff," and experiencing our big, wide world. And, maybe, mom and dad are somewhat more comfortable with the idea of having him be only a few hundred miles away instead of a few thousand. What a joy knowing we can all rest in the divine wisdom of our loving God!
So, delightful daughter wasn't home for the big revelation on Saturday as she had spent the night at an impromptu slumber party with some friends. She was delighted to have the opportunity to "hang out" with them on a Friday night and until mid-day on Saturday. Sounds like they had a good time, snacking, watching DVD's of a favorite baseball/romance anime' series, talking about "boys," and whatever else sweet and silly teenage ladies do at sleepovers. I think it was a particularly welcomed end to a bit of a stressful week: with a couple days of standardized testing, a big chemistry assignment due, and a choir concert to perform. Her concert was on Tuesday evening, and --as usual-- was indeed delightful! Daughter was blessed to have Grandma and Aunt, Uncle and cousins attend the performance with us. The program was titled "Color My World With Music," and many of the songs performed contained color words. Daughter's Select Women's group chose to dress in all black, and the princess looked beautiful and elegant--no paternal prejudice here, I promise--as she joyfully sang their selections, some with the other all-girl choir, some with the men's group, and a couple pieces by themselves. The program was a fun and colorful collection of inspiring melodies, culminating with all the choir groups, about 100 melodious voices, joining together on "What a Wonderful World." Louis Armstrong would have gotten goosebumps. Their choir director is phenomenal and succeeds remarkably in making choral music a fun and beautiful experience for everyone involved--singers and audience!
I had a quick chance to be delighted again by their choral artistry on Monday afternoon. A choir from another high school joined them for the day to work and learn together, and they performed the two pieces they practiced together at 1:30, just before the other school's singers had to get on their bus to return home. I was able to duck out for a bit from my school to come over and listen; I was the only audience member besides the directors and a video operator, and I immensely enjoyed my private concert. One of the songs they performed which the daughter really delighted in singing was an Italian love song called "O Oki Manza Mia," and the lovely wife remembers having performed it in a choral group sometime in her choir-rich history as well. It is a soul-touchingly beautiful anthem. Again, I will declare, what a blessing having a musically gifted family is--especially for one so musically-challenged as I.
And, the spring sport seasons started yesterday. Our son's tennis team spent the first day of practice with snow shovels attempting to remove the foot of wet snow that covered the practice courts. If the weather allows them to be outside, they will be pushing and tossing snow again this afternoon as well. If the winter weather patterns continue--snowing and sleeting and blowing as I type--they will have "strength and fitness training" in whichever school's gym they can find available. Spring sports sometimes have a bit of competition with weather not necessarily spring-ish in these climes. I don't envy the track coaches dealing with 100+ track athletes when they can not be outside. As the son jumped into the car when I picked him up from school to take him to the tennis courts to shovel, he informed me he would need some money to buy tickets, as he was going to the prom this coming weekend with a girl who has been his good friend since junior high. She asked him, and he agreed to go. This is all new and foreign territory for us, and maybe further complicated because it is a "friend-thing" instead of a "date-thing." Any advice as to "expectations" and such would be appreciated. He did e-mail her last night posing a few questions, so maybe she will help us out a bit. Neither son nor his friend drive, so fortunately they plan to ride with another junior high buddy and his date who do have a car. Attire, corsages, dinner? We have lots of questions and unknowns. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out--mostly we're just praying it is a good time for them all. I did make it into the high school this morning to purchase the ticket, so so far--we're okay, I guess. Help, if you have any experiential advice!
Had to take the car in for some help yesterday, so we're transportationally disadvantaged this morning--we don't all fit into the pickup, comfortably. I made two trips from home to school as my school is on a mixed-up testing schedule so I had the flexibility to be a bit late. The wince-inducing grinding sound that has been coming from the front passenger side when I braked for the past few days forced me to call our mechanic. Fortunately he was able to schedule us in this morning and the car will be ready to go with new brakes all around today after school. Our mechanic is the father of one of our son's long time friends; he is an excellent and hard-working mechanic and a wonderful Christian man, so it's such a blessing having someone so trustworthy and honest and caring to deal with in these issues.
Well, our delinquent spring is poking his timid nose out now; God has decided to bless us with more sunshine now as I complete this post. How delightful!! Thanks for tuning in, and I pray your day, week. . . is blessed with the sincerest of delightful moments.
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