Harvard

Miller Tarn Yoon MacDonald

Claire Dara Yoon MacDonald

Harvard College, Class of 2025.

40 years after their father graduated.

Or is it just wishful thinking?

Regardless, it was a fun place for them to explore. We told them the story about the purple lady who used to check out books at Widener Library. She was always dressed in purple, from head to toe. And she was there for over 20 years. Where did she go, we wonder?

The Chess Master, on the other hand, is still there, waiting to be challenged.

Cape Cod

Cape Cod. Hyannisport. The Kennedys.

And exactly 3 hours and 41 minutes of sunshine.

It may not be that apparent here, with the photos of sunny blue skies. Believe me, all of those photos were taken during the 3 hours and 41 minutes aformentioned. Maybe the last photo of me and Momo gives you a hint of the rest of our one week vacation on the Cape.

I sound like a Californian, don't I? Well, I felt like a Californian the whole time we were on the Cape. It got to be a joke between me and the kids when the sun did come out, I asked them: "Guys, what is that?" They would firmly answered: "That's the SUN, Mommy, the SUN!" On the last morning there, of course, we woke up to the first sunny skies. Claire ran up to me and said: "Mommy, the sun is out! It's your favorite day!" And within two hours, we had to leave.

Anyhow, life should not be all about weather. And we did manage to enjoy some of the Cape, even without the sun. We ventured to Provincetown one day, the first for all of us. Jim and my father took the kids on a train ride one day. And Jim and Momo got to ride a 'duckmobile' another day. Sadly, we did not connect with the Kennedys. But I would rather have connected with the sun.

We made it

Looking at these photos, you will know that we are no longer in California. Walden Pond alone is a give away that we are no where else, but in New England. Coming back, especially with my whole family here, is like a walk in the past. But the past it is not, since I have my future with me: my two children. Today we visited the town of Concord, home of numerous authors, and the beautiful Walden Pond. The kids had a blast playing in the water. My father even got to do a blog talk by the pond. We visited a museum, strolled through the town, and treated ourselves to ice cream at Dairy Joy, my favorite ice cream shack in Weston. We went by my old high school and the children got to play in a playground there. I have only been back here two days, but so far, it seems to me that in some ways, things have not changed here. But so many years have passed that it is me who has changed, and it's refreshing to see the old things with different eyes. Stay tuned for more adventures!

This is it!

I am sitting on the floor of our empty house, with the computer on my lap. This is it:the last day of living in Santa Cruz, at least for a little while.



We had a busy week seeing people, saying good-bye, maximizing our time here. We had a beach get-together, a park get-together, pool-time, school good-bye party. I hope the kids get an idea of what they are in for!



Transitions are hard, but they are important. We will learn and grow from the changes; we will make new friends and new memories elsewhere. Santa Cruz had been wonderful to us, our little family. Au revoir, et a bientot, j'espere.

Last Weekend

The beach won't be so easy to go to in just a week or so. We got together with friends from Five Branches this morning at the beach. Though it was a typical summer morning - foggy and cold - the beach is still a good place to be for when big people and little people want to all be together.



After graduating from Five Branches five years ago, I get to see some of my friends occasionally, but never often enough. We all got busy with our lives. Some of us had children, some focused on work, and some moved away. Now that we are one of those moving away, it was a good excuse to see our friends one more time.


Claire, especially, enjoyed the extra attention. Friends and family sure come in handy with children around. It made me sad to think that we will be away from these people, but happy to know that if and when we come back here, there is a community of people we care for, to come back to.

Boston

My trip to Boston was wet, but productive. It felt like returning to my childhood home: my American childhood home, that is. Everything was familiar, even the short cuts I used to take to get around Cambridge, I remembered enough to direct and impress a taxi driver.


After living in California for 8 years, going back to Massachusetts felt like going to a different country entirely. People sounded different, the buildings looked different, the air felt different, the trees were of different species. Though I felt comfortable and 'at home', I was out of my elements. Where was my family? Where were my children? I had returned 'home' as a woman all grown-up.




To completely describe my experience would be difficult for I am still processing it days afterwards. I imagine I will be living the experience itself again soon enough. But here are some photos from the trip. Sorry if they look dreary: it rained constantly during my whole stay, so it was hard to avoid these dreary looking photos.

Farewell to my Grandmother

My dear grandmother passed away peacefully last Wednesday at the age of 78. She was a tremendous part of my young life in Thailand. She lived a full life, but the last 5 years or so had been trying for her with throat cancer and lung cancer that invaded her fragile body. She was a trooper and fought hard. She fought so hard that she was able to see her great-grandchildren twice, and saw her granddaughter as a mother.

I will miss you grandma. You were an incredible soul, the sweetest heart, the anchor for the family. I told the children that now you are our angel, who will watch over us. I know we will meet again some day and glad that you are resting in peace.

All my love to you, from all of us.

Mother's Day 2007

Happy to be their mother.

Discoveries

Another dinner at the farm. But this time, we had little critters joining us. Well, we joined them is more like it. Recently the kids have been interested in finding critters: spiders, bugs, lizards, you name it. Momo, especially, wants to catch them, and make them his 'pet'. He has caught a few rolly-pollies, put them in captivity, and learned later that they need air to survive. I warned him of that, but the boy is stubborn, so I figured that he should maybe learn the hard way.


Today, they found all sorts of things at the farm. They caught an orange ladybug that is still alive as I write. Even Claire lets the bug crawl on her now which is a big step for a little girly girl that she is. Momo found many lizards, but thankfully they were all too fast to capture. I can't say I want him to bring one home. Maybe he is ready for it, but I am not!


They also caught a beetle, checked out the bees, and peeked at a naughty gopher. It was windy up there today, but we didn't let it deter our fun. I promised them that next time we will bring the right containers for the lizard hunt... Now I wonder why I said that (you know they will remember that one)!

Dinner at the Farm

It felt like summer today, so what's better than going to eat al fresco at the farm? Does anyone know why eating outside makes the food taste better? And you know what is even better? I don't have to clean up! Eating al fresco - everybody wins!





If the farm could talk, it would probably say how much our children have grown in the last two and a half years that we have been going there. And because they are growing so fast, each trip up there is like a new experience for them as you have seen through the blogs here.


Today we watched an apprentice harvest arugula for dinner, drove (or pretended to) a loader, decorated an abalone shell, and ate a picnic dinner. Two hours went by in a snap before we headed home for bath. We hope for many more meals at the farm before our depature in four weeks!