We made it to Manitoba. L traveled very well. He sat in his carseat as long as Pam and I sat in our seats, and didn’t complain all that much. I would never have predicted that L would travel as well as he did. L celebrated his birthday with one set of uncles, aunts, and grandparents. He will celebrate his birthday with the rest of his extended family soon.
Christmas has come and gone. Now it is time to see the rest of the people we came to Manitoba to see.
We’re leaving for Manitoba tomorrow morning, so we decided to have our Northampton Christmas today. Actually, we went out for a late breakfast, ran a few errands, took some time to open a few Christmas gifts, and then set to getting our things together for the trip. I had to make sure that I got the car loaded while I had daylight to work with, and Pam tried to get some cleaning done while L had his afternoon nap. We’re looking forward to seeing friends and family. Hopefully, the weather holds out and the trip goes without a hitch. Anyway, back to packing.
Happy holidays everyone!
Yesterday, UMass closed its campus at noon, because there was snow in the forecast. Turns out the forecast was correct–we got nearly a foot of snow–but it’s not at all clear that the conditions warranted shutting the campus down and inconveniencing all the people that were supposed to have exams later in the day. There was no wind, and it wasn’t cold. In fact, looking outside brought to mind the song everyone likes to hear while they’re shopping: I’m dreaming of a white Christmas…. People here don’t know how to cope with snow and sleet, and I don’t really know why. Snow is certainly not unusual for the New England states. People here should know how to drive in snow, but they don’t. My bus-ride yesterday took me 2 hours; I could have walked from UMass to Northampton in that time. A couple inches of snow, and everything grinds to a standstill. Sigh!
L is also working through his first real cold. He has a runny nose, a hoarse voice, and sometimes feels slightly feverish. But through it all, he has been relatively cheerful; he’s a trooper. I guess, now that he’s no longer getting anti-bodies from his mother’s milk, he’s more susceptible to various bugs. Hopefully he gets over it–and doesn’t pass it on to Pam and me–before we hit the road to Manitoba next week.
The last two weeks have been a real drag. I’m trying to get my seminar papers written before the holidays arrive. The paper I’m working on right now has proven to be particularly frustrating. The one consolation is that it is my second last seminar paper…ever! I am one week away from finishing the course requirements for my degree. (Do I hear a cheer?) There was a time during my undergrad days when I honestly thought I could imagine going to school forever. Well, all that changed about a year ago; I woke up one morning and thought to myself, “I think I’ve officially had it with coursework.” Now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The only thing left to do is to finish my remaining seminar papers.
