Okay. I know this is pretty boring stuff for most of you. Too bad. :) A sentimental gene in me feels a need to record this visit with David. Though I love all three of my children, I am closest to David. There were many years with just the two of us. We shared many sorrows and victories – actually, far more victories.

Importantly, especially for parents with young children, David was reared in my home sans TV – we talked a lot. Our greatest gift to each other is conversation. We rarely, if ever, argue. I find him so engaging. When Dave left home for college, that’s what Brian and I missed most – long, delicious, inspiring, and thought provoking conversations. We’d often linger at the dinner table for hours. He’s simply the best.

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Prior to catching my return flight home, I treated David to a mega grocery run. Much to my amazement, I swear to you, his filled cart could have been mine. We have the same idiosyncratic tastes in foods, albeit, he didn’t buy ten cans of cheap tomato soup, like I’ve been known to do. :) Quite frankly, I find it scary that I’m eating the same kind of crap a 22-year old bachelor would eat. I’m still one grape away from scurvy. I’ve lost interest in cooking – I cook for others, I’ve learned.

There’s not much more to report about my fabulous visit. After our grocery run and unloading said groceries, David stretched out on his apartment’s living room couch. Hey! Did I teach that kid art appreciation, or what?


Before heading for the airport, we enjoyed the most elegant lunch ever - good heavens, food for sure did reign on this trip.

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Okay. Back to Northworst. My flight out of Ithaca went planned better than most pregnancies. It was an easy hop to Detroit with an easy gate change, and an easy layover of one hour. Alas, three planes later (disembarking and embarking), we departed after a two hour delay. We disembarked the first plane due to mechanical problems with the tail. No problemo – who in their right mind wants to board a plane with mechanical issues? We disembarked the second plane because the doors weren’t closed in time – the pilot had surpassed his sanctioned time allowance. No problemo. Who wants an over-tired, overworked, over-stressed pilot at the helm? Third try’s always a charm.

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In the meantime, since my trip, David has been accepted into Teach for America. I am so proud of his choice. He declined a high paying job in a financial institution to do this. He has been placed in Washington D.C. to teach Special Education in an elementary school. He received a *special* phone call with praise for his application, accomplishments, and performance.

David has worked two summers in D.C. so is familiar with the region. Many of the staffers he met during his summer internship are still there. There have been lots of phone calls – he’ll have an instant network of people he enjoys. He is so excited. David plans to live in Virginia to gain residency for law school. He’s selling his not-so-hippy-dippy van in order to use mass transit. He’s simply the best. Isn’t he!

Below is a mini-retrospective of David's years at Cornell:


David, far left with fraternity brothers


David's fraternity house


David


David & Sarah