Reading through the gray days of March

The college thing has been very exciting. It's been an amazing year. Of course part of the process is grueling. Last night I dreamt about walking on campus. Am I living vicariously through my daughter? Hmmm…. I've also been in touch with my Sophomore Year roommate, Barb, through Facebook!

Tom is currently reading The Gatekeepers, which I read just before passing it on to him. It's about a year in a highly selective college Admissions Office, primarily at Wesleyan. Tom summed it up best when he reflected that he's glad he didn't read it while we were deep in the admissions process. I don't know if it would be worse to read it while completing applications or while in the waiting game. Which reminds me, a group of assorted field hockey parents had dinner after a tournament last week, and one mother commented on the money spent on field hockey and whether it was worth it. AMM succinctly captured our shared perspective when she said, with hand gestures, field hockey moved my kid from a pile with this many (large stack) applications to a much smaller stack.

Yes, we've spent thousands. In this part of suburbia, almost every parent spends thousands on something. Tutoring, sports, music lessons, SAT Prep. A car. Private school. Or the worst option: some sort of troubled teens program. So, she's played two high school sports plus club field hockey. She's learned about winning and losing, making friends in new environments, trying new things and testing oneself. She admits that it is easier to get her work done with a packed schedule than when she has free time. (And, her lax coach just announced that 15 girls have 4.0 or higher GPAs!) So, we make choices, and deal with overpacked schedules, and we hope that when it's all done, they thrive and we survive!

Other reading: Adriana Trigiani's Brava Valentine. Her writing is masterful, and her characters are bright and lively! Ever since Lois told me about the Big Stone Gap trilogy, I've read every book she's written. In a period of less than 24 hours, I read Elizabeth Edwards' Resilience. Cover to cover start to finish. Well written, easy to read, but she still doesn't pass my test: She's not on my list of "someone I'd like to go to lunch with."

The Bride Will Keep Her Name was another fun read – three books in less than a week!—and one that made every minute on the treadmill fun. Lots of twists and turns in the countdown to the wedding. Set in NYC, of course. This book couldn't be set anywhere else. I thought the author was female until I saw his photo on the dust jacket. Jan Goldstein, has an uncanny view of the female mind!