For a few days, I have gotten Luke and Maggie up at 6AM to go running before school. Yesterday, Jack came with us as well. We run around a few blocks, and then we do some exercises – pushups, crunches, planks, box hops and wall sits. It is a special time with the kids, and we are enjoying it.
It is dark when we run and blistery cold. It was less than 20 degrees this morning, so I let them sleep in today. But, we will be back at it tomorrow.
“Jack, how was school,” I asked.
“Great!”
“Jack, how was the bus ride home,” I asked.
“Great!”
My 5 year old son quickly taught me an important lesson. His one word answer inspired me. It is his stock answer anytime anyone asks him how he is doing or how his day was. I love it. He is upbeat. And he is positive. How awesome and uplifting. I am proud of my son.
I had a wonderful lunch date with Marcia and our two youngest, Jack and Luke. I took them to the Paper Moon Diner. It is decorated with the most eclectic collection of toys from several decades. The toys are attached to the ceilings, to the walls, and to mannequins. There are dolls riding tricycles upside down on the ceiling. There are several hundred Pez dispensers in a glass case. There are superheroes hanging from old phone cords. There is a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle mask in a fan from the 1950s. Outside, there are toilets in the garden, filled with plants. There is a huge tub, overflowing with flowers.
The boys loved it. They were fascinated by the scenery throughout the meal. Luke would point to something on the ceiling and say something about it. Jack would point and try to repeat what his big brother said. Then he would call somebody a Ding Dong. They ate their lunch, got full, and took home a doggy bag. Luke took the check up to the register and paid with my credit card.
Then we took the boys to the Charmery in Camden. They had very unique flavors like Old Bay Caramel. Luke ordered Vanilla. Jack insisted on Pistachio Toffee Crunch. It was so good that his dad also got the same.
Luke, with his spoon that changed colors
Jack Charming at the Charmery
After lunch, they dropped me back at work. What a doubly special treat for me. Some delicious ice cream. And some of the loves of my life to share lunch with.
Snooze. Beep Beep. Snooze. One eye open. 3:33. Good sign, gotta get up. I was taking the kids today on an adventure. I didn’t tell anyone where we were headed, including Marcia. We got them loaded in the car and we were off by 4:30. I was taking them somewhere they had never been. And I hadn’t been back to Cornell in 17 years.
I put over 4 hours behind the wheel before anyone woke up. Then they were up the last hour of the drive. We pulled into Manos Diner in Ithaca around 9:30 for a little breakfast before seeing the sites.
Manos Diner – first stop in Ithaca
First stop had to be Schoellkopf Field. I took the kids out onto the turf and they loved it. Noah started sprinting from one end of the field to the other. Elizabeth and Eden starting running stadium stairs. I told them where the locker room was and showed them where coach Richie Moran took us all after each game for a post game party.
Six at Schoellkopf Field
Love this Stadium and those stairs
Hall for post game lacrosse gatherings
I was proud and excited to tell Marcia and the kids all about my days at Cornell. I showed them the slope and told them about Slope Day. I showed them where I sold daffodils for Daffodil Day, raising money for cancer research with my fraternity. I told them about the Hot Truck, and showed them my fraternity. My freshman dorm has been torn down and replaced with newer buildings. We walked through campus and I showed them the statues of Ezra Cornell and Andrew White. I showed them some of the libraries and where I had classes. We saw North Campus, and West Campus. We saw Collegetown – less bars than there used to be, and more Starbucks.
Marcia and the kids at Cornell
Cornell or Hogwarts?
Fuertes Observatory
Legend has it that if a virgin crosses between the two statues at midnight, they will cross the quad and dance a jig. The statues have never moved.
Far Above Cayuga’s Water
Looking down on West Campus – much different than when I went there
The kids loved seeing the plantation. We spent a good bit of time there exploring all of the trees. And we had a picnic late in the day, the last stop before heading home. As a student, I never really appreciated the plantation. I ran around and through it for lacrosse, but never had a picnic or took in the beauty of the place.
Newman Overlook at Cornell Plantations
I love Luke in this picture
Picnic in Cornell Plantations
The main attraction had to be the gorges. All of the kids had lots of fun exploring the gorges. They ran along the paths to get to the gorges. Unfortunately, they weren’t allowed to swim. I was really disappointed in this, as I remember lots of people swimming there when I was a student. It is now an offense that you can be arrested for. Bummer. I still waded out into the waterfalls, but we decided against letting the kids do it.
Ithaca is Gorges
Gorge above Beebe Lake
I found the spot where I jumped from the side of the gorge 20 years ago. I didn’t repeat the act, but was kind of impressed with how high I had jumped from. Young dumb and stupid is no way to go through life, Kennedy!
Where I jumped 20 years before
For me, this was a great trip. There were reasons that I left Cornell, and there were reasons why I put it in my past, and haven’t revisited it. It was great though to remember on this trip all of the joy I experienced at Cornell. All of the beauty of the place. And to share that with Marcia. And also with the kids.
It is an impressive and beautiful university. I wish I had appreciated it for all that it had to offer when I was a student, athlete and fraternity boy. There was so much that I didn’t do as a student, and wish I had been a bit more mature in those days. I am so grateful though for the experiences that I did have, and that I am able to share even glimpses of those experiences with my kids. It made me so proud that they were genuinely interested in the trip and my stories. Maybe one day one of them will be lucky enough to experience Cornell as a student.
Jack is a happy little guy. He laughs at the dinner table. His older siblings are always paying attention to him and trying to entertain him. And he tries to emulate them. For a while, he has been standing up and walking around furniture. But lately, he has started to stand up in the middle of a room, stand for a minute, and sit back down. I think the boy will be running before we know it.
Waving good bye to Daddy in the morning
The older kids also play a lot of lacrosse in the house. And he goes to a lot of games. It is neat to see him emulate them that way too.
I wanna play too
A lot of times, he grabs a lacrosse stick and crawls around the floor with it. If he finds a ball, he’ll put it in the stick, and sometimes even cradles!
Jack definitely wins the prize this morning for first one awake. Hurricane Sandy is upon us and we are trying to sleep in. But nope! Jack attack! Good morning. Everything in the state is shut down today. Looking forward to a great day with the family. Our emergency preparations are in place for the hurricane. Gutters cleaned. Loads of laundry underway. And cell phones charged. Bring it on Sandy.
The cheese lady at Wegmans today took advantage of a poor sick man outside of his element. Innocent enough, I asked for some parmigian cheese samples for the kids in the cart. The cheese lady then went on to tell me a story about how the Italians give their babies cheese rinds to chew on when they are teething. According to the tale, the cheese soothes their stomachs, and the cheese releases tryptophan, the magic element in turkey that renders many a man helpless to the couch after Thanksgiving dinner. The cheese lady proceeded to place a carton of cheese rinds into my hand for $2.16. How could I resist? I couldn’t.
When we got home, Jack was fussy. Aha, let’s try the cheese rinds! In his swing, we have him a cheese rind to chew on. Let the cheese work its magic!
Twenty minutes later, he had hives around his mouth and stunk like a butt. So much for the Italians and their stinky cheese. Thanks cheese lady!
Just a walk in the park, Kasansky, a set on Flickr.
Took the Kennedy kids and Baeck girls to the state park for a few hours. Just a walk in the park
Our littlest stick wielder has reached the 6 month mark. Jack is such a happy baby. So talkative and delightful. I love when he locks eyes with me and then curls a great big smile.
He loves to sing “Da Da Da Da” and scream “Ma ma ma ma”. Truth be told, it’s sometimes the other way around too. The little man is active, rolling all over the place, and pushing himself around.
I’m a bit belated in writing this post, but Happy half-birthday Jack!!
What a grand night I am having! Marcia went out to dinner with some friends. And Elizabeth is at a laser tag party for her friend, Sophia. Which means I’ve got 5 munchkins all to my self. And Eden is a huge helper tonight. All bathed and getting ready for bed and only one thing to figure out…
What are these two little feet doing sticking out of my sack of potatoes?!
Who is in there? Is it Luke? And where does Jack think he’s going?
Six With Sticks 