Two for '22

This post is a day late, because I wanted to honor memorial day.  But, although it is 5/31/2022, I want to celebrate yesterday's fun we had.  My Two for 2022 are the Greenbergs and the Sherrs.  It's funny, we were classmates at Penn, but we got to be much better friends as families.  The Disney magic helped, but it's more than that, we have watched our kids get older together, celebrated our successes together, even cried over sorrows together.  And, I am so happy we can continue to get together and laugh, play games, have a meal, commiserate over our baseball teams, and just have fun.  On the 151st day of 2022, I am writing about the day before, but what a great day it was with the Greenbergs and the Sherrs.

The 150th day of 2022 is Memorial Day.  Memorial Day is one of those interesting holidays.  We get a day off of work, which is nice.  It's weekend is the unofficial start of the Summer season, and we usually see friends or otherwise find a way to relax, which we did today with our good friends, the Greenbergs (for the second May 30th in a row!)  But 5/30/2022 is also a time for reflection.  And for my two for 2022 for tonight, to Remember and Honor.  Most of you who know me well know that I am NOT a fan of war, or aggression, or fighting.  But I will always Honor and Remember those who have lost their lives in the line of battle, protecting and serving their country so that the ways of our society can be preserved.  I think that support is universal and, if it is not, it should be.  So, tonight, I do Remember and Honor those who have lost their lives in defense of their country.  And, of course, their families, friends, and communities w...

  Friends, I have NOT been doing a job job with my nightly reflections these past few weeks.  I think I have been allowing my work to overwhelm me in many ways and hundreds of emails and tickets and meetings and pings (etc) has really caused me to get out of my routines.  BUT, this weekend things have been a little more "normal."  Yesterday, I got back to swimming (YES!) and today, the 149th day of 2022, I actually was catching up on a lot of pending tasks.  Sarah and Alexa went to the beach on 5/29/2022 and Anna was working at Sapori so that left me home, alone, to get things done but also, alone, and you know how much I like being alone.  So I was streaming while I worked and I streamed the 2-part HBO documentary on George Carlin.  I cannot recommend it enough.  It was great.  And I learned a lot about the man.  I was always aware of his comedic genius, I mean I still use a lot his jokes in my vernacular (my favorite is "I'm not unwell...

 

 

 

This is a week of emotional lasts.  And the Two for 2022 for the 145th day of 2022 are the Last Game and the Last Concert.  Yup, as HS parents, that's a wrap for Sarah and me.  After work on 5/25/2022, I headed over the CHS softball field to catch the last few innings of the last game of the season.  So that is four sports (soccer, field hockey, basketball, and softball) over 16+ years and traveling all over the state of NJ and even sometimes to PA....from 6AM soccer to softball that ended in the dark of night.  From FH Futures to Basketball at the Shore.  Multiple great teammates and team parents and coaching with amazing people with the Mustangs and coaching with my Best Friend in Tee Ball (even if she did make me wear purple and look like Barney).  And then there is music, concerts at OPS, CHS, ChildrenSong, All South Jersey, Band, Chorus, and a few Theater productions thrown in as well.  The Sherr Family calendar has been littered with practic...

  Collingswood HS has some really nice end of the school year traditions.  Especially for the Graduating Seniors.  Tonight, in the evening of the 144th day of 2022, it was The Last Dance.  So, obviously, my Two for 2022 tonight is fathers and daughters.  I was honored to be with Anna at her Last Dance on 5/24/2022.  And we won King and Queen of the Dance (what a surprise!)  It's strange, all of these emotions are first time for me, or at least very different and new than when Alexa was having an amended type of these events amidst Covid in 2020.  I am glad, in 2022, that this class is getting their events and even more glad I have two wonderful daughters.  And that Anna danced with me!  <3.

 

Cher wrote, in 1989, "If I Could Turn Back Time."  Well, on the 142nd day of 2022, the Penn Campus did just that.  5/22/2022 was the two-year delayed celebration of the Class of 2020's University Commencement.  Added in, also, were the 2021 Graduate and Professional grads from 2021 as only Undergraduates were invited to last year's, guest-free ceremony.  And, although it was hot and humid and we (the marshals) were undermanned as many could not make it, but over 3,500 graduates sure could!, it was a wonderful ceremony and exactly what was needed for them, albeit later than any of us would have liked.  As i was walking up to the ceremony with one of my fellow marshals, I remarked how important it is to ceremonially celebrate important milestones in our lives.  He answered with a phrase common in his homeland of the UK, "hatches, matches, and dispatches!"  Well, today's celebration had nothing to do with births, weddings, or funerals, but I would add gra...

The 141st day was a great one.  I got to sleep in (thanks, Sarah!) and I got errands done.  We worked in the Snack Stand and had a great time seeing the kids enjoying snacks.  But then, after a shower, Sarah and I actually had a Date Night on 5/21/2022.  It was a double date night with her friend from Temple, Maria, and her husband Steve.  But it was a really nice evening, good food, conversation, laughs, advice, and it was relaxing.  I also got a lot of emails and tickets completed, but the two for 2022 I want to focus on is Saturday and Date Night.  With empty nesting on the horizon for us, I am guessing these may be more frequent in the future.   And that does not upset me at all! 

  I am not gonna lie, I had a bad day at work on the 140th day of 2022.  Yes, I was sad and frustrated as the workday of 5/20/2022 came to an end BUT WAIT!  Suddenly I was thrust into a good mood!  Why??, you ask.  Well, because of the two for 2022 for tonight.  Mike and Sylvia.  Sylvia and Mike.  Really four, because it's Sylvia and Mike and Michael and Vivi (their kids!)  And, tonight, we got to all go out and dine together.  And, frankly, it does not matter how tough a day has been, when we're with Sylvia and Mike and family, we're in a good mood.  SO, I go to bed, exhausted but thankful.  Thankful for good friends who have been with us since before we were even married.  Who were with us as we raised our young kids and now we can be with them as they raise theirs.  We were in need of a mood change last night and our friends provided a HUGE pick me up.  Hope we can do the same for them as well!

There are so many things that we missed in the Spring of 2020.  And on the 139th day of 2022, we were so proud to be in attendance as Anna was selected as a Panther's Choice by her favorite teacher.  The idea of these awards is that teachers select someone who inspires them to come to work every day.  And Ms. Kriebel inspires Anna too.  Probably the primary reason she is pursuing Education at UDel!  So, on 5/19/2022, by Two for 2022 is CHS and the Panther's Choice Awards.  Another person, on Facebook, called it the best day of the Academic Year..... it was pretty darn good!

 

  Well, after a glorious few days of Pomp and Circumstance, the 137th day of 2022 was like a slap in the face.  NO, nothing went altogether wrong on 5/17/2022, but I did have to face the reality of my email inbox and the pending tickets in our helpdesk queue.  It's a frenetically busy time for our project, but I did have some really good moments today, not with email and tickets, but with meetings where I was able to assist someone or get good honest feedback about the project and what I need to be doing.  But, tonight, I need to be handing my two for 2022 for tonight, E-Mails and tickets.  They seem never ending, like chocolates on the conveyor belt, but for some reason I am optimistic as well.  Things are going to calm down and normalize.  And then I can try to really make a difference.

5/16/2022 was a day, admittedly, I have been waiting for.  Because the 136th day of 2022 was Penn's 266th Commencement Ceremony.   And, although it rained a little bit, it did not put a damper on the event for me.  The speakers were inspiring, but the joy among the graduates, their family members, and also the faculty and staff at the event was even more so.  There are not many events on campus that bring so many people from all across the Schools and Centers together, working in concert, to pull off an event.  And, sure, the students' procession clumped up, and some of them walked in the wrong direction, but it did not matter, we were BACK!  Back where we belong, in Franklin Field, for Commencement.  Congrats to the Class of 2022!  Now to hop back in time for the 264th Commencement this coming Sunday!  :-)

Day #135 of 2022 was a glorious day!  On 5/15/2022, for the first time since 2019, Penn's College of Arts & Sciences held an in person Commencement Ceremony.  And, yes, my legs hurt and I needed a chair sometimes to make sure my back did not spasm, but we got 1,600 graduates across the stage and got finished up by 9:15!!!  It was so refreshing and even a but energizing to see all of the happiness and experience all of the joy and familial pride.  It was great to hear the names of my advisees get called and think, "I remember when they were at the start of their journey!"  I don't work for The College, but I am so glad they allow me to marshal at their Commencement.  Being there tonight made me feel like things were just a little closer to being right again in the world.  I know we still have a long way to go as a society and with Covid but, tonight, I was energized and inspired by my Two for 2022, The College and their Commencement Ceremony.  ...

So the 134th day of 2022 is also Alumni Day at Penn and so, of course it rained.  Yes, the two for 2022 for 5/14/2022 is Alumni Weekend and rain.  And, with work, I just could not get over there.  I heard campus was packed and it should have been, first Alumni Weekend on campus since 2019.  THREE years of reunion classes.  One was the Class of 1990's "30th", two years later, but, again, I did not make it.  A little exhausted from work, I could not see all those people all at once.  Tomorrow will be a different day, with Church and then College Commencement and we need to watch the weather for the Sunday and Monday ceremonies.... but for tonight, I am glad to not have been rained on.  Even if I did miss seeing some friends.  Maybe next year.

 

  One thing I always say about Collingswood High School is that it is a AAA School!  Academics, Athletics, and the Arts and, as one of the presenters stated in tonight's Awards Ceremony, being a small(ish) school, students can elect to "do it all."  I am very happy, on the 132nd of 2022, that both of my daughters elected to do all three As at CHS!  On 5/12/2022, we celebrate the two for 2022 of CHS and the Arts.  There were some rumbles, during Budget Time, that the Admin and BOE were considering reducing their commitment to the Arts but, in the end, all of the wonderful programs were continued and, after hearing about the student successes this evening, I cannot see how anyone would not throw their full support behind them.  I know, even with no kids in the School, I will do all that I can to ensure these programs survive and thrive!

  The 131st day of 2022 found me in a familiar place, the CHS Softball Field.  But 5/11/2022 was noteworthy because it is our last Senior Day for our last sport in our HS Sports Fan parenting experience.  It feels like I have been watching my girls play softball for YEARS.  With the Mustangs, I even had the pleasure of coaching them.  I would not trade those moments for anything.  And my Two For 2022 for tonight are Anna and Noelle.  Because, for as long as I have been following my girls to softball games, Noelle has been behind the dish as the catcher.  Anna and Noelle.  Best Friends, Teammates, Soul Sisters.  A truer friend you will never find, for either of them.  And I know I will be getting emotional over the next 4-6 weeks as all of the ceremonies and dinners and programs that we lost out on in 2020 are going to occur in 2022.  And, at all of these events, will be Anna and Noelle.  CHS '22.  Colls Softball '22 C...

 

 

  While I focused on my mom and me on the 26th day of 2022, on the 128th day of 2022, I am going to focus, for my two for 2022, on Mothers and Me.  Because, 5/8/2022 is mothers day and I have a LOT of mothers in my life that are really significant.  I mean, of course, it all started with Mom who gave birth to me and, along with my Dad, mothered me through the first two decades of my life (and, frankly, continue to take care of me into my 50s!) and then there is Sarah whose motherhood made me a father, the best "job" I have ever had.  And there are so many strong mothers in my family, my Sister, Abigail, my Mother-in-Law, Winnie, and my Sisters-in-Law Jackie and Cheri.  And then there are the mothers of Oaklyn, a community so strong that, in my opinion, I think they could get anything done.  Anything!  And the mothers of Old First, my church, who not only were amazing moms to their own children, but they were also so supportive of all of the families of...

  There have been a lot of things postponed because of Covid-19.  This post is the first nightly reflection in over a week, but I cannot blame the pandemic for my delays.  5/7/2022 started off amazingly at the Bridal Shower of my niece, Ashley.  While I was not invited to the shower, but I was asked to bartend, and it was fun.  But, later on the 127th day of 2022, we attended the wedding of Zach and Nicole.  It inspired my Two for 2022: Two Year Wait.  Originally planned for 5/2/2020, held in a much smaller form 52 weeks later on 5/1/2021, finally, 53 weeks later than the original delay, Zach and Nicole finally had their wedding reception.  I am so happy for them and it made me think of so many other things that are finally happening again after two years.  Commencement for the Class of 2020 is happening in two weeks, after another two year delay!  Work has been rough (the REAL reason for my lack of posting), and Snack Stand has kept me ...