Best Years of My Life

With Edith turning 10 a couple of months ago, I've been thinking a lot about the last decade. Ten years ago this summer, we moved back to Ohio after six years in New York. And think about how much has happened since then -- a wonderful house, another kid, neighbors that have become some of my best friends, a satisfying freelance career.

And still I think about those six years in New York as the "best years of my life" -- firmly in quotes. That is, they were the most exciting and most carefree years I've experienced. We lived in one of the biggest, most vibrant cities in the world. Paul and I traveled to Asia, South America and throughout Europe. We had next to no true responsibilities.

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows there -- it was hard living so far away from family -- but I was certainly happy while I was there. I think I could have lived there the rest of my life.

And yet. And yet I think I'm even happier now than I was back then. Our little family is twice the size, and I love the proximity of our extended families. I have more, closer friends. Our old Brooklyn neighborhood will always have a fond place in my heart, but our Columbus neighborhood is much more of a home.

So the best years of my life? Maybe they are now. But honestly, I hope they haven't happened yet.

January Snow

After a 60-degree day last week, we got enough snow yesterday for the kids on our street to make the biggest of snowballs. When we pulled out of our driveway around 8:30 Sunday morning, the flakes were just beginning to fall. Less than three hours later, it looked like this:

The kids were hoping for a snow day, but I doubt it was ever really a consideration. Half our driveway was clear by bedtime without us ever having picked up a shovel. Temperatures were hovering around the freezing point, but by Monday the roads were fine. We even walked home from school yesterday (although we wimped out in the morning!).

Here’s hoping it’s the worst we’ll get for the rest of winter. 

Visiting Legoland Columbus

One of the kids’ Christmas presents was a trip to the Legoland Discovery Center in Columbus, about 20 minutes from our house. It’s been open for a few years but we had never been.

The center includes two small rides, a number of 4-D movies, a play area, a large lego display depicting buildings around town and, of course, lots of legos to play with! We spent about four hours there in total, much longer than I had originally anticipated.

They enjoyed it, but the highlight was probably the visit to the Lego store at the end. (Their gift included a small stipend to use.) My, how Lego options have changed! We skipped over the sets that cost hundreds and opted for a few $10 ones!

Foxes at the Ohio Wildlife Center

 

Edith has been obsessed with foxes now for over a year. She knows a good number of fox facts, and a significant portion of her Christmas presents featured foxes. But she had never seen a real live fox.

That changed this weekend, when she visited the Ohio Wildlife Center with Paul and his family. I stayed home, since looking at wild animals in cold January weather doesn't quite appeal to me as much as it does to Edith. But I heard all about it when they returned home.

The wildlife center had three foxes, and she even remembered their names. The kids also saw a variety of other rehabilitating animals, like eagles, squirrels and raccoons. And because my sister-in-law volunteers there, they got to see some behind-the-scenes stuff, too.

Atticus enjoyed the visit as well, but Edith is the one who is eager to return and show me everything she saw. The center has open hours for the public once a month, so I wouldn't be surprised if a trip is in my future.

Edith’s First Trophy

Edith was nervous and excited for her first archery tournament, held in December — no surprise there. What was a surprise is that she came home with a third place trophy!

The competition was actually two days, with two sets of trophies. Her award came on day 2, when she was the youngest participant.

She has been taking archery classes through the Columbus recreation department for more than a year, and the tournament included students from all of its programs. That mostly included teens and adults.

She was thrilled with the results, and she is looking forward to starting a new session of classes later this month!