May 2019

April is the cruelest month, according to T.S. Elliot. I would add that May is much kinder if we are talking about the weather. The cold spells now seem to be over, everything is very green and inviting, and so we've spent a lot more time outdoors this month.

Home Improvements and Additions (Rob)

There is no end to the list of home improvements we can make now that we are mostly settled and unpacked. As noted, last month we had our heating system repaired, and this month we had a slow drain in our bathroom repaired. Our front yard has a giant sycamore tree that has been dropping whirlybirds like crazy lately, and our backyard has really come to life, although mostly with wild vegetation. I have lots of ideas for landscaping projects that I probably won't pursue this summer. But I did decide to mount a birdhouse onto an old post that was left in the backyard, and a bird (possibly a house sparrow?) has made quick use of it. We also got a picnic table for the backyard, and I managed to sand it and stain it on a rare weekend when there were a few consecutive days without rain. In the basement I added a dehumidifier to keep things dry and hopefully mold-free. I picked up a couple window air conditioning units for the bedrooms, but haven't installed them yet. I've been wanting one of those bike trailers for kids that you can tow behind your bike, and I found one at a garage sale in our neighborhood for $20. Alex enjoys being pulled around, but it's a lot of work to drag up the hills in our neighborhood.

Outings (Rob)

We've been eager to take advantage of all the greenery and nice temperatures with several outings this month. Our church had a Father and Sons outing at a nearby park, and I was tempted to take Alex on his first camp out, but we just settled for an evening outing instead. He always loves running around untethered in the outdoors, and I enjoyed getting to know some people in our new ward. Another weekend I took Alex with me southward to a state park across the border in Pennsylvania called Salt Springs. We hiked a couple miles of trails in the forest and near a waterfall. Sometimes I carried Alex in the backpack, and sometimes I followed him along the trail - particularly in one part of the trail that was nicely paved with boards (There is some video of that below). I brought Becky along on a return trip there over Memorial Day weekend, and we came prepared to get our feet wet and explored more of the river and little waterfalls. It's a nice park that I'm sure we'll return to.

The Big 4-0 (Rob)

Another outing we went on this month was related to my birthday. I took the day off work and we drove south to Scranton to visit the Steamtown railroad museum and tour some sites from The Office. The museum was an impressive peak into 19th-century railroad life at a place that was one a major railroad hub. We also toured Coopers seafood restaurant, which was featured on Season 5 Episode 3 of The Office, where I got a free shrimp lunch because it was my birthday. Then we toured the Steamtown Mall, which was featured on Season 3 Episode 21 of The Office and otherwise nothing really to write home about. Being over the hill hasn't hit me with a wave of depression yet, but It's hard for me to believe or accept that I was in Guatemala on a mission half of my lifetime ago, and in the same amount of time I will be 60. Time is relative I guess.

Other News and Tidbits (Rob)

A group of guys plays basketball at our church on Thursday nights. I've started to join them for the exercise. I haven't played for a long time, so I had to go out and buy some shoes. Becky and I gave our first talks in our new ward. Becky has been busy figuring out how to get services for Alex funded through the state or through insurance. It requires a lot of coordination with pediatricians, case workers and a long list of others, and really is like a part-time job. She was successful in getting our pediatrician to convince our insurance company to cover expenses for his therapy. Our plan is to get Alex enrolled in a full time ABA therapy program in a town a couple hours away from here this fall. This will require them to be living out there 5 days a week, so stay tuned for news on that. Becky also got her license from the state of New York to practice speech pathology, and plans to begin working part time soon. This literally took months because of all the bureaucracy she encountered.

For more videos and pictures of our outings and adventures during the month of May, see here.