Entry 13-the '90s at 9 Pinewood Lane

Your Grandmother and me at Uncle Ed's house.

The '90s was a busy decade for us. Jem and Jules arrived, we finished the second floor of our home, I was working two jobs, Zach finished high school and began college, my folks had their 50th anniversary, my Dad passed away in '97, your cousins Rebecca, and Jared were born, all of you were playing sports, Binky, David, and Andrew moved back to MA., meeting the Primaks, traveling to Alaska with Zach, and the list goes on and on. I remember it as hectic, but thanks to your Mother, organized chaos. I'd pull an overnight crisis shift and then half stagger over to the soccer or ball field. Even though I was working two jobs I found time to coach on some of Zach and Jeremy's teams. I even was the team treasurer for the four yrs. Zach ran cross country. Your Mom and I had a team approach, "..you take Julia to dance and I'll go to Jeremy's game.." Its a good thing I knew how to juggle. A skill I sorely miss, I know an off hand comment..ouch. A big transition for us was when Zach went away to college. It took us months to accept that we wouldn't hear him grazing in the kitchen late at night. There was such a felt absence in his being away at school. For Jeremy and Julia it was a decade that would begin in diapers and end in elementary school. I did a lot of hiking and skiing with my buddies Keith, Joe, and Lynia. We'd routinely drive five to six hours round trip for a day of skiing. My skiing style was decidedly herky-jerky. You would not have mistaken me for a gazelle on skis BUT I loved the sense of freedom gliding down a slope. There were superb moments when the snow would be crisp, trail wide open, and quiet except for the sizzle of my ski edges. Zachary and Jon may remember a Blue trail in Telluride, Colorado that afforded 7 open miles of down that was simply beautiful. I served a 2 yr term on my Union's executive board which was actually fairly interesting. I ran the Boston Marathon, for the second time, in '91 finishing in under four hours. I stayed in reasonably good shape through the decade by regular running, weight lifting, and biking. I realize I jumped over my Dad's death in '97, a bit of an avoidance response There is a saying that a son does not become a man till his father dies. I guess its the realization that a powerful presence in your life is no longer available to you. My Dad had been diagnosed with A.L.S., Lou Gehrig's Disease, around '96. At the time of his death he had lost most coordination in his hands and was having difficulty walking. His mind was still sharp. Your Mom, Wayne, and I visited him a few times in Florida while my sister Barbara, who lived in the area helped out. As you can imagine it was very sad. My Mother was a magnificent caregiver to him through the ordeal. At my Dad's funeral Barbara begged me, "..Mark I can't stand the sadness..say something funny.." Soooo being the good brother I am I went up to your Uncle Wayne, hugged him, and said, "Its really nice of you to come today considering the folks never liked you." He really thought it was funny at the time but now spins it that I was callous. Do you kids know the definition of a schmuck?:-) Oh by the way your Mom said I probably shouldn't write that about Wayne but let her write her own blog:-) I was excited when Zach decided to go to U.Mass.-Amherst, my Alma mater. It was always nostalgic for me when we visited him. I remember the '90s as a time of beginnings, growth, and appreciation. As a family we entered 2000 with optimism, curiosity, and health. No Y2K fears for us. Oh in 2000 we only had one cell phone and computer at home. Zach had a cell phone for emergencies though at school. What a difference a decade would make for us. O.K. Suz wants to sit on the coach and watch some t.v. with me kids. Love you all, Zach hug your wife for us, Jem spend some quality time with a text book, and Jules tell Tom its time for him to go home, Your Dad