Kerry's Recital

Kerry's Senior Recital! How is it possible that so much time has gone by? I remember the first time we went to Gainesville to meet the UF clarinet professor, Mitchell Estrin. Kerry was a junior in high school and had been playing clarinet since 7th grade. She had become a complete band geek from the first moment that she entered the musical world. She knew who Professor Estrin was and she also knew she wanted to study under him.

It turned out that Mitchell Estrin was THE person in the clarinet world. He played in the New York Philharmonic under Leonard Berstein as a very young player. He was a child phenom, really. He was taught by another very famous clarinet player named Stanley Drucker. He got married and had a son that he didn't want brought up in New York City so he accepted a professorship at the University of Florida. Kerry got very lucky to study under such a talented clarinet player and all around wonderful and caring man. It made me feel better to know that Professor Estrin was there with Kerry just in case she ran into trouble and needed a parental figure. It made her feel better too.

Now, five years after that meeting it was time for Kerry's college senior clarinet recital. I was so proud of her I almost busted out of my seat. The recital hall was pretty full and Kerry came out in the BCBGMaxazria teal colored dress that we had bought a long time ago just for this occasion. She had straightened her hair and she just looked gorgeous.

She played beautifully for an hour with only a couple of breaks. Speaking of breaks, I had my camera out to take pictures of the occasion and it jammed(piece of crap). I only got a few pictures taken on my camera. I am waiting for Kerry to email me the pictures that I took on her camera. I will post them as soon as I get them.

The only picture of the recital that I got on my camera

When it was all over Pat and I took Kerry and Zac to a restaurant that had fabulous vegetarian food . I ate way too much rich and gooey food. Richard would be horrified. (See more about this on F*ing Agreement blog) I know I was. The four of us laughed during dinner and then went back to our room and took pictures with Kerry's camera. It was a very proud and happy moment but also a bittersweet moment too. Kerry's clarinet career is now over and it just seems like life is happening a little to fast for my liking. First soccer, now clarinet. Gone with the time.

Pat and I woke up early and took Kerry out for breakfast of eggs and hash browns, her favorite. When breakfast was over we said our goodbyes and then we hit the road. We got back home at about 6:00 whipped but happy to be home. Rigby was glad to see us too. He ran around like a maniac. I guess he missed us.

Now it really is back to my old life......or maybe something new. Hmmmmm....

The Last Hurrah

OK. Here we go again. Today is the last day that I get to spend with the kid before she goes skippingly back to UF. This time she is thrilled to be going back because her boyfriend Zac will be there waiting for her. I, on the other hand, will be standing in the driveway crying when she leaves. It's always hard for me when she goes back after a long visit like this winter break has been. She's my bud. My other half. I miss the crap out of her when she is gone.

Kerry sitting on the gator on the UF campus

Today I will wake her up and we will go back to the Town Center Mall in Boca Raton. We will shop the sale racks at Bloomindale's, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Apple, Coach, Henri Bendel, Dana Buchman and Sephora among other stores. I'm actually hoping that these stores are totally shopped out because Kerry doesn't need any more clothes but I just can't say no once we are in the dressing room. It's kind of like I am with food. I just can't say no to either one. Kerry or Food. Hmmm.....

We will walk for hours and when we get hungry we will go to Salad Creations and get what we refer to as "a big salad". I usually get a "chopped veggie" salad with no croûtons and just a little cheese. My dressing of choice will be, gasp, full fat ranch dressing. Yep, full fat. A friend of mine taught me that a little full fat is better than lots of crappy tasting fat free. I plan on keeping The F*ing Agreement in mind while in the mall. No Ben and Jerry's. No gourmet pastries.

We will shop and shop and talk and laugh. Later on in the afternoon we will stop off at the Nordstrom's coffee shop where I will have a small regular coffee with skim milk and Splenda and Kerry will have an iced latte with lots of raw sugar. We will sit there, drink coffee and people watch. We will laugh at some of the rich ladies with their little dogs in strollers and their cosmetic surgery. I'll complain about money and Kerry will tell me how I shouldn't worry because someday she will be a doctor. I'll tell her that I don't want to spend her money and only want to spend my own. We will laugh about that.

Kerry and I having coffee at Nordstrom

We will shop until Pat calls and tells us that he is finished playing golf and is ready to go to Tijuana Flats for dinner. With the F*ing Agreement in mind I will order a small Black Bean Powerlight Burrito which comes in at about 280 calories. Not too bad. The trouble comes with the chips and guacamole on the side. I can give most of the chips to the kid but will I? I'll report in on our new blog called F*ing Agreement or here if I'm not able to get into the blog to post. (Laura and I have been having some technical difficulties).

We will all come home, pile into bed and watch football until Pat and I fall asleep and Kerry goes into her room to call Zac.

Kerry and Zac

It will be a totally glorious time for me spent with my incredible, beautiful, smart, gorgeous daughter who I love so much.

Then I will wake up and it will be tomorrow and Kerry will be leaving. OK, now I absolutely not lose control when she leaves. Remember the agreement...

Meet The Parents

Kerry's new boyfriend came in from Ft Myers the other day. She had come to me and asked if it was OK if he came for a couple of days so that we could meet him. I was totally up for that as she seems head over heels over this new guy.

Kerry started talking about this grad student named Zac around her birthday. She said "Mom, I met this amazing guy named Zac and we have SO much in common". I, of course, wanted to know what all this "in common" was. Well, it turns out that his mom is Jewish, his dad is Irish, he is a vegetarian, is an animal activist and an environmentalist. To top the whole thing off he loves dogs and even has one up at UF. I said "it sounds like you are looking in the freaking mirror". She got a dreamy look on her face and said "yeah".

Kerry had sent me some pictures of them together partying up in Gainesville so I had somewhat of an idea of how he looked. When he walked in the door I was blown away. The pictures didn't do this kid justice. What a good looking guy. He looks like the Irish side of his family with red hair, blue eyes and fair skin with lots of freckles.

Kerry and Zac

It turns out that he is 25 years old and a PHD student studying cognitive psychology. Not a dummy! He seems sweet, kind and totally into my daughter. He also passed the Rigby test which is all important. The dog loved him.

We all went to El Mariachi for dinner which is a nice Mexican restaurant and had a great time. We had Margaritas which loosened things up a bit. We ate way too much and laughed and laughed. Even Pat was very impressed by this, I was going to say boy but I guess he's a man. It was a just a wonderful time. I think he liked us too.

The happy couple

Now it's Kerry's turn to meet the parents. She is leaving this afternoon to spend a few days in Ft Myers with Zac and his family. I am not worried about this one bit. Kerry does parents very well. They always love her. I'm happy to say that Kerry has inherited my people skills and she puts them to good use. I expect a very upbeat report when she gets back.

I am thrilled to death by this latest development in my daughter's life. She seems so happy and I love the fact that Zac is up at UF with her. He takes care of her and she is the kind of person that sometimes needs that. (I'm thinking that is my fault for hovering over her her whole life.)

This time you won't hear a peep out of me. This is a good thing. Let's hope it lasts.