Subject: Weekend Update: August 26-28 Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 16:19:57 -0400 From: Mark Metcalfe To: "metcalfe@cadence.com" Labor Day isn't here yet and Joy and I have already begun to think about getting the Manor ready for winter. Most of you have heard that energy prices will likely soar this winter and with Mandy and Jessica off to college, we've talked about shutting off several rooms in the house until guests come calling. Fortunately, summer, such as it has been, is still in the air and we have a few more cookouts to enjoy with friends. All last week, Miranda and Jessica prepared for the great adventure of going back to Eastern Nazarene College (ENC). Mandy finagled transport of a couch to the college Friday night. I was so busy and occupied with career decisions that before I knew it, Friday was upon me and most of their stuff was stacked in the barn ready to be loaded and Quincy-bound. There came a point where we paused from helping Jessica for that moment of realization: life was about to change again. I told her how proud I was of the woman she is. We farmed out Andrew and Emily to locals, arranging for them to sleep with the Dees and go to church with the Andrews. On Saturday, Joy and I, with the help of Rich Gonzalez and his nephew Chris, transported a truck-and-a-half-load of belongings and two young women on a sentimental journey Saturday afternoon, talking about two little girls we once knew. Miranda was born early in our marriage but by the time Jessica appreared on the scene, several of our friends were also beginning their families. This meant that we reunited with old school friends who were bringing their firstborns to college. Chuck and Judy (Flinner) Hodsdon now have their strapping, mountain-of-a-man boy Charlie (the Magic Deer, a very esoteric reference) roaming the campus. And Martin "Spider" and Debbie (Wilson) Paulsen placed their boy wonder on deposit. his name to us is Jamie (but he now prefers James, but long ago when Joy babysat the boy he was Jamie). We met Jessica's roommate, Brooke from California, and her parents, Paul and Charlene. Charlene teaches at Point Loma Nazarene College and has Jessica Crittendon in some of her classes. (Lowell people understand this reference.) Small world, huh? Joy helped the Freshman to set up her room and left the Senior to fend for herself. I set up Jess's computer. Joy accompanied Jess to orientation. Mandy reacquainted with friends. We met our Wollaston friends who found it hard to believe that we now had two in college. All in all, the emotional contexts were happy ones because we felt that Jessica was coming into ENC with a lot of familiar support. Still, when it came time to leave, we passed out the hugs and kisses, sighed very deeply and walked away. It feels like she's off at camp or something. We turned the car southward to Steve's house where he had held a cookout with John and his family and Mom and Dad. I was glad for the leftovers because I was famished from the day's activities and pigged out on steak and chicken. From there, we went to my parents' home on Cape Cod to spend the night and following day, which was their 46th Wedding anniversary. We went to church with Mom and Dad twice that morning (Methodist and Nazarene) then took them out for a nice lunch to celebrate. Our attentions have turned toward clearing and cleaning up the house in the wake of the exodus to college. We're moving furniture around, turning Jessica's room into more of a real guest room than bedroom-turned-guestroom. Oh, it will still be hers when the girls come home, but life took a new turn over the weekend and the house will soon reflect that. Emily starts high school (9th) and Andrew starts 7th grade today. The procession of the generations continues. Mark Subject: Weekend Update: I forgot to mention! Date: Tue, 29 Aug 2000 16:33:29 -0400 I forgot to mention that when we finally came home Sunday evening, I noticed immediately that our Manor sign was gone! My uncle Ken made that one-of-a-kind sign for us and we painted it with house colors and it stood there for three years! I was heartsick to lose it. I searched the block with a flashlight but gave up and called the Pepperell Police to report it stolen. I wondered if some other Metcalfe in town also had children going to college and they thought it might be nice bolted to their dorm room door, but the phone book showed that we're the only ones in the area with Metcalfe spelled correctly. Fortunately, the following day, a neighbor down the street found the sign tossed in her bushes and she returned it to us. (I wonder how she knew which house it belonged to?) I hope to touch it up and polyeurethane it for several more years of ambiance. I'll be sure to clamp the S hooks closed this time. Mark