May in Review

It's hard for me to believe that it's already June. May went by so quickly; it was a month full of moving, celebrations, traveling and unpacking. All the activities kept me away from the blog, but I hope one detailed post about May will make up for my absence...

Last month started off with packing up and moving into the new digs. Rick and I love our new place and our new neighborhood, but we definitely don't like unpacking and getting settled in. Part of the problem has been that I still have a bunch of my junk at my old apartment. Sally is staying there and her friend is moving in at the end of the summer, so there was no immediate rush to get my stuff out. When I first realized that I'd be able to move my things into the new apartment gradually, I was relieved. I thought it would be much easier to move things out little by little instead of a mad rush to move in one day.

I was wrong.

I've now learned that I have absolutely no motivation to move if I don't have an immediate deadline. Here we are, more than a month after getting the keys to the apartment and my closet in Brookline is still loaded with my stuff. If I'm ever in this situation again, I will give myself a made-up deadline to ensure that I move out of my old place in a timely fashion. Luckily, we will be having our first official overnight guests this weekend (YAY!), so that is inspiring me to drag myself back to Brookline and get everything else out of there.

The beginning of May also marked Rick's graduation from UConn's Business School. It was a nice weekend of festivities for the students and their family and friends. There were so many great people in the program that Rick (and myself) got to know and a number of students from countries all over the world. It was a bittersweet weekend since so many of Rick's friends are now scattered across the globe, but at least technology makes it easier to stay in touch!

We also made a quick trip to Melbourne, Florida in May. Rick will be going there frequently for work and I tagged along with him for a few days. It was lovely to sit on the beach and relax, although it was very hot and humid. I stayed under an umbrella and went through a lot of sunscreen, which is no surprise to anyone that has ever been outdoors with me. The only odd thing about our visit was that it happened to coincide with the annual infestation of lightning bugs--know in the South as "love bugs." They hatch, live for only a few days, die and end up absolutely everywhere! It was gross, but short-lived. We did feel a little bit like we were trapped in a Biblical plague...

The month winded down with the lovely wedding of one of my oldest friends. I've known Ned since we were nine, but we joke that we didn't become friends for about 10 years after that! Ned and Kristin were married at the Cape's Greek Orthodox Church and then we all celebrated at Ned's parents' house. The Greek ceremony was very interesting and the wedding program included explanations of the symbolic meaning of the Mass, which was great. In the photo above, the bride and groom wear crowns to symbolize that they are now "king and queen" of their new home and family. It was a wonderful night of Greek dancing, toasts, cigars, laughter, food, drinks and great conversation. We loved it! Congratulations to Ned and Kristin!

Finally, I hope everyone spent at least a little time this Memorial Day Weekend thinking about the sacrifices made for our country. If you ever have the chance, I would highly recommend visiting Arlington National Cemetery in DC. It is a moving tribute to our lost soldiers and a profound reminder of how many lives have been lost in honor of our country. I have visited Arlington four times and I would absolutely go again...