Happy Father’s Day to all fathers out there! I hope you all have a peaceful and relaxing day. Ours started extremely early, as Jim wanted to get to his favorite breakfast restaurant before the crowd. We beat the crowd by a good 45 minutes. The food was great, as usual, but now I definitely need a nap to prepare for the week ahead. With a storm front quickly moving in, the weather will be perfect for one. Hopefully it clears up in time to grill for dinner tonight. With luck, you all are experiencing better weather today than we are.
On the family front, the big news this week is that Jim and I are now a great-uncle and great-aunt. Jim’s nephew became a first-time father on Friday morning at age 17. I wish I could be more cheerful about this, as the baby is one of the prettiest I’ve seen in a long time, but the mother just turned 15. I can only focus on the tragedy of the situation right now and fervently hope that both our nephew and his baby’s mother decide to do the right thing and put the baby up for adoption. We’ll see what happens.
On a happier note, Jim and I celebrated our fourteenth wedding anniversary on Monday. Because it did fall on a Monday, we weren’t able to do much – a nice dinner on Sunday evening and then a quick lunch together on Monday. I received a beautiful bouquet of roses as well. We kept it very low-key this year as we have had plans for years to celebrate our fifteenth with a two-week trip to Ireland. We’ve already started planning it and cannot wait to finally see the Irish countryside.
Connor attended his first cross-country practice last week. It seems pretty silly to me that they have practice all summer long (hasn’t the coach heard of summer vacation?), but he got a kick out of it. He has been running the dog daily as well. The boy is more than ready for the season, I think, and will be in excellent condition by the time August rolls around.
On the blog this week was nothing but reviews. This is what happens when one finishes a book on average every day and a half. Here are the reviews in case you missed them the first time around:
- Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
- Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern
- Vaclav & Lena by Haley Tanner
- Graveminder by Melissa Marr
- Between Here and Forever by Elizabeth Scott
- Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson
- The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde (audiobook)
- Towards Zero by Agatha Christie (audiobook)
- The Soldier’s Wife by Margaret Leroy
It just proves that it only takes one time. The new grandparents are meeting to discuss among the four of them what actions need to be taken, whatever the decision, to ensure the best life for the baby. Granted, it is the mother's decision, but hopefully the grandparents can discuss without their 15yo's emotions getting into the way. It's just a dreadful situation, but as long as everyone keeps the baby's best interest in mind, I trust it will work out in the end.
Oh no! that is worse. I am so sorry to hear that.
Thanks, Kim! It is heartbreaking. Every day adds a bit more drama, and we can only hope that level heads prevail. Right now, all we see is that the parents' friends congratulating them and telling them how awesome it is that they had a baby. As my brother-in-law said, everyone thinks that the baby is just a toy. It is so sad.
I am just in the middle of a book that has a 15-year-old mother and 17-year-old father in it. As I read, I thought how unbelievably sad that was for both of them. I agree with what Amy said — I hope things work out for the best, whatever that means.
Thanks, Jenny!
I think it would be even better if they had been dating but since it was just a one-night stand between a 17 and 14-year-old, it makes it all the worse.
Thanks! June is the month for weddings, isn't it?
MAIN STREET is delightful but it definitely did not do well among my book club members. They just did not get it or did not want to get it. I did enjoy it!
Thanks, Amy! It's been a great reading year so far. I'm not certain just how long it will last, but I'm going to make sure I take full advantage of it!
Lisa, I feel the same way as you do. Our hearts are just bleeding for them and the lost potential. We are fervently praying that they do the right thing. Teenage parents are not facing an easy road, no matter how much support they have.
LOL! Some weeks, I can do nothing but laugh at the wild swing in books I read. I can definitely say that I am not tied down to any one genre!
Thanks, Bellezza! The years absolutely fly, do they not?
I'm glad I had a chance to re-read MAIN STREET recently. It is lovely and poignant and even though it is not necessarily the most up-to-date, it still has relevance.
You are quite the prolific reader! Impressive.____I understand your thoughts on your nephew and his girl. I don't know what young people are thinking nowadays. I hope whatever happens all parties are happy and at peace. Have a wonderful week 🙂
I read Main Street years ago and remember enjoying it so was interested in reading your review. I think you're probably right about the satire Lewis intended being lost on our contemporary minds. Happy 14th wedding anniversary. My wife and I will be celebrating our 14th in November…odd how you talked about celebrating your wedding anniversary and I just read about another Sunday Saloner celebrating hers (18th): http://bettyboochronicles.blogspot.com/2011/06/su…
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Glad to hear your father's day was a good one and that you've been reading so much – very fantastic! Also, sad about your nephew and hopefully it works out for the best, whatever that means for them.
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Oh goodness, a 15yo mother. Why is it so hard to get young people to do what's necessary to avoid finding themselves in this position or putting themselves in this position. It's hard enough to be an adult team of parents.
I always think of myself as something of an eclectic reader and then I read your reviews and think that I am merely a amateur eclectic!
Happy anniversary, albeit a bit late! My husband and I have our tenth coming in July, and we can hardly believe how fast that came up!
I loved Main Street by Sinclair Lewis. You don't often see, or hear of, people reading it, but I thought it was so lovely.
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Thanks, Christina! Happy anniversary to you too! We've been talking about a huge trip forever and settled on 15 years as an optimal anniversary – the kids would be old enough to be left alone that long with relatives and young enough that we wouldn't miss much in the way of activities and such. We shall see!
Happy Anniversary! (It was my 12th today, but we celebrated yesterday.) I would LOVE to go to Ireland, lucky duck!
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