Life is what you make it.

swallowtail sideview Originally uploaded by DaveSchur . OK...I am a bit obsessed with these things, but it is cool that they actually show up, and visit my garden. Pretty neat pictures too in my opinion. You can see the others here

Grandparenting is a team effort. When I think about how lucky we are to have four wonderful grandchildren, I have to remind myself that it starts with four wonderful children. Reproductively, obviously, but I mean philosophically. There are so many so called families today who do not have the mutual trust and confidence that creates the environment for the special relationship Cindy talks about. I think her observations are very astute and accurate about the license for grandparents to be children again. But there is the license one needs, as a grandparent, to behave like a child. The parents have to grant this license. All of my children, natural or in-laws, are better than I was at this and certainly better than anyone else I have observed. I believe this stems from the stability of their relationships which like anything worthwhile are worked on regularly. The creation of high trust high affection environment by my children creates fertile ground for the grandchild relationships. A...

When driving my car I noticed that there is this calm moment in the engine between gears, whether you are shifting up or down. This last week we have gone at a wonderfully slow pace. I like driving fast, but slow has been pretty good this last week. I am delighted to hear that Granny and Poppy are still holding up and obviously have met the challenges of sitting in small compartments and being whipped around at G-Force speed for the sole purpose of putting a smile on their grandchildren faces. It must be what's it's all about. I cannot say I had the privilege of such adventurous moments with my grandparents, however I do remember some truly great moments. I remember chasing oranges floating around Seapoint. Swimming in giant pools with Granny Schur. Eating cottage cheese with Aunt Maureen and talking to the birds. Drinking tea in small cups at the big table with Granny Breakey. Asking Poppy Schur what 'kinds' of nosh he had in his cupboard. These are the moments that so...

On Sunday the boys broke the world time record for rollerblading in the 95 degree heat at the Greenwich skatepark. While Tim is clearly very good at it, Justin was the star, moving from being very tentative to climbing and leaping off all ramps. Interestingly, not only was Tim a good coach, but people noticed and commented on his coaching style. This resulted in Justin typically falling once, sometimes with tears, and then getting back on the horse and successfully negotiating the culprit ramp. Justin started out being embarrassed by falling until he realized not only was everyone doing it, but he and Tim saw a coach teaching skateboarders how to fall before each lesson to make sure they would not hurt themselves. Tim ended up teaching Justin falling on the half pipe and the rest as they say, is history. They did learn however, why they need knee and elbow pads that Tim resisted and resented at first. I took Tuesday off and we went to Rye Playland. Two years ago the boys were split. I ...