2013! A landmark year!
Finally it is here, the 50th year of my existence on this Earth. It has been a bitter sweet journey, albeit, I am glad I am here, thankful to all who crossed my path and will cross in the future. Mistakes made, lessons learned, amendments made. Brickbats and accolades. Ecstasy and Despair. Good, bad, ugly and downright ugliest..........I have seen it all, yes Sirs and madams.............. who will read this!. For all I know this will be read only by my most faithful followers, my 2 little boys and maybe a few friends with whom I share.
Little? hardly!! Jay is towering at 6' + and Vinny is almost 5'2" at the ages of 12 and 10 respectively. Soon Lata and I will be shorties in the family.
School is out. Boys are enjoying their summer break. Vinny won a boatload of awards at 4th grade conclusion ceremony it was heartwarming. He won the coveted Rotary award for the outstanding male student in Sarlet Oak School. His friend and classmate Alexa won the female equivalent. It was quite a big deal for him and the school. His Principal and Teachers showered all kinds of praises and were sad that we don't have any more children for them.He took part in Drama, Music, and pretty much everything the school offered. Now off to 5th grade it is.........Middle School.
Jay like Vinny got straight A's in all his subjects, made the honor roll. Broke his left hand twice paying football and just horsing around. that was frustrating. His team won 2nd place in SAK basketball. He got selected for the Volley ball team for the school year 2013-2014. These days both the boys are honing up on their swimming skills. It is really hard to find clothes for Jay, I have to order them from the internet (waist 30 and inseam 36). Good thing we are headed to India for a short vacation, probably will get a few pairs custom made. I have been using my "seamstress" skills to convert some of long pants into shorts.
It was an honor and a pleasure handing out the Diplomas to the 8th grade students who moved up and moved on to high schools. We (3 of us who ran for the position) won the School Board election"unopposed" ( surprised that I got 25% of the votes considering not many people know me in the village which has a population of 15000 people). I recently recieved a letter addressed as "Honorable Mr. Pillai" and I almost doubled over laughing! Being on the Board of Education is rewarding, at the same time nerve-wracking. Our State is not doing so well and financial health is on the down slide. Hope we have enough to see these kids through for years to come. We are glad that we are able to contribute and serve this community which nurtures and help us raise our children.
Our neighbors son CJ recently graduated and moved on the high school, along with his parents it was an emotional moment for us as we saw him grow from a baby to a dignified young man in front of our eyes. He is an excellent Lacrosse player and making a name for himself. he has his eyes set on a reputed college and we pray from the bottom of our hearts that he makes it to where he wants, and where he belongs.
We added a room to the back of our house which us almost complete. that will give us the much needed space. The rains has been unusual this year and a 4 week prject has turned into an 8 week project. Can't wait for it to be over. Allergies are killing me.
Off to Italy and India in 3 weeks....woohoo...I haven't had a vacation in 3 years! Boys and Lata are looking forward to his trip. Meeting all my siblings together of the first time in so many years with their own little families.
You may wonder why do I have a picture of a scooter ( It is a Lambretta scooter from the early 70's, my first motorized vehicle, tecnically it was my father's, but he would let me use it once in a while. ). I guess life is almost coming a full circle, I am leaning more and more towards what I grew up with and a Lambretta ( not the one in the picture) brings back pleasant memories.I even remember the registration # - MPD8903.
Life is Good :-)
posted by Rajeev Pillai @ 12:58 PM
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