Happy Birthday Caz

 Happy 23rd Caz! Wish you were home to celebrate.  I am sure being in Italy is a good alternative.  Enjoy your day.  Get a special cannoli.  Love you.

First Whip

 Caz's first car arrived today. The car he bought on his own. It was quite the lead up.  He started while in Nashville celebrating New Years with E.  He used Carvana which is such a Gen Z thing.  Of course he kept getting stumped in the process and needed both help and information from Dad.  Now.  Needed help now.  Funny how the communication and the attention increase when a child's interests are in play.  That is an age old phenomenon.  After the scramble to get the insurance square away, and a delay due to a snow storm, the car arrived today.  A Toyota GT 86.  I had no idea those existed until Caz picked it.  But there you go.  And now we have one happy camper.

Work Project

 Only a few months into Caz's first job and he marks a career milestone.  The first project he worked on just went up for auction.  It is a big moment for the young company for sure.  It is for sure a huge moment for Caz.  Christie's in NY is no joke.  That is big time. He even made brief appearances in videos posted on social media.  What a thrill for all of us.  He can finally talk about the project in the open.

We had a great time setting up family viewings of the auction.  A lot of the extended family were enthusiastic about watching.  We streamed it on the big TV in the living room.  It was lot #7, so we didn't have to wait long.  The bidding was very exciting.  The final sale was double what the expected sale price was.  Time to celebrate for sure.

Fall Break 2021

 Fall break was back to normal this year.  You know.  Normal, like 1 BC - Before COVID. I feel with classes back in the classroom and Coco taking the shuttle back and forth to campus, he needed a break.  It was very nice having the whole family together for a few days.  Just the casual interactions are amusing to me.  I like the time spent together.  We had binge watching sessions, college football, cornhole and of course, plenty of food.  We never starve when we are all together.

Isn't this what life is supposed to be?  Surrounded by your loved ones.  Making memories.  It doesn't have to be an epic trip.  You remember the feelings when you are all together.  I know I will

Game Day 2021

 It's Saturday in South Carolina!

First game back in a football stadium since the Iron Bowl.  I admit.  This seemed like a better idea in April when we were starting getting vaccinated and things seemed to be returning to normal.  I bought season tickets to the Gamecocks football games.  It was motivated by the Palmetto Bowl being held in COLA this year.  The week of Thanksgiving should be really fun.  The Gamecocks play Auburn at home (again - not sure how that schedule happened) the Saturday before Thanksgiving.  The Chins will be in Charleston for Turkey Day, which will probably be BBQ day.  Then the Saturday after Thanksgiving is the rivalry game for the Gamecocks!

This week though, it is the first home SEC game of the season for the Gamecocks.  The Kentucky Wildcats are in town.  It is a primetime match up on ESPN.  Demi cooked all day Friday to provide food for the tailgate and for The Boys.  Wings, chili, gyros, sandwiches and all the fixin's.  Caz and I drove up with it all.  We met Coco and The Boys at their apartment.  Then we loaded up 2 vehicles for the State Fairgrounds parking.  The Boys were very excited to have this old man at the tailgate.  Or at least that is what they said.  Kidding.  We really did have fun.  The game was very close and exciting as well.  It was a very good day for the Chin Boys.  

The Working Man

Caz completed his first week of work.  His first job out of college.  It wasn't the mechanical engineering role he pictured in his head.  But it could lead to that.  It allows him to apply a lot of what he was doing at Auburn.  And he really likes the company.

Hearing your child gush about work it really an experience.  I cannot even describe it.  It makes me happy that he is so passionate about the job.  This new start up company is giving him a lot of responsibility for not only a new employee, but a person fresh out of college.  It sounds like they are also giving him guidance and support.  That is heartening to hear as a parent.  

This is such a great start for the recent graduate.  It is fantastic that the job is here in Charleston.  Sure.  Technically, he is living at home.  But he is saving money.  He is not spending on rent or car at the moment.  This will let him get on his feet and get established.  What more can we ask for?

Labor Day Weekend 2021

 What a weekend for the Chins.  We were not all together.  But I am happy all the same.  Demi and I got to spend a great day at the beach with family and friends.  The day turned out far sunnier and warmer than predicted.  The kids behaved very well.  There was no drama.  As always, there was no shortage of food or drinks.

What really made me smile?  The boys were together.  Caz drove up to COLA on Friday night.  I gave Caz my tickets to the Gamecocks game.  Primetime kickoff meant the boys had Friday night and all day Sat together.  I remember visiting my brother at college after I graduated.  It helped us bond even more.  I hope it does the same for them.  

Caz Comes Home (MA) '21

 Caz flew in late tonight.  It is nice to have him in MA.  He hasn't been here since New Years.  We set up his room earlier this summer.  I can't wait to see his face when he looks at the room.  Hope he likes it.  I am looking forward to having him here for a bit and to spending time with him.

Friday the 13th - Boys Week Update

 We seem to have weathered the worst of the storm.  Coco and I both tested negative.  Demi tested negative in MA.  Caz is just bed sore from being restricted in his movement.  The farthest he has traveled is next to his room, to the bathroom.  He didn't really seem to mind but I am sure he was going stir crazy.

Finally, I had been able to grocery shop.  I stocked up the supplies as best I could.  i consulted Caz about what he might need after I left to return to MA.  

I got to spend a lot of quality time with Coco.  Some one on one time, is always appreciated.  Coco was good about it too.  He was willing and got into the spirit of Father/Son bonding time.  Yes, we spent quite a bit of it watching movies or general TV.  However, we had a lot of healthy dialogue too.  We reminisced over highlights and tributes centered on Bobby Bowden.  Coco is an avid student of history in general, but particularly sports history.  We discussed current events.  And we watched some quality entertainment.  I furthered his important (pop) cultural literacy by watching Midnight Run.  What a classic movie.  

We all made the best of the circumstances.  And we realized how lucky we are.  We are still more fortunate that a lot of people during these times.  It is not lost on any of us.

Boys Week in CHS - POSTPONED

 Today was supposed to be Day One of boys week in Charleston.  It was over before it began.  I was just logging into work, when Caz came down to the kitchen.  I thought he was up earlier than normal.  He said he didn't feel great and his ear hurt.  Being prone to ear infections, he decided, on his own, to go to Urgent Care to be checked out.

About an hour and a half after Caz left, he called.  He called from the parking lot.  He tested negative for strep. His ear didn't appear infected.  The other shoe dropped.  He tested positive for COVID.

That information took a moment to process in my brain.  That process felt longer, than it lasted.  Caz is smart.  He called from the parking lot on purpose.  We made a plan.  I clean and disinfected the house.  He came in wearing a mask.  He went to a dedicated bedroom.  I had created a dedicated bathroom for him.  I informed Coco what was going on.  We all hunkered down for the long haul of isolation and quarrantine.

War Eagle Graduation

 Happy Graduation Caz!  Most of what I have to write had been said, written in cards, written in letters and written in journals. This milestone is too momentous to let pass here.  I started this blog as something for you and your brother to read in years to come. It was inspired by you two.  Becoming a father is why I starting writing this.  It is what I had wanted.  It wasn't long after I graduated college, that I knew this is what I wanted.  I didn't want a career to speak of.  Work wasn't going to fulfill my heart.  This is what I knew in my heart of hearts, that I wanted.  And it's been more wonderful than I could have ever dreamed.  

I suspect it is different for you.  You knew what you wanted to go to college for.  You knew you wanted to be an engineer.  I feel like you know where your life is headed.  Work will guide your next path.  And that is great.  That's not to say you won't have a family or be a father.  But you feel about your chose field of study, a calling of sorts.  It will be fun for me to watch what comes.  It will be exciting to see what you do with this degree.  The Sam Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University.  That is impressive.  That should bring all kinds of exciting opportunities for you.  Seize them when the come.  Of course you have don't that since leaving high school, so I am not sure why I feel I need to tell you that.  

Demi and I are so proud of you.  I suspect Coco is too.  He might even tell you that himself.  :)

Happy 4th - 2021

 Independence day is certainly different this year.  Actually, it is different in many ways.  It is cold and rainy.  The temperature is the exact same as Christmas was (60 degrees).  COVID restrictions have mostly been retracted.  Folks have two years of 4th spirit to let loose.  

Here, at the beach house, we are not complete.  Caz is in Auburn.  It is for a good reason.  He is finishing his senior project, so he can graduate in August.  It is not the same without having the five of us (the boys always get excited if Gizmo is excluded from the total family headcount) together.  Coco got to spend some quality time with his high school friends.  They hadn't been together in a while.  I am glad they got a chance to see each other.  They are a great bunch of people.  

The tide was high again.  The private fireworks displays all had to launch from behind the beach wall.  It was fun to watch though.  Gizmo is a great dog.  She is not bothered by loud noises at all.  She walked with us, under the cover of night, to the beach wall.  She hung out on the beach wall, while we watched the shows.  No bonfires though.  The ocean would have washed them away before they could have been lit.  Maybe next year.

The Boys Are Back

 The boys are back home.  In their new home, here in SC.  This will be our first extended time as a family, in the good weather, here on Johns Island.  Caz drove from Auburn to USC.  Coco took over from USC to Johns Island.  They stayed ahead of the really bad weather.  Their little break for pulled pork sandwiches cost them though.  Coco took the brunt of it.  He had to drive in the torrential downpour.  At least the thunder and lightning held off.  

Demi and I are happy to have them here.  We miss them.  We had a lot of things we want to share with them in this area.  It will be fun to explore through their eyes.

Happy 22nd Caz

 Happy birthday oldest child.  Hope you have a better birthday experience than your 21st, early in COVID 19 quarantine.  Maybe you can actually go to a bar (outdoors) this year.  At any rate, enjoy it.  We love you.

Snowbirds Part 1

 Coco and Caz barely adjusted to downsizing and to moving out of the childhood home, when more home change came about.  Demi and relocated last fall to the Charleston, SC area, specifically James Island.  Two cars were loaded up.  We drove from MA and headed south.  We stopped for the night in NC.  The next day we headed off to Columbia, SC.  We toured around Coco's new off campus apartment complex.  Then we unloaded Coco's items into storage and sent Caz on his way to Auburn.

It was quite an adventure on the way.  The boys had decided to drive together.  Their idea, not ours.  Coco drew the short straw, driving the shift which took us over the GW.  Even during a pandemic, the GW is terrible to cross.  They helped each other though.  Caz kept us in sight, spotted for Coco, and provided direction.  Coco white knuckled it the whole time.  He was a sweaty mess when he got out.  Caz went next and shortly after getting on the Jersey turnpike, the skies opened up.  He had never driven in a deluge like this.  That is when I notice the turtle shell carrier on top had popped open in the front.  Of course.  Right when it poured rain.  We had to wait a while but finally found an exit to pull off.   Keep that in mind for day two.

Shortly after leaving South of the Border, Caz and I pulled out into the left lane on the highway.  Coco called because Demi was driving.  Caz picked up the phone since I was driving the other car.  Caz said we might have a problem with the roof rack, then immediately shouted we needed to pull over immediately.  I had to cut off a big rig to do it but managed.  There was no real emergency lane so I was off in the grass.  The roof rack was open but somehow nothing was lost.  We had enough room to cram in the items from the roof into the car.  I closed up the shell as best I could.  That went into the storage unit in Columbia until we were able to dump it.

After we split up in Columbia, Coco, Demi and I headed to James Island.

Downsizing

 So.  What has been going on during this blog blackout?  I am choosing to start with Downsizing.  But I will begin this narrative with how I grew up.  My parents wanted a bigger house when I was about 6 or 7.  The bought 31 and we moved around around the corner from Temple St.  Growing up in that house was fantastic.  While growing up, I experience my first brush with Downsizing.  

When my brother and I were in high school, our mother started talking to our grandparents about moving.  They lived in Wilmington, where they had settled down for a long time, after moving a lot during my grandfather's early years with his company.  They loved the house and town. They owned 4.5 acres with a 14 room house on it.  As they got older, my grandparents found it harder to maintain.  Honestly, I think my mother found it hard too.  She was their only child living in the same the state.  My mother never drives much.  Driving from Duxbury to Wilmington was left to my Dad.

I was not a part of the discussions between my grandparents and my mother.  I believe my grandparents looked favorably on downsizing.  But I do not rightly now.  Whatever transpired, they seems to handle the change well.  All of them seem to agree that their new home would be close to Duxbury.  My grandparents didn't want to live in Florida or New York, by my Aunt or Uncle.  My Dad was always doing things for them, along with my mother.  I feel my grandparents realized my folks were their best and constant support system.  After talks and visits to independent senior living complexes around the South Shore, my grandfather pulled off a huge surprise.  While all of us attended my brother's football game, my grandfather stayed behind.  When we got home, he announced that he had put an offer on the house next door, 41.  The rest, as they say, is history. 

41 became their home for a long time.  Eventually, it became home for Demi, the boys and me.  How about that?  My grandparents "smaller" home was our family home.  It was plenty big enough for all of us.  22 years in 41.  41 will always be "home" in the memories of Caz and Coco.  I experience the emotional attachments my grandparents possessed to both Wilmington and 41.  It shouldn't have surprised me that our family created similar bonds with 41.  If I am honest, and always try to be with you, I thought I would die while living in that house.  I always joked that I would be carted out of that house in a box.  Somewhere inside, a piece of me was not joking.  

We all had different reactions to leaving 41.  Caz likely took it most in stride.  He was comfortable at Auburn.  He loves it there.  I believe that helped him with the transition.  Demi was ready to start a new chapter.  She saw all the possibilities before us.  Coco was not pleased.  At all.  Of course, all this started before he even left for USC.  He hadn't made a connection there yet.  I think I was somewhere in between, although, again, if I am honest, I was closer to Coco's side of the see-saw.  Change is always hard.  But Change is inevitable.  Fighting change is pointless.  You can't win.  And it only makes it harder.  You can just go with it.  And it will be fine.  But if you embrace it, you can make it wonderful.

Last Class 2020

I can't believe today was the last class of 2020 for the boys.  Coco just finished the freshman year regular season.  Caz is wrapping up junior year.  I am about to have a rising sophomore and a rising senior.  In college!  How did that happen?!  Where did the time go?  It didn't end in a usual fashion.  It ended on Zoom.   Life goes on.  The world goes on.  College goes on.  Time stops for no one. 

Draft 2020

The first ever virtual NFL Draft!  It was certainly different.  The NFL had a captive audience.  This was the first live sporting event in months.  Something to get excited about.  Finally.  I joked about watching every single pick for the first time ever.
     Watching the first round was something I hoped would be a family event.  The boys had a vested interest with players from their colleges.  At least one from each was projected going in the first round.  I knew better to wait for the Patriots pick and for them to make it.  I was confident that Bill would trade out of the first round.  Sure enough, he did.  Coco was eager to watch.  Demi was a good sport.  She hung out with us, while Coco and I discussed and watched each pick.  Unfortunately Caz was not looking to engage.  According to Coco, Caz was playing a video game with friends.  Virtually, of course.  The virus hasn't changed that.  The kids have played online with friends for years. 
     Coco bowed out of night two.  So I watched rounds 2 and 3 on an iPad, silently.  Demi and I watched the new Chris Hemsworth movie on Netflix.  That was a win win. Thor for Demi to watch.  Action movie and draft for me to watch.

21 Post Script

The Skype birthday toast for Caz was every bit as chaotic as Long Island Christmas.  20-25 people all trying to talk at once.  Then factor in all the technology newbies.  "Can you hear me?"  "Can you see me?"  "I can't see [Fill in the Blank]!"  "Is [Fill in the Blank] on?"  It took 20 mins just to announce and to organize the signing of Happy Birthday.  But Caz was surprised.  And he knew the whole family was thinking of him.

21

Happy 21st Birthday Caz!  Enjoy your first drink, if you so choose :)
     This birthday is a tough one.  Not because I am now a father of a 21 year old.  But because you are so far away.  Yes, you have had birthdays at college before.  But of course, the pandemic is the X factor.  It's hard.  We were supposed to be visiting you this week.  We should be going to a bar together for the first time.  The time will come.  I am just impatient.  And I miss you.