Mukilteo Musings

Celebrations

Yesterday was just about perfect. First of all, the sun was shining, the mountains were out and the temperature hit 70 degrees. Secondly, church was very intimate as we continued to celebrate Easter and the Risen Christ. I can't explain it but the Holy Spirit was definitely amongst us. Part of it had to do with the fact that there were not very many of us there--only the diehards the week after Easter. We had a huge crowd (for us) of 166 on Easter and yesterday probably a third of that number. Our priest, a great story teller, described Jesus meeting with his disciples in the locked room so that we could all imagine being there. All I can say is it felt like we were there as His disciples---seeing His wounds and trying to imagine the ordeal He had been through.

Third of all, we celebrated again with our daughter last night. We are trying to cherish all of these moments because they are passing too quickly and too quickly, she will be gone. Our now dark haired child looks Italian; she is serious about her role as the Italian Betty Rizzo in Grease. Opening night is a week and a half away and relatives from Montana and Spokane are coming. Her plan is to be a theater major and music minor at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. Yale rejected her and in our view, it is their loss. Exclusive Oberlin in Ohio accepted her but they too will not enjoy her presence. Both Whitman and Oberlin are in the top tier 100 (actually, the top 40) Liberal Arts colleges according to the U.S. News and World Report rankings. The bottom line is that Whitman has more to offer Kaley in both theater and music. Plus, they have awarded her academic and music scholarships. So we have celebrated her accomplishments and her college choice.

But last night we went to Edmonds to enjoy our favorite Indian restaurant and to honor our child. She participated in a piano scholarship competition on Saturday. As one of four finalists, she was asked to play in the Winners Recital yesterday afternoon. The four finalists in her grade were ranked as two First Place winner and two Second Place winners. Kaley was one of the Second Place winners and she received a finacial reward. In her words, "I seriously spend more time looking in the mirror in the bathroom than I do practicing the piano---yet somehow I pull these things off. It would have been totally embarrassing to have beat Annie. She practices three and four hours a day--it's her life!" I did not disagree.

So we honored our child with a dinner celebration and we are happy about who she is and that she has the confidence to live life on her terms.

We took the camera for a little different perspective of Puget Sound 20 minutes south of Mukilteo:


Edmonds Beach across the street from the restaurant. (Looking north.)


Olympic Mountains from Edmonds---not so different than from our neighborhood.