This week was a crazy week getting back to the real world, so I didn't have time to do my research and come up with five fabulous things to share. But my wise niece told me that a newsletter that is late and a little different is better than no newsletter at all.  Thanks Syd!

 

Last week with a heavy and very grateful ❤ we dropped our daughter off at boarding school - the same one I attended many many years ago. It was hard to leave my sweet girl and know that she won't be home like she was before, but knowing that I was leaving her at Proctor, a place that is a second home to me was comforting. It has really made me think about friendship and community, and what a gift for Eiley to have the same thing that I experienced.  

 

Last night I was actually out with a few Proctor friends for dinner and then a Matt Nathanson concert, also a Proctor alum (get his new album if you don't already have it).  My old roommate spent the night and we stayed up chatting until 2 am - it was like we were back at school. I woke up early thinking about writing this - about the amazing group of friends that I have and how important a sense of community is.  I am coming off of another awesome summer with my tribe of ladies in Vermont. For two months we see each other everyday (and every night … it's exhausting (: ), and then in the past few weeks I have reconnected with so many old friends and picking up right where we left off. 

 

So when I think about what I want for Eiley in her 3 years at Proctor, it is to not think of it as a stepping stone to get somewhere else, but to be truly present and take it all in.  I want her to find that sense of community and make life long friends that will be there for her in celebrations and heartache and to also give back to the community and contribute to what makes it so special. 

 

One of my favorite Ted Lasso quotes (and there are many) is when Higgins makes the toast at Christmas dinner when they have taken in all the players who couldn't go home - "To the family we're born with, and to the family we make along the way."

 

I am so grateful for all the family I have made along the way - my ❤ is full!