A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action

We've had a great week here in New Jersey where summer officially set in on my daddy's birthday (Happy Birthday Daddy!). The humidity hangs in the air like a lacy spanish moss draped on a southern oak, sometimes tickled by the breeze...but here to stay. Despite the tropical conditions (regrettably, sans beach and pina colada), I'm proud to say that I've been taking full advantage of the balance that my new profession brings to my life, and have been (slowly but surely) getting back in touch with life...with my life...which I find has changed in magical ways over the past year.

Dominick and I have been hitting the road and spending quality time with our friends and family - a quick dinner here, a weekend there - it never seems like nearly enough time together, but anything is better than nothing. As I learned during my self-imposed winter isolation (what my good friend Peter refers to as "Courtney's morose Irish poet phases"), a quick phone call - however brief - can mend even our most fragile relationships. So with BBQ season in full swing, we've been travelling the circuit and living it up.

With the passing of Ed Budd, Fathers' Day came and went without much heralding. It is so difficult to celebrate even the more innocuous holidays when there is such a hole in our hearts and our lives. The following weekend we went to the country house to celebrate daddy's birthday, and it was more than a little empty without Ed making cosmos and tooling around on the golf cart. There are still moments that we feel robbed, that we feel cheated, that we feel angry....but overall, we feel so blessed to have loved him, to have had him touch our lives with his wisdom and grace.

Tugger took his first boat ride on the pontoon boat (which used to be Ed's), and absolutely loved it! We spent alot of family time together - no entertaining, no company, no neighbor visits. It wasn't that we were being antisocial (I don't think Hogans know how to be) - I think we just craved the time together and knew exactly how we wanted to spend it.

Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday weekend.