September 15th, 2025

1) Michelle had her annual girls trip last week for four days. All of her college friends headed for Santa Fe. They rented an AirBnB, did some hiking, shopping, the spa, and just hung out. This group has done remarkably well staying in touch all these years. Two of them just shipped off their oldest to college and there is a wave coming behind them.

2) Back in the day, these weekends were exhausting for me trying to keep up with the schedules of three young ones. Now, it's a different game. Cosie is gone, Harper Jane has wheels, and Tess is in middle school, so we had nothing but fun. Tess had a slew of sports on Saturday with one soccer game and two volleyball matches, we did some SSAT prep as she starts to eye Marist, we went shopping at the mall and had dinner at Shake Shack, went on bike rides, and binged some shows. Harper Jane was in and out, but largely out, except on Friday night.

3) She was in with Tess on Friday night as I was at a concert with some friends. We went to see Caamp at the Fox. It's my second time seeing them live, one of my favorite bands, and they put on a really solid show. The Fox was sold out, the crowd knew most of the songs, and it didn't go too late.

4) Speaking of concerts, Tess/Harper Jane/I were at the Emmylou Harris concert this past weekend at the garden in Gainesville. What a great venue up there, seats 2,000 and we had such a nice time. We had dinner at Super Chicks beforehand and then got some great seats as it is first come first serve. Michelle and the girls got me these tickets for father's day, and I was thankful they were willing to give up their Friday night to hang with me.

5) Harper Jane has pivoted from volleyball. This wasn't her first choice, but sometimes life isn't fair, and she has made the most of it. Michelle convinced her to try out for flag football, the fastest growing sport in America. She landed on the varsity squad last week and practice starts today. She is all kinds of sore working new muscles but is really excited and energized with the new sport and team.

September 8th, 2025

1) Tess is still vegetarian

2) Paying for college is odd. We have spent the past 18 years tucking money away in Cosie's 529 and now we are withdrawing from that fund. I imagine retirement feels similar where all of a sudden you reverse what you've been doing for decades.

3) My Mom's recovery has been remarkable the past few weeks. She has her energy back, she can eat whatever she wants, she is out and about, and she looks great. I grabbed dinner with her one night last week and loved just catching up for a couple of hours. But maybe no one has benefited more from her recovery than Harper Jane. She gets the hiccups constantly. Probably a couple times a week, and they can last for quite a while. My Mom showed up a few nights ago with some nifty straw thing that eliminates hiccups. Low and behold, Harper Jane got the chance to try it out this weekend and it worked like a charm. She is thrilled.

4) Granger greets anyone who comes to visit with a level of energy unmatched. She is either over the top excited if she knows you, or she is ready to kill you if she doesn't. I have started putting her on a leash for the initial 120 seconds just to contain her, and then she is as calm as can be. I wish I could have a heart monitor for her to see how much her heart rate spikes when the doorbell rings and then how quickly it comes down.

5) Last night Tess told me that she still misses Cosie every day but that she also likes the new relationship because it feels really special when they talk and she loves hearing everything Cosie is up to.

College Move-In

Tuesday: I knocked off of work early and headed home. Cosie and I then went to Avis to pickup the minivan we were getting ready to stuff full. Avis, of course, didn't have the minivan, so we pivoted and went to Enterprise where we had a backup reserved just in case. They hooked us up. The family went to Taqueria del Sol for dinner, which is Cosie's favorite. Tess was funny there as she has heard it referred to as "Taq" for years now and remarked "I wasn't expecting it to have so many words in the name." After dinner, it was time to load up the minivan. Michelle and Cosie absolutely crushed the packing. It was all organized, labeled, and ready to go. It took us less than an hour to move it downstairs and into the minivan and it fit with ease. There was Cosie's life, in the back of the van. 

Wednesday Morning: This morning was hard. First, Michelle took Tess to school so she had to say goodbye to Cosie. That sucked. Tess was crying, Cosie was crying, Tess got out of the car once or twice for an additional hug, I was crying, Michelle was crying, we were a mess. Cosie and I then went to my parents to dropoff Granger and all of Tess' stuff. Grandy and Pops got to say their final goodbyes, which resulted in more tears from all of us. Then we got back home and it was time for Harper Jane to leave for school, so what did we do? We all cried again. Harper Jane started it and it went ripping through the four of us. Absolutely brutal.

Wednesday Car Ride: We knocked the drive out in 10 hours, including stops. We listened to some music, an audio book, talked some, and snacked a lot. 

Wednesday Night: We checked into the hotel and immediately headed out. Our hotel was about a 20 minute walk from all things Georgetown, including a beautiful walk across the Key Bridge where you can see the Georgetown spires on one side and the Washington monument on the other. The university is nicknamed "The Hilltop" for obvious reasons and one of the ways up on the hill is via the "Exorcist steps" which are featured in the movie. So we climbed those steps and stepped into Tombs, the beloved pub just a few minutes from campus. It felt like a fitting start to college as some drunk guest was yelling at everyone, so our server thought the best way to handle the situation was by yelling and cursing back at the drunkard. They both got kicked out. After dinner, we headed for campus to start to orient ourselves and Cosie was going to meet her roommate there. She saw her from a distance, called out her name (Eden), and the two of them squealed and yelled and ran and gave each other a massive hug. It was a really sweet moment. They then headed out to walk around, bumped into a few others they knew and had a great time. Michelle and I thought we should go back to Tombs and sit at the bar and have a drink. We did not get kicked out.

Thursday: What a day we had. Cosie and Michelle ended with about 35,000 steps, I was a bit shy of that because when they went out for a run around the monuments, I rucked a shorter route. We met at Call Your Mother, maybe the greatest bagel place in the world. After breakfast we walked pretty much everywhere...shopping all over M Street, all over campus, etc. For dinner that night we met Eden and her parents at Filomena, an incredible Italian restaurant maybe a 10 minute walk from campus. We had the best time with them, absolutely feasted, and enjoyed three hours together. Cosie and Eden hung out afterwards walking around and then I picked up Cosie later that night.

Friday: Move-in day. We packed up the room, walked to Call Your Mother for breakfast again and swung by campus for some things Cosie needed to pick up. We went back to the hotel, loaded up the car, met Eden at her hotel to help get some of her stuff in our car since it didn't fully fit in their car, and then we caravanned to campus. There was a welcome group at the entrance yelling and screaming which was a ton of fun...and embarrassing for Cosie. The unload took 5 minutes as they have professional movers there who load the stuff in massive bins and wheel it to the room. I'm still not sure what took so long, but we were settling them in their room from 11:30a to 7:30p. Nelda, Eden's mom, was having a bit of a hard time hanging some pictures so she and Michelle knocked them all out together, and I went on a final Target run with Jason, Eden's dad. The AC was leaking pretty good, so Eden submitted a work order. After waiting a couple of hours, Michelle showed Cosie how to escalate things...Cosie submitted a work order and said it was a fire hazard as the water was getting near all the electrical. The leak was resolved in 15 minutes. The girls took off to start meeting people, Michelle and I had a great dinner on M street together and then met a few Atlanta friends out for a drink. Cosie and her roommate were dorm hopping until 2a when they realized they had locked themselves out of their room...on night 1. So, they woke their RA at 2a who was none too happy, but they are forgiven as they brought her a cupcake apology the next day. 

Saturday: The morning was filled with a formal convocation welcoming the new students to Georgetown. They were in formal graduation robes...the same ones they will wear in 4 years for graduation. A bunch of faculty and students gave speeches all in their regalia, and it felt like a really nice official start to college. Afterwards, we had lunch down on M Street and then the wheels came off a final time. I ate my last fry, told Cosie how much I was going to miss her and broke down. The tears started, we left, and headed back to campus. We said our final goodbyes there on the lawn, long hugs, heavy tears. It was every bit as hard as I thought it would be. 

Since the goodbye, we have been hanging on every call and every text from Cosie. She has met some really nice students, has run to the monuments every day, went to Mass with a new friend, has figured out the dining plan, loves her roommate, met with a peer advisor, gone out on the town, and is more than ready to start class on Wednesday. She needs something to fill her time right now and is ready for the challenge. We miss her a ton, but sure love hearing about everything she is doing and everyone she is meeting. 

Meanwhile, I took her parking spot on the driveway so as not to get riddled with pine straw and leaves every day. And Tess took her bathroom so as to not share with Harper Jane anymore.

August 14th, 2025

1) Tess is now a middle schooler as she started last week. Same school, but a different uniform, different academic expectations, and still visiting the nurse on the regular. Five days in, she had been twice that I have heard of, so I would guess 3-4 times in actuality. She's off to a great start and has had a very positive attitude about school thus far. 

2) Speaking of school, Harper Jane starts junior year tomorrow but is at school all day today spending the day with her peer kids helping them get ready. She's legitimately depressed the summer is over, and we're concerned how she is going to cope with less time watching shows and staying up incredibly late talking with friends on the phone.

3) We visited Georgia Tech with Harper Jane on Monday so she could get a feel for a more urban school. She liked it way more than she expected, is open to an urban school, but thinks Georgia Tech in particular is too close to home for her.

4) Cosie's friends came over last week for one last dinner. Our house was one of their primary hangout spots, so we were thrilled we got to see them all again. Michelle made a massive, delicious taco night feast, Cosie and I baked an epic Smith Island Cake, and everyone hung out for a while with many sleeping over.

5) We had Cosie put together some of her favorite things to make sure we got to them before leaving:

• Favorite meals out: Novo, Taq, Brooklyn Bagel, Little Rey's, Village Burger. We are almost done with this list.
• Favorite meals in: Pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes, enchiladas, chicken burgers, copy cat portillos salad...also almost done
• Favorite local walk: Chastain loop...done
• Favorite running route: 5 mile Dunwoody Village loop...done
• Favorite shopping district: Lenox Mall...done
• Favorite game: Spoons...done
• Favorite Dunwoody hangout spot: Summit coffee...done
• It's been fun knocking these off as a family to get a window into Cosie's mind

6) Tess is still a vegetarian

August 4th

1) My homebrew shop continues to limp along. I have two new brews on tap...a Honey Kolsch and a Dunkel Weizen. The Honey Kolsch is a solid C and I haven't tried the Dunkel Weizen yet. I think I finally found one issue and should have that resolved with my next batch. And my other issue is how darn hot it has been this summer which causes fermentation temps a bit above the thresholds in the basement, this should resolve itself soon enough. I am doing a Pumpkin Ale next and then my annual Christmas Ale, and I'm hoping to bottle them both. The Christmas Ale is always my best of the year, likely because of the temps when I brew it in October. I'm just not willing to shell out the $1K for an additional piece of equipment to solve my temp issues.

2) Cosie received her dorm assignment today. 18 days until she moves into New South dorm. This is one of I think five freshman dorms, and definitely not one of the ones everyone wants, but we are thrilled with it. It is considered one of the two most social dorms due to the layout and is the best location on campus. It's just old is the main knock. And in a twist of luck, the girl from Atlanta that she has connected with the most is not only in her dorm, but also on her floor just a few doors down. So between her and Cosie's roommate, she will have some comfort for the early days.

3) Speaking of Georgetown, we were at the "sendoff" this past weekend, which is hosted by an alumni and just a way of getting all the Atlanta kids together to meet each other and get welcomed to the university. 

4) Harper Jane has officially quit Chic-Fil-A. She and I disagree with how many total shifts she did there over the past two summers. I would estimate 8, and I think she would estimate 20. She didn't love it, she didn't love the people, and she hardly made any money. So, she has instead landed a job at Morty's, which is where Cosie worked this summer making bank. The hope is that HJ can hold onto this job through next summer to pad that bank account.

5) We have been obsessed with Old Maid in the house lately. The games are heated, all five of us are into it, and everyone hates losing. Harper Jane and I also played a long heated game of gin rummy last night, and she squeaked out a victory. I'm just thrilled to be playing some games as I ask often and the family's interest drifts in and out. Michelle and HJ are also crushing the marvel movies. They have been on a years long mission to watch them all, and I think they are only 1 or 2 away from being caught up. It's been a great bonding thing for the two of them.

6) Tess had her first orthodontist appointment a few weeks ago, and braces are in the near future. She will likely get them in 6 to 12 months. I'm hoping for invisaline, Michelle is hoping for braces. And Tess is just hoping for sooner than later.

7) Cosie spent close to a week at the beach with her friend Maeve and Maeve's family. She's been going to the beach with them for years now. While she was at the beach, we had a great excursion day and she was bummed she had to miss it. We went up to Helen with our friends, had lunch in town, and then tubed down the "lazy" river. This is the same tubing we do when we go camping every year, but this was the first time Michelle got to experience it. It's an absolute blast, but not at all lazy. You are constantly getting out of the tube to get dislodged, you are bumping into others, and you are exhausted when its over.

8) One other highlight is from a brunch with our dear friends Rohit and Swati who were in town from Chicago. Rohit and I started at Accenture together and the four of us became fast friends. Their daughter, Raina, was at camp at Emory and we got to hang and had such a nice time catching up with them. Raina and Swati are vegetarians, Tess was asking questions, and next thing you know, Tess has declared she is vegetarian. I predicted this would last 48 hours, max. How wrong I was....387 hours in and still going strong.

July 21st, 2025

1) Cosie has been working hard this summer to save up for a robust social life at Georgetown. Perhaps the best story from her multiple jobs this summer is when she showed up to nanny for the day and these girls' mom told Cosie they have lice and wanted Cosie to take them to a lice clinic. So, she spent the day at the lice clinic getting them cleared out and herself checked. Cosie was all clear and these two little girls were as well after the appointment.

2) Two sessions of Backyard Blast are complete with the final week next week. While Cosie is going to help out next week, she is largely phasing out and making room for Tess. This has been a summer of growth with Harper Jane learning to be the more senior counselor and Tess learning to be a counselor. I'm really proud of both of them!

3) Harper Jane's college search is officially underway. We toured UGA this past Monday and Furman on Friday. Both visits were extremely productive. She left UGA wanting to be a Bulldog and if not a Bulldog, attend a large school. And she left Furman 100% certain she does not want to go to a small school. She is spending this week at an ACT bootcamp and hopes to be done with her ACT tests in the fall. Given the incredible value that UGA is, the school is moving up the rankings, applications continue to climb, and the difficulty of getting in keeps going up. She heard this loud and clear on the tour and we are hoping she uses it for motivation to see her way through junior year.

4) My cousin was kind enough to get us tickets to the Home Run Derby and All Star Game this past week, and what a treat that was. My dad, Chad, Beckham, and I went to the Derby on Monday night and had the best time. I enjoy watching the Derby but don't love it...but in person it is nothing short of fantastic. And then my Dad, Harper Jane, Tess, and I went to the All Star game on Tuesday night. What a treat to see one superstar after the next march up there, and the biggest surprise is how into the game Tess was. Maybe, just maybe, I finally have another baseball fan in the family.

5) We were at a Georgetown welcome event at the home of an alumni in Atlanta about a month ago and they had made these incredible "cheese coins". They only make them a few times a year...holidays and special occasions. They were so off the charts good that I just had to ask her for the recipe. She flat out said no at first, explained it was her grandmother's recipe from the 1800s, her grandmother was a dear friend of Julia Child, etc. She came up to me later in the evening, whispered that she had come to terms with the request, and asked that I never share the recipe with anyone and do not post it on social media. She then proceeded to write it down by heart on a notecard. What a treasure this recipe is. I made them for a July 4th party we went to and they were a huge hit.

June 29th, 2025

1) It was quite the journey, but Tess finally has an Apple watch. I won't go into the gory details as I wrangled with Xfinity for a month to get it to work, and not only could they never get it to work, they also told me a month in that if they are able to get it to work she will get Michelle's phone calls, which was less than ideal. US Mobile to the rescue, a company I had never heard of, who got her up and running in less than a month for a whopping $78 for an entire year of cellular service on the watch. And we promptly cut our home phone line which saved way more than $78...we were only keeping it so Tess had a way to reach us when she was home alone. She now has freedom around Dunwoody and immediately celebrated, walking up to the village with a friend of hers. They were gone for three hours, visited Good Vibes, Starbucks, Walgreens, and Publix. I think I got five calls from her during those three hours. She is now active on the family text thread, which we are all enjoying.

2) Harper Jane's volleyball career has officially come to an end. She and Michelle spent five days in Orland/driving to and from for a season ending tourney. It was a five year run, and we loved every minute of it. The travel was taxing, but we loved her team, the girls on the team, the parents, and we all found lasting friendships through this. There are few things I enjoy more than watching Harper Jane play volleyball, so I am sad it has run its course. There were tears shed throughout the weekend as she knew it was the end, but we were all glad when they got home safely after a long, late drive.

3) While they were in Orland, Cosie/Tess/I had a nice time together. We rode bikes up to Good Vibes for ice cream, had a pool night, watched the NBA playoffs, enjoyed a round at Putt Shack, knocked out a ton of school work, went to lunch at the viral pizza placed called Mister 01 Extraordinary Pizza which did not disappoint, caught up with yard work, got together with friends, Cosie worked a ton at Morty's and nannying, and Tess and I of course had sleepovers every night. She cracks me up when she moves into our room when one of us is out of town. She brings in all of her favorite things. This time it was her souvenir from Amelia, souvenir from Hawaii, a Girl Boss sign, her noise machine, her favorite stuffed animal (big foot), and her sleep mask. 

4) This transition from high school to college comes at you fast. All financial ties to Cosie are now cut as she setup all of her own banking. She now has her own checking, saving, Venmo, Zelle, debit card, and credit card. She didn't love the process of setting all of this up and couldn't figure out why the bank was diligent setting everything up. 

5) I can't recall the last update I gave on my mom. It has been a really long road for her, and we have all been terribly worried about her. Multiple hospitalizations due to infections and a replacement knee surgery in the middle of it all. She was having to rehab her knee while being hospitalized for an infection, brutal. She finished a really strong antibiotic about a week ago, and while the infection is gone, she still feels crummy likely from all what she has been through. She is in good hands with doctors, they have doctor friends as well who have helped, and we are hoping she feels better in the next few days. In good news, her knee is doing remarkably well as she somehow stayed diligent with all of her rehab.