1. I think last week had nothing on this one. The headaches, they are getting to me. Neel thinks it's a virus (no antibiotics). My mom thinks it's a sinus infection (yes antibiotics). I think I don't really care, I just need it to be over. Please and thank you. I have some things to do in the next few weeks, mmmmm 'kay?

2. I think this is going to sound a little weird, but I'm going to say it anyway. I'm thinking if having a small present or two for myself under the tree. There, do I sound like a ten year old or what?! (Please remember this when you read #4.) Part of what I loved about Christmas when I was a kid was all the projects and toys I had to play with after opening all the presents. A few years back I would have a knitting project ready to go, and since I can really get the lens I want just now, I'm thinking maybe a book or two. Maybe some new make up. Something small to pull out and play with. Thoughts? Childish and selfish? Everyone else is going to have toys to play with... just a little teeny tiny thing?

3. I think we were very excited to attend an event last night where this man announced his intention to run for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. I know I've talked about our involvement in Senator Northam's campaign's before (he's our district's state senator), but this time he's running for state-wide office, and Virginians? We honestly couldn't be represented by a better, more honest, straight-forward man. And here's something I found really interesting. I might possibly find politics, or political issues, even more fascinating than I thought I did. Everything Senator Northam mentioned that was important to his campaign (and as a practicing pediatric neurologist, he has a lot of cool topics on the list, like women's health issues and pediatric concussions), I am passionately interested in. Like really, really interested in. Callum said something great during one of the (6) speeches. He said, "The best thing you can do for your country and your state is vote." I couldn't agree more. That and serve. And when we got in the car to go home, he said, "I want to be a politican. And a scientist. Can I be both?" That's my boy. And then as I was saying how I was surprised at how interested I was in politics, he said something along the lines of (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Too bad you're so old." Yeah, well. Nevermind then. And no. I have absolutely no plans or any interest in running for office. But some other stuff, well, we'll see. (I think I need to learn more to dip a toe into this stuff, though. Aren't there some books I should read?)

4. I think that I haven't been as proud of my son in a long time as I was last night when he had to deal with a crushing disappointment. I don't write about him as much here as I used to. He's older (like me!), and his life is his life you know? I think a lot of what I'd choose to tell you about he wouldn't mind, but you know. Those aren't my stories to tell. Anyhoo, last night was a low, somewhat unexpected blow, and he took the news he got hard. He had every right to. But you know what? After a bit, he rallied and pulled himself together. Vowing to try again, to reach for this particular goal, next year. When he said that he was going to keep the rejection letter for motivation, well, this momma got prouder still.

5. I think I love this photo of New York City. We loved being there at the end of our trip over Thanksgiving, and if there weren't so many other amazing places to see, I'd regret even more that we didn't have more time there. I loved the city with a chill in the air. Just loved it. And I also couldn't end the week without taking note of the passing of legendary jazzman Dave Brubeck. Oh, I have the sads. He would have been 92 yesterday, so part of me feels like I can't complain about the ending of a life so well and fully lived, but the stunningly beautiful music he made was part of the fabric of my growing up. My introduction to music. Through his own work and through other great jazz artists like Manhattan Transfer and Al Jarreau honoring him with their own music. So Take Five and take a listen to this, and if you need to add some Christmas music to your list, you can't go wrong with his Christmas CD either.

Happy Weekend, my lovelies. My to-do lists have to-do lists, but I'm determined to plow through the bulk of it this weekend. What manner of wonderful are you up to?

Nantucket is 30 miles out to sea, and you can get there one of two ways, by plane or by boat. The plane trip, in an 8-seat Cessna, takes about 15 minutes. Oftentimes it's a bumpy 15 minutes, but at least the trip is short. Two boat options are available. The slow boat is a car ferry which is a 2.5 hour slog out to the island. We weren't taking our car, so we opted for the Hy-Line, the faster, less bumpy one-hour trip. The Hy-line makes the trip an easy one. As soon as we pulled in, someone was there to help with our luggage (I'd thought we'd be doing some slogging ourselves, but all the luggage is loaded onto carts which are put into the hold. We didn't see our food and wine again until we disembarked!) After standing in line with a jolly crowd of people, kids and dogs (and passing some extra pills of Dramamine up and down the line), we hopped up the gangplank and were off. It's just about the most exciting start to a weekend I've ever had. It was a blustery, cool evening, but we (and another intrepid few) stayed outside the whole trip. We didn't want to miss a moment. The trip goes fast. It's only an hour after all. And soon enough you're pulling past the Brant Point Lighthouse into Nantucket Harbor.

I certainly can't pretend to know a lot about the island, this little crescent that takes up 80 square miles of real estate off the coast of Massachusetts. Originally settled by the Native American tribe the Wampanoags, Nantucket was first discovered by the English in the early 1600s and settled in 1659. The discovery of whales off the New England coast of the United States in the 1600 shaped much of Nantucket's history, and between 1750 and 1840 Nantucket was considered the whaling capital of the world.

With the demise of the whaling industry, Nantucket turned to tourism, an industry that it's held firmly in hand for over a century. The year-round community of 9-12,000 residents swells to nearly 60,000 in the summer. Town, the cobblestoned area that has grown up around the harbor, is a rabbit warren of winding, one-way streets. It's about as picturesque and as quaint as you could hope a place could get. The weathered gray clapboards of the houses (along with the fog that can sock residents in for months at a time) truly earns this "far away land" its nickname of the gray lady, and the cobbles of the streets are a bumpier ride than on the ferry coming across 30 miles of ocean.

Charming shops line the streets, including a real-life pharmacy with soda fountain, men's and women's clothing stores and all sorts of bits and bots. Candy stores, gourmet shops, you name it. There is just one grocery store (a second recently closed), and plans to put in a CVS Pharmacy were met with much disdain and subsequently tabled. Many shops close up for the winter but open up briefly for the Thanksgiving holiday and a period of time after called Christmas Stroll. So we got lucky. I could have wandered the streets forever. Megan and I should have. We needed a few more days.

The weather was perfect while we were there. Low 50s, sometimes sunny, sometimes gray. Appropriately gray. The island sits in the gulf stream, so winters are actually fairly mild. If you can call socked in with fog, heavy wind and sideways rain mild. I think it would take some getting used to, living the island life, especially knowing that sometimes the wind gets up and the seas get choppy and the ferries don't run.

Sadly, the ferries were running when it was time for us to say good-bye. We weren't ready to leave. We wandered around town for a bit before lining up for the 10:35, and Callum bought a toy boat. Neel took his Dramamine (choppier seas on the way home) and sat inside watching ESPN. Callum and I sat outside with a host of other people, watching as the boat slipped from shore. I overheard a woman noting the color of the ocean near the Brant Lighthouse, wondering about the copper in the water (it did look uncommonly green), and suddenly everyone was throwing pennies overboard. And then a dad says to his daughter, "It's a tradition. Throw a penny in the water as you pass the lighthouse to bring you back again to Nantucket someday."

Of course, we did.

Nathaniel Philbrick has written a history of Nantucket that I just downloaded onto my Kindle called Away Off Shore. Other authors who write novels based on Nantucket include Elin Hilderbrand and Nancy Thayer (some good beach reads there!). To Gillian on her 37th Birthday was set on Nantucket, and of course there's always Moby Dick!

five things, december 7

gray lady {life}