Back To The Grind

Joshua is studying, and I am being quiet and boring, making as little noise as possible and, in odd moments of conversation, uttering mostly forgettable pleasantries in order to avoid starting any interesting conversations that will take Josh away from his books.

We took down our Christmas tree today, and otherwise Josh has studied and I have done some serious cooking for the week ahead and taken care of some household tasks.

After his exam period, Josh will have a ten-day break before classes for the second term begin. My brother will take advantage of Josh’s break, as well as the January holiday weekend, by visiting us from Friday night, January 16, through early Wednesday morning, January 21. I am busy trying to come up with interesting things for us to do in Boston during that period, and I am not having great success.

Since Boston College now plays in the ACC conference, I had hoped there might be a Boston College home game during my brother’s visit. There is not—Boston College is on the road that weekend. I checked the Harvard schedule, too, thinking that Harvard might be a viable alternative to Boston College, but Harvard does not play any games that weekend, home or away. I did not bother to check the schedules of Northeastern or Boston University or any of the other colleges in Boston, because I know my brother has no interest in those programs. Further, none of us has the slightest interest in professional sports, so I did not even trouble myself with looking into the schedules of the Celtics or the Bruins.

All afternoon and evening, I have been sending my brother stuff to look at concerning possible things to do that weekend. I think his interest has been piqued by two things thus far: the New England Aquarium; and the Salem Essex Museum. He is also looking through some things I sent him about historic walks through various parts of the city.

My brother is not interested in attending concerts, but he will go to the theater if someone else initiates the outing. Josh and I have not yet been to the theater in Boston, but I sent my brother some information about performances here during the time of his visit by what appear to be professional companies. I think I got back a modicum of interest on his part for “The Year Of Magical Thinking”, “The Corn Is Green” and the musical “Cabaret”, but I also think I got back a polite “no thank you” for Chekhov’s “The Seagull”.

We will be certain to give him an enjoyable weekend, no matter what we come up with for a program, and we will be certain to keep him comfortable and well-fed.

We’ll take very good care of him.