October 4, 2026

Scenes from Saturday + Pins & Pine Needles

An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory. Or, in the long run, small actions will always beat big thoughts. We are so close to finishing the college applications. So close. It’s been a baby steps process since July. It was definitely the right way to go, but I think Cecilia is ready to be done.

I do wonder if the common app has made it a little too easy to apply to schools. The barriers to choosing to apply are mostly financial (and often can be waived). This feels initially like a good thing, but the more opportunities you have, the harder it can sometimes be to focus in on a few things.

Maybe Cecilia and I are both ready to be done.

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September 27, 2026

Scenes from Saturday + Nor’easter?

The big nor’easter failed to really materialize, inland, at least, during the day on Saturday (it is raining heavily as I write this on Sunday morning), but it did cancel most of the planned activities, so a busy Saturday turned into a mostly couch day.

Why is it called a nor’easter? This one is pretty simple and I made sure both girls knew the answer so they’d pass their New England citizenship test. It is simply a storm where strong winds blow from the northeast over coastal areas.

After a full week of activities for everyone, a lazy, weather-enforced couch day wasn’t a bad thing.

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September 20, 2026

Scenes from Saturday + Music City

I’m back. I figured I might regret not capturing Cecilia’s senior year after years of posts, so I’ll do my best, but give myself some grace, too. The idea is to keep it simple, capture our everyday Saturday and not put any pressure on myself to come up with some grand life or parenting lesson. Just being there, being present, being available is enough.

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April 26, 2026

Scenes from Saturday + Dogs, Chicks & Horses

April vacation is over. Junior year home stretch begins. Buckle up.

There will be work. There will be decisions. There will be eye rolls, and if I’m being honest, probably some friction from both sides of the table.

So I was glad when I came across this recently. Jerry Seinfeld used to pin photos from the Hubble Space Telescope up on the wall of the show’s writing room.

“It would calm me when I would start to think that what I was doing was important,” he said. “You look at some pictures from the Hubble Telescope and you snap out of it.”

I’m filing this away for the next few months.

Because yes, this stuff is real and it matters. But it’s also not life or death. It’s a grind. It’s important. And it’s also okay if we finish this tomorrow instead of today.

The universe is a pretty good perspective device, if you let it.

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April 20, 2026

Scenes from Saturday + Tours & More

Did I think these Saturday posts would one day include a recap of college tours? Absolutely not. Is that what happened yesterday? Absolutely. We’ve spent the past few days of spring break touring schools, scrutinizing dining hall buffets, and telling Ce we never had it this good when we were freshman.

It remains to be seen where this all eventually ends up, but right now I’m just trying to enjoy the trip, not let my own emotions, and pay attention to the small, fleeting moments. Those 18 summers are almost over.

I’m also doing a pretty job of ignoring the ‘cost of attending’ slide in every presentation. It’s strange, I tend to black out every time that one flashes onscreen.

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April 12, 2026

Scenes from Saturday + Soles & Solos

“An idea arises spontaneously, just like any other thought… a concept is built deliberately through a series of choices and constraints.” Penny Lane was talking about documentaries but I thought this was one of the better descriptions of the realites of writing a book. You have the what-if idea, but then the book eventually develops through the choices after that initial spark.

I officially kick-off Max #9 next week. I’ve got the idea. We’ll see how the concept develops.

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