Knowing what was ahead, we tried to add fun things to  our calendar whenever we could. They included:

• A road trip to North Carolina during Spring Break in April. We enjoyed a visit with my cousin Janet in Raleigh, and a visit with Nick’s cousin Nick in Winston-Salem. Lots of details and photos are at pisarro.org.

• One of Nick’s many interests is videography. He videotaped the Staples High School Annual One Act Play Festival in late April.

• We attended a performance of the ballet “Don Quixote” at the Met at Lincoln Center in early May. One of my former students is an ABT dancer! Ballet slippers of the dancers were being sold as a fundraiser, and I bought hers! Way to go, Paulina!

• We had dinner with dear friends. Thank you Judy and Harold, and Mari and Tony, for your support and friendship now and  through the years!

• I marched for Earthplace in the Memorial Day Parade for the last time.   Nick videotaped the  entire 2 1/2 hour parade and condensed it to two minutes.

• I retired from teaching at Earthplace Nursery School after 26 years. My colleagues gave me a  retirement party that filled my heart. Nicholas surprised us by flying in from California, and of course Carla joined us from the city. I treasure the memory.

• The family of one of my colleagues owns an Asian food market at which they bring in dim sum from the city on Fridays. We put in our order at exactly the right time, because eating became a challenge for Nick the next day. But it was fun to remember  how we enjoyed  dim sum  when we lived in the city many years ago.

• We attended, and Nick videotaped,  an Eagle Scout Court of Honor. It’s always such a thrill to see such exemplary teenagers who have worked so hard though high school and are on the brink of the next major chapter in their lives. I was glad that one of the young men did his project for Earthplace, and our friend and  Earthplace’s former director, John Horkel, was the keynote speaker. The name of Jack Berry, the troop’s former scoutmaster, was brought up many times. Jack was inspirational to many including Nick. During the years when Nicholas attended Boy Scout Camp, Nick always went along for a few days. He would return with stories of how Jack worked to give the Scouts the best possible  camp experience. Jack is deeply missed and will always be remembered.