friendship

Flashback Friday — Sea changes

Snow. Ice. Bitter cold. We need a bit of summer warmth, so I’m flashing back today to June 2000, when my friend, Jacquie, and I gathered the kids and met up at Mystic Aquarium in upstate Connecticut. It was a great day — being together, seeing the creatures (the beluga whales were a huge hit as I … Continue reading →

Dancing Queen

A brief tribute today to my friend Pina, who will hang up her sneakers today after 13 years of teaching Jazzercise. Our little stage in Stamford, CT, won’t be the same without her beautiful smile, upbeat attitude, terrific energy and amazing shimmy. When I first started taking Jazzercise classes 8 1/2 years ago, I went … Continue reading →

Flashback Friday — On Wedded Bliss

Flashback 25 years ago this week, to the wedding of my friend Jacquie and her husband Raymond. It was a memorable day. And not just because the groom’s brother thought it would be a good idea to leap from the motel roof into the pool to celebrate after the rehearsal dinner (his trick went off … Continue reading →

Brush with Creativity

What fun last night — my friend, Kristen, pulled me outside the box yet again for a night of creative exploration. We spent the evening at Art Plus Studio in SoNo … painting. You should know that although my grandmother and mother have terrific visual art talent, mine is fair to middling. As a painter, I’m … Continue reading →

Name game

No longer next door, but still in our hearts, our former neighbors continue to entertain us. Their four kids call us Mr. and Mrs. Basil, and as a result think of our family as “The Basils.” This week we found out just how ingrained the notion is. Basil stopped by to see them Tuesday and … Continue reading →

Wordless Wednesday — The Big Comfy Couch

Ole, Opa and Our Life on the Fast Track

Lily invited us to her Cinco de Mayo-themed fourth birthday party yesterday; we had great fun watching her and her friends cavort in our former neighbors’ back yard. These days, we’re so stressed running from activity to obligation, being plugged in, crunching numbers, cleaning things, making deadlines, facing the music, and planning for the next … Continue reading →

We’re outta touch

If “resilience” was the word for 2012, 2013’s theme must be “connection.” After starting the year off with a bang, finding and meeting my birthmother, and a whole “new” bunch of relatives, we Vaneches are continuing in the same vein. Basil has heard from a couple of schoolmates he hasn’t spoken to in years, and … Continue reading →

Cat’s in the Cradle …

Finally finished celebrating Christmas this weekend. Yes, you read that correctly. Between the swim meets, volleyball games, gymnastics competitions and a million other things, this was the first weekend we could get together with Jacquie and her family. Jacquie is my dearest friend from college, a soul sister who is sometimes mistaken for actually being … Continue reading →

There’s the rub

Given how my week started — finally finding my birth mother after 5+ years of searching, speaking to her and seeing a picture of her all in the space of three days — you’d think not much could surprise me. Enter my friend Kristen. As I was heading in to teach at the Jazzercise Center … Continue reading →