France just became the 14th country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. France never seems to do anything quickly, but they accomplished this feat in just a few short months, which is actually pretty incredible to me. It certainly helped that President Hollande’s political party dominates the country’s two parliamentary houses. But this legislation is all the more striking to me as a dual American/French citizen, considering that here in the States this particular battle has been fraught for so long, despite the incredible progress that’s been made at the state level in the last few years.
On our last day in Boston we did something I never did in all the time I spent there during college. We paid to take a tour of Freedom Trail with the Freedom Trail Foundation. What’s cool about the tour is that each guide plays the role of an historical figure, which provides context and an entertaining story.
We planned our trip to Boston months ago and there was no way evil killers were going to keep us away from the city that is replete with college memories for me.
Another day of senseless violence. I’ve grown so immune to it since 9/11 – whether it be guns, bombings, war or even the stories of extreme bullying – that my lack of shock at today’s events is horrifying in of itself (David Sirota’s article on salon.com about this very phenomenon is worth a read).
About one year after I embarked on my legal career as a junior associate at a major international law firm, I had to submit an article for the annual internal newsletter. It was sort of like a hazing ritual for all new lawyers. I wrote the piece below ten years ago, in March 2003, when I was practicing transactional securities law and starting to question what the hell I was doing with my life. Funny how it took me ten more years and another couple of jobs to finally realize that maybe this attempt at work-life balance was just a crock of shit (at least for me).
Now that I have the luxury of time, I have a list of projects that I hope to eventually complete. Maybe even before I turn 80. The list is varied and long – everything from the relatively small task of making a charitable donation on Chloe’s behalf (she gave me her charity money months ago and I have yet to take care of it for her) to the much larger task of writing a children’s book. And in between those two extremes are a lot of medium-sized projects that I’ve just recently thought of or that I’ve put off for way too long.
I’m not referring to the animal. Rather, today’s theme is one of the seven deadly sins. I haven’t had a chance to be much of a sloth since becoming Chief Mom Officer. In fact, I’ve been running around so much that working at home has been just about as exhausting as being paid to work.
It’s starting to feel like spring. And when it feels like spring, we get the urge to go day tripping. Today’s destination was Storm King Art Center in New Windsor, NY. A beautiful outdoor museum set on 500 acres, I can only imagine how gorgeous it must be when leaves are on the trees and flowers blanket the meadows.
