STRUGGLING WITH SERENDIPITY
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lucky charm

4/4/2018

11 Comments

 
(This blog tells my family's story. To see more, click "blog" at the top of this webpage.)

​
Many community festivals in Harvard Square attracted overflowing crowds that spilled into and closed the streets. The HONK! Parade during Oktoberfest was unlike anything I had seen. Think Dr. Seuss with brass horns, stilts, unicycles, and bikes!
 
The event attracted costumed brass bands from around the country and the world.           
           
Not long after, I worked at the Coop during the Head of the Charles Regatta, the world’s largest two-day rowing event. With too many bodies in Harvard Square on a normal day, the regatta tipped the crowd to a crazy level and swamped the stores. At the end of my work shift, exhausted, I gladly left the colossal mess of clothes behind. It required several days to restock and put the displays back in order.
           
On October 27th, Boston’s Red Sox won the World Series for the first time in eighty-six years. Harvard students replaced the pumpkin on the head of the John Harvard statue with a Red Sox stocking cap and scarf. In Harvard Square, students and locals joined together for a party. Beth braved the crowd for a short while, as people danced on the roof of the Harvard T stop. She returned to her dorm to study while the loud celebration continued.
 
John teased and called Beth a lucky charm, since she moved to the area right before the big win.
           
Maria and Ben traveled to Boston for the first time with John to join Beth and me for Thanksgiving weekend and the holiday dinner at Legal Seafood. I bought tickets for The Lion King, on tour from Broadway. A work of genius in every way, from the set to the costumes. And, of course, we also had to see the fourth Harry Potter movie The Goblet of Fire, before we hugged goodbye too soon.
           
Beth’s ventures continued to impact family and friends in unexpected ways.
 
Soon after her Boston trip, Maria shared her big life-changing decision with us. A college sophomore, she planned to graduate with a double major from Heidelberg in Ohio—and when she did, she would move near Beth to teach. I supported her decision, though it made me sad to think of both of my girls in Massachusetts in the future, more than 700 miles away from John and me in our Tiffin hometown.
 
I understood the draw of the Cambridge area. I had never been in another city as vibrant. A place that charmed with old-world history and diverse humanity, all the while assaulting the senses with too many emergency vehicles, taxis, cars, and bikes.
 
A place that also isolated and challenged me every day for the nine months I lived there.
 
Next: A Third Job!   
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11 Comments
Cindy Champion
4/5/2018 02:07:46 pm

Maybe Beth was the lucky charm for the Red Sox's! Both my girls moved to Boston so I identify with your feelings.. One ended up first in Amherst and then Oregon and met this young man named Ben.

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Cindy Kolbe link
4/5/2018 08:20:24 pm

Yes, maybe lucky charms and serendipity go hand in hand? ;-) And I’m so glad that one of your lovely daughters ended up in Oregon! Isn’t it interesting that your youngest and my oldest grew up in the Midwest and met in Oregon? And I’m glad they moved closer now.

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Amy Henry link
4/6/2018 03:35:36 pm

The Charles River Regatta, I've been to, but I've never heard of the Honk Fest which sounds like crazy fun. I just looked it up--first fest was 2006, a long time after I left the city. Glad Beth was there--cause or not--for the Red Sox long-awaited WS win, and you were very smart to call it a day, leave the Coop in disarray, and go home. That's why tomorrow was invented.

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Cindy Kolbe link
4/9/2018 10:16:12 am

Amy, if you get the chance, visit Cambridge during the Honk Fest! It's a fun event and notches up the interesting factor in Harvard Square. And I love your line, "that's why tomorrow was invented!" :-)

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Amber Blackburn link
4/8/2018 08:56:02 pm

I’m sure you will miss the girls but I’m also sure that they will be coming to visit often. Be grateful that they will have each other to lean on while living away from you ❤️❤️

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Amber Blackburn
4/8/2018 08:57:15 pm

We are dealing with something similar my sister leaves home for college in August and we don’t know what we will do without her!

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Cindy Kolbe link
4/9/2018 10:20:03 am

Thanks, Amber! Your comment reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Elizabeth Berg. "There is love in holding and there is love in letting go." <3

Nancy link
4/8/2018 10:01:28 pm

Hehe, I wouldn't mind calling Beth a lucky charm if it means your team winning the world series for the first time in 86 years! Maria is a powerhouse for being a double major! I am sure the move is for the better - sending best wishes!

<a href="https://exquisitely.me">exquisitely.me</a>

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Cindy Kolbe link
4/9/2018 10:51:48 am

Nice to 'meet' you, Nancy! ;-) Yes, the lucky charm and powerhouse labels apply going forward, too. #thestorycontinues

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Eena link
4/9/2018 01:41:03 am

I loved The Lion King on Broadway - everything was so magical. And sending you best wishes for the move!

☼ <a href="http://www.chrisandeena.com/“>cabin twenty-four</a>

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Cindy Kolbe link
4/9/2018 10:55:02 am

Thanks, Eena! I enjoyed reading your blog post and I'm sending best wishes back to you for your upcoming wedding!

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