I recognize that there will be times when the job as COA president will have its low spots — there have been difficult times already in terms of overall work load. But this Friday-Saturday week to weekend transition has been about as good as it gets in term of work-family balance and the overall way-of-life living that the COA/MDI community has to offer.
Friday night my wife Karen and I were treated to a feast by a group of second year students in the Davis Center. Janoah, Jill, Corinne, Jaya, Lally, Addie and Ken Cline all pulled together and whipped up a great dinner. Apparently, this crew has been coming together every friday for such feasts and involving faculty and staff whenever possible. We all talk about the need for faculty and staff and students to be bumping into one another for more informal conversation — this crew is leading the charge and it’s awesome and it’s exactly what this college is all about!
Jill fixed some East Andalusian … I forget what it was, actually — eggs and cucumbers and dill (?) – kind of like a Quiche and much better than the West Andalusian variety. We also had great salads from several CSA’s in the region and then home-made pasta. I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve only ever eaten/prepared pasta out of the box (except during our ten-year wedding anniversary in Italy) and I can wholeheartedly say that the fresh stuff kills the box stuff on all counts. I’m not really that much of a “foodie” to be honest and would describe my palate
as being somewhat 
conservative, but I could definitely come to depend on home-made pasta, especially when, before consuming, you drape it over furniture before putting it to boil. Corinne was the pasta queen and I will look to her for direction in future pasta-making work.
Saturday … ah, Saturday. I’m actually writing from my half complete porch with my dog Lucy at my feet and a bottle of Allagash White Ale at my side. It’s 5:51 pm and the sun has just set behind the granite walls of the church. You can hear saws in the background as work is getting done on someone’s house. My neighbor is making excellent progress on the roof of their shed. Neighbors, those leaving mass and Fall visitors wave as they saunter down Ledgelawn.Lucy still has that faint wet dog smell from her recent bath. She’s tuckered from the walk we all (mom, dad, Maggie, Molly, Lucy) did around Day Mountain. I think three miles is about the walking distance limit for the girls at this point — today we were just starting to push the envelope a bit.
But maybe the best part of the day — from the perspective of a father rather than president – is sitting and writing right here while Maggie and Molly zip around the block on their scooters. They have a sense of freedom and adventure in every day things here in Maine that they didn’t have in other places we’ve lived. That’s special.
Anyway, I could go on, but i won’t. You get the idea. It’s been one of those great Fall days in Maine. I hope you all had at least some time to get out and enjoy the day as well. DC
(apologies for the strange layout … still feeling my way around WordPress)
COA Déjà Vu 