Hey, Look, it's Tom and Traci....but more importantly...It's Thomas with a TAN (which could only mean he's living near the SUN!)

I'd Like to Thank my Mom for the "Green Thumb" Gene

My gardens are overflowing with buds, blooms, and fragrance.
Before the torrential rain came I spent an afternoon intentionally walking the stone path weaved throughout the beds. I was again impressed by the tenacity of seemingly fragile things that not only survive our harsh coastal winters, but thrive & multiply as they await the Sun's gift.

I've been spending more time just admiring the diversity of the plants and noticing just how quickly they change––small buds, bigger buds, just opening, fully open, bursting blooms, petal by petal drop away...and I turn around just in time to see a whole new plant begin it's similar cycle.


Really, Sun, I need some of your time shining on these beauties...then I'll pass the day away reading, smelling, and smiling on that weathered wooden bench in a sea of color

Colby, Here She Comes...

CONGRATULATIONS, MARIAH!



Honoring all your accomplishments, successes, struggles, triumphs...and all you haven't even dared to dream yet!

Damn!

I went searching for new tunes to make lawn mowing less like creating crop circles, and to my delight heard a new (to me) Rob Thomas song. I'm never coming down off the mower!

Don't get me wrong, ladies...This is strictly a MUSIC CRUSH!
You know when an artist gets under your skin and can make you feel like dancing, singing, swaying, sighing, and/or riding your mower over every neighbors lawn just to keep the momentum going and learn every lyric before the gas runs out!

Really, Rob and I are strictly platonic!

VH1 TV Shows | Music Videos | Celebrity Photos | News & Gossip

...yeah, right!

He's Got the Music in Him

Wes rocks a drum solo at a recent fund raising event for his friend, Nathan


...wait for it


...Yeah!


...Endorphin Smile!


Wes and Jake beautifully perform, The General by Dispatch



I cherish this picture in particular these days...


What I truly love about these guys is their honest to goodness Man-Love...it's authentic and wonderful!

Full Moon Fiest

If I hear one more skeptical, traditional educator or smart ass ignoramus give unsolicited comment on how my kid and other young home-based-learners are disadvantaged socially due to the isolated lifestyles imposed through a pedagogy they obviously know jack about,

well...I might be drawn to the dark side of mothering and....

A Truly Heart Centered Couple...

Wes escorted Mariah to her Senior Ball and as is their usual "style" they were stunning together. Mariah's dress style you might recognize if you saw Keira Knightly in Atonement...and Wes, well you be the judge...!!

We Certainly Got a Bang for Our New York Film Academy Buck$$$

Another FUN, FUNNY, movie by Wes Sterrs (and our surrogate son, Pender)

Wes and Pender have entered "Late Fees" in a local film competition with the Belfast Filmmaking Group. The screenings will be Thursday, June 3rd...This film seems to have a big following and surprisingly most of the cast (with the exception of Stella, she's got another gig,) and many local viewers plan on attending said screening in hopes of voting, cheering, and cinching a WIN!

Best of luck to the cast and crew and creators of "Late Fees"

He Signed It!!! He really Signed It!!!

AUGUSTA – Governor John E. Baldacci today signed into law LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom.

May 6, 2009


...“I have followed closely the debate on this issue. I have listened to both sides, as they have presented their arguments during the public hearing and on the floor of the Maine Senate and the House of Representatives. I have read many of the notes and letters sent to my office, and I have weighed my decision carefully,” Governor Baldacci said. “I did not come to this decision lightly or in haste.”


...“It guarantees that Maine citizens will be treated equally under Maine’s civil marriage laws, and that is the responsibility of government.”


...“While the good and just people of Maine may determine this issue, my responsibility is to uphold the Constitution and do, as best as possible, what is right. I believe that signing this legislation is the right thing to do,” Governor Baldacci said.


He Signed It!!!

Creativity Doesn't Have a Bedtime!

Just Another Example of Why We Haven't and Can't in Good Conscience Impose Bedtimes...What begins as a spark at 10pm may not fully ignite until 3am!

(...and I just couldn't be responsible for the demise of such potential)

An Exerpt from the Documentary on Service Learning , 2008

Last year Wes was immersed in a project with Time For Belfast and The Toddy Pond School(a very small, but wonderful independent thinking/learning school in Swanville, ME)

I've posted photographs and written a bit about how wonderful the experience was for Wes and hopefully I included how wonderful it was for me as well.

The movie was filmed in HD and premiered at our local theater, The Colonial.
It is really a "gem" and I wish I could play it here...sigh.

After the movie was completed the producers, Caleb Crosby and Ruth McVane, filmed the follow-up documentary which is incredibly wonderful as well. It gives voice to all the children/teens involved in the movie's process and as well we get to hear from their parents about this open, creative, and much needed model in the sphere of institutionalized learning.

Although Wes is not a traditional student in a traditional learning environment, he grew a great deal from the experience of working with professional filmmakers as well as with all the students (homeschoolers as well.)

This is just a clip from the documentary which is fun as it plays back and forth between Wes and me answering questions related to our experience during the making of the film.

I can't believe how much he's grown in under a year...yes, physically, at nearly 6'3", but even more evident is his depth of character and ever enriched life learning!

February marked two years since my father's sudden death. From time to time I've written bits about my experience and process before and during his dying. But I've not spent much time thinking about my relationship to my bereavement process. It's mostly been organic as I leave it be to compost and wait to see what might push through the dark layers of the complexity that was our life together.

And just as effortlessly as I've invited the grieving in, something creative and connective came up through the layers just as my dad's death anniversary approached.

Even now I will be challenged to put in writing something that most of this time I was at a loss for words to explain.

MAINE, LET'S GET THIS RIGHT...PLEASE!

Bill would allow same-sex marriage in Maine

(CNN) -- A Maine lawmaker introduced a bill on Tuesday that would allow same-sex marriages in the state.
A bill introduced in Maine would having it join two other New England states in allowing same-sex marriages.

A bill introduced in Maine would having it join two other New England states in allowing same-sex marriages.

Democratic state Sen. Dennis Damon's bill is entitled "An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedoms." It would allow any two people in Maine to apply for a marriage license.

Mary Bonauto, a Maine resident and civil rights project director for the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), held a news conference Tuesday to show support for the bill.

"Loving, committed same-sex couples in my home state deserve all the rights and responsibilities of marriage," she said.

Wes Rocks It on Stage at the 26th Annual Belfast POPS Concert!

It may have been but a month ago that Wes announced he'd be joining Mariah and her fellow high school students on stage for the much loved POPS Concert. I confess, I was really surprised!



Wes began hour long, flexible once a week bass lessons with our friend Jason just a few months ago. He bought a bass, then decided he liked Jason's electric guitar better, so secured a loan from his dad for a used electric guitar. Soon he found a Black Keys song that he thought would be great to play at the annual high school concert. Mariah would play her last solo on a saxophone that's just shy of her 5'2" height as she is off to Colby College in the fall. Wes went in search of a singer and a drummer to share the stage for one act. He practiced this tune less than I imagined he needed, but enough to keep it vibrating the house and ringing in my head, daily.

If Wes had a stomach full of butterflies, he didn't let on. I imagine he channeled them into the energy he brought to the stage ~ steady, thoughtful, and open to the fun that building rhythm and a cheering audience would bring.

In the letting go of a child boyhood and learning to trust the wisdom that each new developmental stage brings, we keep growing one amazing human being!

Filmmaker, artist, creative writer, and who knew(?)...ROCK STAR
He's definitely got the hair!


A thought I have a lot these days is how through those early years and for many years he watched us, his parents, and learned through imitation, patience, guidance. And now I know without a shadow of a doubt that those tables have turned and it is I who learn every day from a shining example who takes risks not imagining failure or being held back from fear. Our children most definitely are our greatest teachers.

Two Guys and a Girl

Late night shenanigans on testosterone


Just like the prize at the bottom of a Cracker Jacks box




I'm thinking the New MOD SQUAD!
(I seriously just dated myself, didn't I?)