Mortgage Monday: Finally Settled After Seven Years

Society Hill Synagogue

Tomorrow is a very special day for me and my wife. Not just because of the commitment we made to one another that day but also because of the memories that we continue to carry with us both during the good times and the difficult ones. While a blur at the time, as the years have passed the memories remain vivid in my mind. Seven years ago tomorrow my wife and I, after a prolonged engagement, ran down the aisle for the first time as husband and wife.

It is especially poignant to think about all of those people who meant so much to us that day, who went out of their way to make the day special and how, while they are no longer with us, they live on in the deep meaning that they brought to that moment in our life. From a friend bringing appetizers into our room during the cocktail reception to friends from Samantha’s synagogue enjoying the opportunity to make new friends. From the joy in my mother in laws face as she spent time with friends and with my wife (and the Salmon and polenta combination helped too) to my grandmother pulling my wife aside toward the end of the night to offer her advice.

All of those memories come back to me in an instant whenever I catch a glimpse of our wedding photos on the wall of our living room and when I see our Ketubah hanging near our kitchen table as I walk in the door. But this is the time of year when they are the most vivid and when I am the most thankful that we have one another. It hasn’t always been easy but the good far outweighs the difficult times and we are much stronger both individually and as a family because of each of those moment even though it doesn’t seem like it at times.

And now we celebrate this day finally settled into a place that we call home. We enjoy our anniversary as a family and we look forward to the years to come more so than we have in the past. I know I haven’t been the perfect husband and my wife continues to say that she hasn’t been the perfect wife over the years but, while it has some wear around the edges, our marriage is as strong as it has ever been. Seven years with decades to go not just as husband and wife but as mommy and daddy. And now we know, and we have the security in knowing, where we will be for all of our future anniversaries.

Finding A Family Feeling In Erie

One of the things that greeted my in the lobby of the Sheraton... I guess I'm in the right place.  

The day began with a scramble to get everything in the car after making a large mug of coffee. While this is not much different than my usual Friday routine when I am rushing out the door to get to the office, this Friday morning was different… it was going to take me a little longer to get to my destination. With everything finally packed, I kissed my wife good bye, got in the car, and punched in the address into my iPhone. Estimated drive time approximately seven hours.

The actually driving started off with the usual traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway and the flow easing up as I headed north on the Blue Route. Where I would normally get off to head east however is where my route took a drastic change and I continued north toward Scranton. I was making good time and was slowly climbing further into the mountains when the mandatory coffee refill rest stop beckoned me to come inside. Fresh coffee in hand I resumed traveling and was turning onto I-80 shortly thereafter.

I will say that hearing the GPS say ‘continue on this route for 176 miles’ is a little disconcerting when it first echoes in the car but I had little choice in the matter, I was taking the most direct route. After many miles of cruise control travel winding back and forth between the endless streams of mountains, it was time to make another stop. Fortunately, this highway (no tolls by the way) had plenty of places to pull over and stretch. This is how I wound up in Snow Shoe.

As I had a meeting set up for shortly after my arrival, it made the stop a quick one and pushed through to the end of I-80 before turning north for the final stretch of my journey on I-79. Somehow, despite leaving the apartment later than I would have liked, I arrived in Erie with enough time to check in, put my bags in the room (I lucked out on Thursday night by booking the last available room at the Sheraton), and head down to the patio for the work meeting. During this get together, arranged back in March when we were all in Atlanta, we went over a lot of point, took some additional steps regarding working together moving forward, and also got to know a little bit more about each other beyond work. It was a great meeting that I am glad that we arranged while I happened to be in town.

Obviously, that meeting wasn’t the impetus for the trip. The reason I traveled all the way across the commonwealth was for the Quarterly Communication of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania which would be happening the following morning. These are the kind of meetings that I highly recommend brothers attend if they are able, especially when they are held a bit further from where they live. Within a few minutes of my meeting coming to an end and while I was on the phone with my wife, the District Deputy Grand Master noticed that I was sitting outside and invited me to join him and the other Grand Lodge officers and their families for dinner upstairs.

Here was the view I had out the back of the hotel before heading to dinner.

Well, I wasn’t about to turn down such an excellent offer so as soon as I signed the check and finished the conversation with my wife, I made my was upstairs and joined him for an excellent meal. This was only the beginning of the evening as, after an excellent discussion about all that is going on in the district and at my lodge (as well as answering a plethora of questions I have been meaning to ask) I was invited across the hall to the cocktail reception. So that is where our discussion continued and eventually concluded later in the evening.

While I had planned on simply making the trip to attend the meeting on Saturday morning, the day turned out to be much more than that. This entire evening was as welcoming and friendly as any meeting I have been to since becoming a mason. It truly was a family celebration during which all brothers joined together to enjoy a great weekend of fellowship and freemasonry. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience and one that I look forward to having again next year (hopefully with my wife).

Ending The Work Week With A Trip To Philly

The work week came to an end this evening after another slow slog into the city for a final cocktail reception at the Comcast Center to wrap up Philly Tech Week. It was a warm night with a breeze that offered a cool respite from the heat generated by the tech savvy crowd filling the tent just outside the main lobby. I arrived early in the evening with sore feet and heavy eyes. Upon looking around, I was not the only one in this state as the mass of people seemed ready to put an end to the week with one final evening of demonstrating, promoting, and relaxing a little around the open bar.

With name tag hanging around my neck I began walking around the room to see what interesting companies, programs, and people were lined up at tables on the perimeter. It really was an interesting mix ranging from Neat scanners to AutismExpressed, mobile marketing technology and warehouse management solutions to foreign governments (got a really nice bag from the UK Tech Council). The companies were as diverse as the swag that lined their tables and it was a fascinating journey from one company to the next.

While many people might not see Philadelphia as a hotbed for innovation, the products and services that filled the reception area and some of the idea being pitched and discussed throughout the evening put that misconception to rest. It really was one of those evenings when you knew that you weren’t the smartest person in the room but, at the same time, everyone was walking around with that same sense which opened up the conversation and allowed for interactions that are pretty unique and very much embodied the Philly mentality. It was an experience watching this dynamic in the room as you could tell that many were not used to being in that position but embraced it nevertheless.

For me, this was also an evening to enjoy the people I work with. After making the rounds and learning as much as I could about the tech scene represented this evening, I joined up with my colleagues as we continued to meander around the reception area both in the lobby and in the tent. As the evening wound down, we all began to relax more and more spending many of the last moments catching up with (and in my case being introduced to) some former coworkers. Before long, exhausted from both the week and the evening we slowly made our way toward the exit stopping along the way for some final chats and a final Shake Shack burger.

As is the case with all receptions and events, it only took us about 3 minutes before we were able to finally exit the tent. The night had cooled significantly but the open space of the city sidewalk was welcomed even with a slight chill in the air. It was finally time to head home and get some overdue rest before rolling out of bed tomorrow morning at 6. The work week was finally over but my week still had another day to go.

 

Off To The Governor’s House

As I mentioned yesterday, I was out of the office all day today. I still got up at the same time, left the apartment around the same time, but instead of heading east on the Pennsylvania Turnpike I made my way west. While the travel time was twice what I am used to in the morning it was a smooth trip with little traffic on the road. In fact, I made it to Hershey in well under two hours.

What brought me to Hershey? While I don’t go to a lot of event of this type, more than some, a lot less than others, I was given a unique opportunity during this meeting of the Republican Party of Pennsylvania. While I had to drive to the Hershey Lodge, it was only a temporary stop during the morning as I was soon on a limousine bus on my way to the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
 

  

We arrived at the Governor’s Residence in the middle of numerous discussions started as soon as the bus began to move. As we chatted our way toward the main gate we all put our points on hold as we had our names checked off by security.

Once in the door, we checked our bags, got our nametags, and were warmly greeted, one by one, by Governor Corbett. By the way, the Governor seems to be getting in shape for the campaign tour.

After a quick chat, it was time to get a cup of coffee and walk around the house a little bit. iPhone in hand, I took some photos of the many rooms including the stairway…

…the two sitting rooms…

… the formal dining room…

…and a couple of pictures of the Governor’s office (this is what I would like my office to look like).

Heading back to the reception area I noticed that US Senator Toomey had just arrived so I made my way over, introduced myself, and exchanged a few pleasantries. While I may disagree with Senator Toomey on some issues, I give him credit for being consist and his office credit for always responding to correspondences in a timely manner.

Not wanting to hold up the building line, I went back into the reception area, poured a second cup of coffee, and stood around one of the small high top tables and had a nice conversation with Lieutenant Governor Cawley.  

 

Noon snuck up on all of us and before we knew it, we were all retrieving our coats and bags and we making our way back out the door, through the gates, and onto the last bus heading back to the Hershey Lodge. When we arrived, we picked up our lunches, sat around the tables, and either worked on our computers (including me) or continued conversations started early this morning. Following an abbreviated meal, I took advantage of the quiet time while everyone was in the first session to get some work done. Once a number of items were taken care of I joined them in the middle of the second session. I only attended one more after that, got a few more last minute items done on the computer, and made my way back out the door to meet my wife for dinner before heading home. But, before I left, I pulled out my phone and took one last photo of the event.