About a Boy

Disclaimer:  This post was started weeks ago, so the articles referenced in the first half are already dated.  And there's been more to join them.  

The breadwinner of the house doesn't get mentioned much in these posts, but he is, of course, a constant, critical part of our days.  Even the cat emerges from whatever dark corner in the house he's retreated to to escape the heat (and the 4-year-old) when he hears Jeremy's heavy, steady, patient footfall downstairs in the evenings.  We miss Jeremy when he's gone, greet him eagerly when he returns and relish the afternoons he comes home early or the Fridays or Saturdays he unexpectedly has off.  We're so thankful that he goes to a job every day so that Gideon and I can stay home together, but also very grateful that he returns home promptly at the work day's end every evening.

Work keeps him busy.  Rumors of the demise of the JSF program emerge in the media weekly from various sectors.  Lockheed has announced major lay-offs at its main facilities. (Just in the week and a half since I started this post there have been two new stories:  here and here.) But the engineers here push ahead, steadily working to expand the envelope of the jet's abilities - often putting in 40 hours by Wednesday of the week.  Just this week, the first catapult launch occurred in Lakehurst, NJ.

On the R&R front, after 5 years on the Yamaha V-Star 1100, Jeremy finally traded down for the smaller bike he's wanted for awhile now - a shiny red Triumph Speedmaster 900.  He's started a motorcyle revolution at work, unintentionally encouraging all his 20-something, recent-college-grads-with-more-money-than-they've-ever-had to buy motorcycles.  He and another 30-something engineer are the ringleaders of their very own little aero-engineer motorcycle gang.

Update:  Since I started this post, Jeremy's first work trip to Lakehurst, NJ, to aid in the catapult testing was delayed over a week, causing us to pass like ships in the night when Gideon and I returned from our visit to Atlanta.  Not quite two weeks later, we're looking at another few weeks of separation as Jeremy returns to Jersey for almost three weeks, while Gideon and I will head to Texas for a week-long visit mid-month.  We're grateful for a four-day weekend before Jeremy's departure Tuesday, but honestly, I'm feeling sad, unwilling to be separated again.  Life is just boring without him.

More from the impromptu family photo shoot

At the NAS Pax River Air Expo 2011, Labor Day Weekend
(more pics from that later)