A Snow Day. Relax!

The snow kept coming down today, and we just got a notice that there won't be school tomorrow, so it's an opportunity to relax a bit (just a bit!) and go back over some pictures from the past weekend in Minneapolis.
One of my favorite photos is this one from my visit to the Highland Grille in Minneapolis with my daughter, her boyfriend, and their little bundle of joy.  She was a good little trooper and already is a little sweetheart.

The Busy vs. the Happy

Keep calm.  Think about the now.  Be in the moment.  Carry no baggage.

I'm thinking about the characteristics of happy people, having read a recent blog post on Successify:  http://successify.net/2012/10/31/22-things-happy-people-do-differently/.

I've said yes to so many things that my April, as I face it here on the first, is proving to look like a month-long gauntlet, finishing up as it will with a trip to Toronto to present at the HASTAC Conference, which I am definitely looking forward to.

In the meantime, it's worthwhile to consider how I got here, feeling a bit overwhelmed (and so early in the morning!).

• I'm doing the ACT prep session for high school kids tonight.
• My daughter's 30th birthday is Wednesday.  
• I'm helping some with the DSU play, Xanadu, this week.
• I'm presenting at a conference in Minneapolis on Friday.
• I've got committee duties that I'll have to get caught up on when I get back.  
• The last day to drop a course is Wednesday, so my grades need to be up to date.
• My grandaughter's first birthday is the 13th, with a birthday party in Minneapolis. 
• I'm the advisor for Sigma Tau Delta at DSU, and our spring banquet is on the 18th. 
• I'm doing a reading for a performance with my Indian dancing colleage Shreelina Ghosh on April 20 (Saturday).  (We are practicing today).  
• Shreelina, Stacey Berry, and I are presenting at the HASTAC Conference on the 26th.  
• Last days of classes
• Finals

Plus, there is the day to day.  I have papers to grade.  I have classes to prepare for.  I'd like to finish the back entry.  I'd like to get out my motorcycle.  I'd like to get my OTHER motorcycle working right.  I'd like to have some happy simple days at home.  I'd like to get together with my colleagues and friends.

So, anyway, I'm busy.  But we had a good weekend with my daughter, her man, and their little babe.  And we spent time with the wife's family, something we haven't done a lot of recently.

Meanwhile, I'll try to do the things that happy people do.

Considering April and Olive

Wolfram Alpha tells me that little Olive, the new granddaughter, is one of 10,544 people alive today who share that name (1792nd most popular name), much more rare and precious than her grandfather (26th most common) or her mother April, one of 225,152 people with that name, but not quite as exclusive as her dad, whose name only appears on 458 people per year.  However, a rash of Chads in the 80's put that name higher on the common list of names among 39-year-olds, making it the 235th most popular names.  April is slightly less popular at 237th, with Olive among those most rare and strange, unless you're in your 90's, where the bulk of Olives appear to be.  I'm among the 3.7 million Johns in the country while the wife shares hers with only 19,515.

An Olive on the Family Tree

Hand of a new generation

A trip to Minneapolis over the weekend was a good opportunity to put those cameras to work, and the wife managed her magic with this photo of a proud grandpa and his first little grandchild.  Pretty cool.  She's a calm, sweet baby, due in part, apparently, to the easy home birth that eased her way into our world.  Good for Olive.

A Spring for Olive

 Little Olive Mary Nelson Osmundson has arrived in Minneapolis to proud first-time parents April and Chester.  Born at her parents' home, little 8 pound, 4 ounce Olive showed up at 5:08 am on Thursday, April 12.  So far, she is getting along well in her new environment and has the full approval of her mom and dad.  She's getting a lot of attention and doesn't seem to have a bit of shyness.

So far, she has not asked for a pony.

I'm wondering now whether carrying photos in my wallet is a grandparental requirement.  In any case, the wife and I send out all the best wishes for these two new parents and their beautiful baby.