T’was a night in November and I’m at it again,
Poem number eleven is at the tip of my pen.
It is so very true, though still a clich*,
Time just flies by, faster each and every day.
So it’s time to update you anew,
As usual in rhyme, though I’m considering Haiku*.
Becky at MIT is now a sophomore,
Computer science and math will be her major.
As the daughter of a programmer and actuary,
The apple hasn’t fallen too far from the tree!
Last summer, Cambridge, Mass was Becky’s home base,
She worked with autistic kids, and her data interface.
Becky loves college life, and has been busy in so many ways,
She’s stage managed and produced two of MIT’s musical plays.
Like most college students, she stays up all night,
Between schoolwork and dorm life, there’s no rest in sight!
Julia is now in tenth grade and can always make us smile,
Though a teenager, she still talks to us, at least once in a while.
She’s pretty and smart and I know she’ll go far,
In her free time, Julia plays a keytar.
Last summer, three weeks of camp at Yale flew by so fast!
Julia met kids from over 20 countries and had quite a blast.
School, mentoring and Scouts keep Julia busy so,
She has had little time to be a couch potato.
Mike is still very much into cycling and his new i-phone.
He rode his bike over 1500 miles with me or alone.
With our gadgets, we monitor riding distance and terrain mix.
Total calories burned: 102,396!
We still go out together on the tandem bike,
I even tandemed a hilly 100 mile ride with Mike!
We went on vacation to the National Parks out West,
Julia saw the Grand Canyon and was unimpressed.
We hiked and drove a lot, even off road in a Jeep,
The scenery was breathtaking — and in some places, quite steep!
Mike and I loved it and with more time — and no kids — we will return,
We’ll need to wait ’til retirement, though, for time to not be a concern.
As for me, well there really isn’t anything new,
Busy with work, piano, Girl Scouts and reading a book or two.
I am also trying to teach myself French a little bit,
And I have even found a small amount of time to knit.
It is getting late,
So I’m going to end now,
With my first Haiku!
Don’t be a stranger,
We would love to hear from you!
Happy Holidays!
The Bianco’s.
*Haiku is a very important form of traditional Japanese poetry. It is based on a Zen Buddhist philosophy of brevity and simplicity and is believed to have originated in the 17th century. The format consists of three sentences, each containing five, seven, and five syllables. (From www.WiseGeek.com)