Mike the Mailman Shares a Busy Weekend of Moments that Mattered

Lots to cover this week. First, I am so happy to still be here after the rapture/end of the world didn’t happen Saturday, as predicted – which was fine by me, as my family and I were busy all day celebrating my daughter Michaela’s master’s-degree graduation up in Boston. I had a jam-packed weekend in New England, and I would like to share it with you all.

My long weekend started Thursday when we (my wife Katie, my older daughter Marykate and I) flew to Boston from Philadelphia to kick off Michaela’s graduation celebration. Fenway Park was one of the first visits on our itinerary.

Although I have been to Boston several times in the past three years visiting Michaela, I had not yet made it to this 99-year-old establishment. Last Thursday was the day to do so. Besides the weather, the game couldn’t have been better! We saw an amazing nine innings from all over this charming and charismatic ballpark. Marykate’s favorite moment was bonding with the Red Sox’ mascot, Wally. Their picture together turned out great – and the Red Sox beat the Detroit Tigers in the bottom of the ninth!

Friday came, and second on the itinerary was to welcome the rest of Katie’s side of the family, all in to help us enjoy the weekend with Michaela. Friday night, with the help of our extended family, we enjoyed a feast for dinner and all had fun laughing and just enjoying the organized chaos that is our family.

Saturday’s itinerary started with Michaela’s graduation at the Bank of America Pavilion right on the harbor. One of the keynote speakers, Jon Kabat-Zinn, professor of medicine emeritus and founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, delivered a great message. He said that your life is a series of moments in time, and all of these moments matter. Katie is a big fan of his, reading all his books. I’m still not sure if she was more excited for her daughter to be graduating or to be in the presence of this insightful man.

Jon’s message couldn’t have been truer for my family and I this past weekend. Although the world didn’t end at 6 p.m. Saturday, we were in the middle of Michaela’s graduation party at that time. It was a party where all sides of her world were represented – family, friends, classmates, internship colleagues, families of those she has babysat for, neighbors and maybe even some party crashers – all contributing to her very positive Boston and life experience, and all part of her many ‘moments’ over the past three years. In a sense, this party was half celebration of her accomplishments and upcoming opportunities and half an ending to the life she has created and enjoyed in Massachusetts.

Sunday concluded our trip with a delicious breakfast at Flour, a bakery near the MIT campus in Cambridge. More ‘moments’ were to be cherished here.

While waiting for our food, I was approached by a young man wearing a backpack. He asked, ‘Excuse me? But are you Mike the Mailman?!’ I was so humbled to be recognized! Although this young man didn’t mention his name, he said he was now a grad student at MIT after completing his undergraduate work at Penn State, and he very much missed Happy Valley.

As much ‘wicked’ fun and unforgettable moments my family and I had in Boston this past weekend, I am excited to resume my everyday itinerary of memorable moments back in State College.

Lastly, congratulations to Michaela and all the recent graduates. Cherish your past and embrace all your future moments.