March 2008 Lower Family Newsletter
Chad T. Lower
that my beloved Patriots lost one game this season. Unfortunately, it
was the Big Game--the one that counted. Although I could make excuses
and defend the team, I will instead tell you of a memory I have from
the first time the Patriots won a Super Bowl this decade against the
Rams in 2002. The Rams were 14 point favorites and the Patriots won
by a field goal as time expired. After the game, the media
interviewed the Patriots. I don't remember the exact person
interviewed (probably Tom Brady or Bill Belichick), but they said that
if the Super Bowl were a best of 7 playoff, they probably would not
have won the whole thing. I feel the same way about this game. The
Patriots played the Giants once during the regular season and won.
The Giants did win the Super Bowl, but I still feel the 2007 Patriots
are still the best team in the NFL this season, if not ever. If it
were a best of 7 contest, there is no doubt in my mind the Pats would
have walked away Champions.
But I digress...
Classes are going well. Lots of grading and preparation, though. We
have had three snow days this semester. Fortunately two of them have
been on Fridays, and I don't teach on Fridays, so I only lost one day
of classes. College isn't like public school where you have to make
up snow days. We are just forced to go faster to cover all the
material before the end of the semester.
Our boy turns the big THREE this Saturday (March 8th). He is excited,
but I think Bella is even more excited for him. She helped Suzy bake
him a birthday cake today. As we tell others that he is turning
three, people can't believe he is that young. Just like his older
sister, he is very tall for his age, so rather than think he is a tall
almost 3 year old, people assume he is an average late 3 almost 4 year
old.
Ali is enjoying things a 7 month old enjoys. Eating her toes. Moving
in her walker. Staying up all night. She still doesn't roll over and
hates to be on her belly, but she is making noises more often and is
more observant of what is around her.
We set up the appointment for Bella to meet with Dr. Low at the
Children's Hospital in Philadelphia. The soonest they had was a
Friday in June. Then they called back and had to change it to July.
From what we have heard, most parents make appointments to see him
during the winter months and schedule surgeries for the summer. So
they are squeezing us in among a bunch surgeries that he already has
lined up. They said the earliest we would be able to have surgery (if
that is the route Dr. Low wants to take) would be between Thanksgiving
and Christmas.
The most exciting news from February is that we received an offer on
our house. A woman who currently commutes from Pittsburgh to
Morgantown (it took me 2.5 hours when I did it at the CDC which is in
south Pittsburgh) made an offer. After some negotiations, we finally
agreed on terms and signed the contract on February 20. Our closing
date should be the end of this month if everything goes well. We had
a buyer already who backed out last year, so I am not holding my
breath, but I am excited to be selling the house. One less worry off
of our plate. Praise God!
The picture is from this past fall. Ed and Patti Owens allowed me to
stay with them at the start of the semester while Suzy and I were
looking for housing. Patti just inherited a soft-top convertible bug
that Chi absolutely loved, so he got a ride one weekend while Suzy and
the kids were visiting me. Patti has recently been diagnosed with
cancer, so your prayers for her are much appreciated.
