New Seasons

Yes, the outdoor swimming season in New England has finally arrived…I think.  There are a couple of small but important markers that note the beginning the new season.  

The first, is the Charles River One Mile Swim which tends to be the first race in the Boston area.  For decades the water was too polluted to swim in hence the Standell’s song-Dirty Water.  In 1995, the Clean Charles River Initiative was started to restore the water quality.  It wasn’t until 2007 that the river was clean enough for the Charles River Swim Club to host the first one mile open water swim.  It has been several years since I have swum in this event so it was fun to get back in the rivah. 

The swim starts by the Hatch Shell and goes towards the Mass Ave bridge and MIT and then goes parallel to the Cambridge water front towards the Longfellow Bridge and then back to the dock. The swim has some pretty iconic views of the the Boston skyline. There were about 200 swimmers. The start was pretty crowded and it took a while to break free from the scrum.  I had an ok swim.  I wish I went a bit faster and placed a bit higher overall and in my age group.  There quite a few people with wetsuits so it was hard to tell how I actually placed.  A one mile race is very different than swimming 22+miles in the English Channel.

The second key marker is that the bubble came off at the Wayland Community Pool. This may seem really small but it is sooo nice.  At the first morning practice everyone was giddy with delight. It’s awesome to swim outside!

There was even more momentous changing of season that was celebrated in early June.  Courtney’s graduation from Weston High School.

It started with family flying in from Portland and the boys coming in from Los Angeles/Boulder with our traditional family grad dinner at Del Friscos-yum!

The main event was Weston High Schools 150th Graduation Ceremony on the Weston Town Green.  Early on there were some concerns about the weather but it turned out to be a perfect day. The girls and guys looked fabulous in their white dresses and white tuxes following the bagpiper down the center of the green.  The highlight of the whole ceremony and the proud parent moment was Courtney delivering the Class Commencement Address in front of 700+ students, families and towns people sitting on the green.  She was poised, confident and had a well thought out message of unity and open mindedness as the young graduates start their new season. Well delivered!

It is the end of an era for the Burrow’s in the Weston Public School system.  It has been a great ride for all three of our kids at Weston High School. We are proud of our Wildcats as they are in the early stages of their new seasons.