¶The wild turkeys were out in full force today as we travelled around campus. This guy walked right up to me as I walked along the sidewalk, looking for a treat I guess.

¶Lunch in Harvard Square.

¶Waiting on Jonathan outside the Fogg Museum. It’s noon. I’m pretty sure he just got up.

¶When in Rome....

¶The history on display in Boston is incredible. There’s so much of it to go around that some of it, while probably noteworthy and interesting on some level, has yet to warrant attention beyond a simple marker with a date and an unremarkable description of an otherwise forgotten event. Take this ordinary house that sits a few blocks down the street from our Airbnb, for example. Apparently it sits on the site of a fort built “by order of General Washington” in 1775. That seems like a historically significant event and location to me. But the marker in the photo is truly the extent of it today. Weirdly, its incorporation into the white picket fence around the front yard doesn’t feel strange at all. It feels natural, fits in. It’s so…Boston.

¶Jonathan gave us a tour of campus, showing us most of the buildings where his classes are held. Harvard Yard, where he lived last year, is obviously a high point of every visit to campus. Touch the shoe? Sure, but the students will tell you why you might not want to do that.

¶Our crew - Paige and Jake met up with us for the game. Paige even made it onto the Jumbotron, rep’ing the Crimson.

¶There’s so much I love about hockey, but the post-game handshake line has to be near the top. While the NHL only does it at the end of a series, college players still line up at the end of every game and shake hands, just like the little kids playing pee wee. After beating the living daylights out of each other, each of these guys congratulated every opposing player and coach. It’s such a hockey thing, and I love it.

¶It’s been awhile since we’ve been able to watch a game with the boys, so the Harvard game was great just from that perspective. But what a game! Harvard is ranked 8th, Cornell 14th, and it’s an intense rivalry. Both teams have some incredible talent, and the small, nay, intimate, arena intensified everything. This was one of the best hockey games I’ve seen in years.

¶Renee’s Mary Tyler Moore moment on the steps of Harvard’s Widener Library.

¶You can’t see our faces, but I think this is one of my favorite photos of Jonathan and me. Renee snapped it, unbeknownst to us, while he and I sat on the steps at Widener Library. It looks so simple to other people I’m sure, but to me it somehow captures all of the pride and happiness I have for him. Maybe it’s because that’s exactly what I was feeling in that moment, and Renee caught it.

¶I love trademarks.

¶Maybe kindness is making a comeback. Nice work, Taylor.

¶Met some killer light right as we arrived at our gate.

¶Our outdoor Kitty has developed the slightest modicum of trust for us — he started eating his breakfast this morning even as I sat on the garage step just a few feet from him. I had to coax him him out from under Renee’s car, which took awhile, but eventually his hunger surpassed his fear and he slinked his way to the plate and started to eat. Here’s hoping we can build on this!

¶Mice are pretty resourceful, but apparently are not that great at thinking ahead. This little guy probably thought he had discovered paradise as he leapt into the dog food container, leaving the problem of getting back out for later. Well, later came this morning when Renee went to feed Teddy and she discovered him (and nearly had a heart attack). He could jump a few inches, but had zero chance of escaping. I drove the container over to a field and let him go.

¶Teddy says “Harbaugh still can’t win the big one, eh?”

¶Walk-ins get VIP access at the vaccine clinic. I’m ok with that, as I suspect hesitant people are more likely to walk in than schedule an appointment. We should do whatever we can to ensure they have ready access whenever they feel right about it. “Welcome, right this way....”