Yesterday, my sister Liza, my mother and I drove up to Boston.  It’s amazing how quickly the summer flew by.  I have visited new places in the city.  I will miss the interesting people I had met.

Because I’ll be busy getting my room in the seminary back in order, I will keep this entry short.  Here are a few conveniences that I will miss in New York:

1. Air conditioning: With this modern convenience, summer is my favorite season.  Without it, I dread sweating bullets through the long, humid night.  A fan in my room helps.  Plus, praying in the hot and stuffy chapels requires more endurance.  Maybe I can notch the discomfort as penance.
2. SNY and YES networks: With both New York baseball teams in the hunt for a playoff spot, I would watch every baseball game on TV whether to cheer their victories or to boo their mediocre performance.  Both teams have received an ample share of my boos during the summer.  Now, in the middle of Red Sox Nation, I will have to settle with online updates and the occasional ESPN and NESN games of the Mets and Yankees (if I ever have free time in the seminary for TV, which is never).

But I’m glad to be back in Boston to start my second year of postulancy with the Oblates of the Virgin Mary.  Most of my fellow postulants will arrive by Aug. 21.  I can’t wait to hear their summertime stories and adventures.  Let this next chapter in the adventure begin.