A Bruins Fan in Buffalo

Wearing my Red Sox hat while shaking hands was one thing – I only offended the Yankees fans among our students and parents – but I think I may have gone too far by proudly donning my Bruins cap during the recent playoff series between Boston’s hockey team and Buffalo’s beloved Sabres.

One student, a 4^th grader, came up to shake my hand one morning last week and said, a little dejected and bewildered, “Why are you wearing that hat?”

“I’m a Bruins fan,” I replied. “Did you know that I grew up in Boston?”

He just stared at me for a few seconds and I said, “You’re disappointed, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.” And he turned and walked into school.

Some adults I encountered around town were equally bemused and not all were as polite as the 4^th grader. Most just gave me a little good-natured ribbing. Truth be told, I’m not much of a Bruins fan anymore. I don’t get to see them play in person or even on TV very often, and it’s been a while since they’ve had much to cheer about. That said, I’ve been a fan for more than 35 years. What can I say? They’re my team. I assume Buffalo natives all over the Boston area were wearing their Sabres regalia proudly over the last two weeks. The real difference is that few places care about their hockey team as much as Buffalo. Even I root for the Sabres to do well, unless they’re playing Boston, of course. I’ve lived in other cities and haven’t felt even the slightest desire to root for their teams. I like the Sabres because I like Buffalo and Buffalonians.

OK, so now can I count on a little support for my Bruins in the next round of the playoffs?

Confession of a Frankenparent

I was going to be different. With 20 years of experience in independent schools I know the college game and I wasn't going to be sucked in to the trap of living out my own insecurities through my daughter's college acceptances. I know better, right? Maybe not. An op-ed piece in today's Boston Globe, The myth of the Frankenstudent, points out the struggle for many parents, even those of younger children, of balancing our hopes and dreams for our kids with letting them just be kids. I like to think I'm mostly successful at keeping my inner "Frankenparent" at bay, but as I vacillate between being happy to allow my girls to be who they are and registering my eldest for SAT tutoring this summer, I fear I'm really Jekyll and Hyde.