Behind the Wheel

What a whirlwind weekend! I wish I could say I was whisked away for some fabulous romantic Tuscany holiday, but that would not even be close. Instead, I barely saw my family and spent most of the weekend behind the wheel of a car. Got up early on Saturday to drive 6+ hours round trip to go to my sister-in-law's baby shower. My tushy was feeling the pain. I'd be lying if I didn't confess that I was very apprehensive about how the day would go. For a variety of reasons, I was nervous. The short version of it is that she never approved of her younger brother and I having a baby out of wedlock. She had major issues with us for so many things that I couldn't list them all here. Well, the lack of respect snowballed into a full-on silent treatment. The standoff would last six years. She was polite during the holidays and such, but you could tell it was difficult for her.


The good news is that ever since she finally conceived her first baby, she has mellowed considerably, which was my hope. I think she's realizing what motherhood is all about and can relate to us a little better, at least I hope so. It seems that the ice is finally melting and she has found little need to hold onto whatever it was that made her keep us at bay. She invited me to attnd her baby shower, a very nice gesture I thought. It was nervous and awkward at first as I felt like a fish out of water. I'll say this, she has a good eye for interior design and excellent taste in decor. Her home is beautiful. Since I barely new anybody, I just made small chitchat with people and focused on the food. As the party got going, I relaxed more and actually enjoyed myself. During the time where she opened presents, I thought I'd write down her funny comments. There's a cute little game where you read the comments at the end, but you change the context to the delivery room as her reactions to having the baby. It was a big hit and she softened even more towards me. I was glad I went, even if did make for a long day.

I was meeting a friend I accompanied a friend to a Mary Kay party. That was interesting as I learned some new makeup tricks I hadn't known before. I like to wear some makeup, but my skin is ultra-sensitive and so it limits my options. Anyhow, it was fun. The party took place about an hour from where I live, so I didn't get home til 11pm.

This morning, I got up early again to go to a brunch at a former co-worker's house about 45 minutes away. She was hosting a reunion party of sorts of some wonderful women I used to work with at Camp Fire. It was so surreal to see what everyone has been up to. One lady who was quite obese had apparently lost most of the weight and it took me a minute to realize who she was. She looked amazing! Another one was 35 weeks pregnant. It's funny how you think life stops for others as if they are suspended in time while you keep on living your own life. Time marches on with or without you I guess. It was so great to catch up with everyone. Since I hadn't seen the kids much if at all, I opted to take my daughter along. She brought along a little bag of tiny toys to keep her busy. My friend kindly put out watercolors for her to occupy herself. The one glitch was when she had a #2 accident while we were there. Other than that, she was really good. Anyhow, it was so nice to see all these people who were once such a big part of my life. They were the first people who truly made me feel like a respected professional in my field. I needed that boost of conifidence going into this next phase of my life.

Came home and crashed. Took a long nap, had some McDonald's for dinner as we were too lazy to cook. Now I'm using up all of my ink and printing 50 brochures for the upcoming symposium. Too expensive to use the print shop ($94 plus the cost of paper) as I researched it. So crossing my fingers that this will work. I am entering my last week of student teaching. This week is the dress rehearsal for the symposium presentations and then next week the real thing. Am I done yet?