Speaking strictly for myself, I had a blast. It was so much fun to get to see my cousins all grown up and to learn that we have interests in common even though we haven't been a close-knit family. My mother and her sisters lived about as far apart as they could get in the continental US--one in Washington State, one in Maryland, and one in Texas. I've always regretted not getting to see my aunts in the past few decades while I raised my family, as I loved them both very much. And I'm so grateful to my cousins for their visit to my mother in Texas last weekend. I know it meant the world to her.
I don't know what my favorite day was. Friday we spent a little time at a street art festival, where my sister bargained for turquoise jewelry and the rest of us window-shopped. Afterward, we gathered at a nice restaurant in Dallas for dinner, then went back to the B&B where four of us were staying and had a late-night gab fest in the beautiful parlor. My cousin Fletcher regaled us with a play-by-play description of the game that was for him the beginning of the famous Cowboys vs. Redskins football rivalry, as my brother and cousin Valerie enjoyed the spoils of my husband's payoff for a bet on one of the games. Of course it is my brother who is the Cowboys fan. My husband owed him a bottle of Irish whiskey for almost two years, and sent it with me to pay up.
Saturday, after a wonderful breakfast in the B&B dining room and getting to know the other weekend guests, we returned to the street fair, where Patti picked up her jewelry and I bought a hat to provide shade if we decided to do something out of doors. As it turned out, we went to the aquarium instead, then to my brother's house. While Rae served snacks and then slaved over a dinner for 11, the rest of us enjoyed a slide show of photos that my grandfather had taken on 35 mm slides that my brother had digitized. Later we had that wonderful dinner and surprise birthday cake for my sister. She probably wouldn't appreciate my saying that the light from the candles might have been enough to read by--but since she won't see this, I'll say it anyway. ;)
Sunday, again after breakfast at the B&B, we went back to Eric's house to find that my sister-in-law had brought out boxes of old photographs from Mother's collection to be divided among us. We all sat or stood around her dining room table and sorted pictures of ourselves from infancy on, comparing notes, talking non-stop, and occasionally having a good laugh over the 70's clothes or some other nonsense. It helped my mother, who hasn't been up to tackling the task, and we all were sent home with boxes of our photos. Except me, that is. Being the oldest is a mixed blessing, as my box was twice the size of anyone else's, way too big to take on the plane. It will be shipped to me as soon as I get my address to them.
We had to say goodbye to my cousin Barb and my other cousin Fletcher as they had to be back to work on Monday and flew out on Sunday afternoon. The rest of us soldiered on until all the photos were identified, sorted, claimed and boxed. Then the survivors went out for a great Mexican dinner, which for me consisted largely of guacamole dip and chips. Probably the reason for my 5 lb. weight gain, unless those breakfasts had something to do with it.
Monday saw the guest list at the B&B halved, so we had breakfast in a less formal room, at separate tables. Valerie and I still had so much to say to each other, and if I have my way it won't be two years before I see her and her sister Barb again. Can you believe we all have the cross-stitch bug? I guess it isn't unusual for the sisters to share it, but considering it wasn't a hobby any of our parents pursued, it amazes me that we all do.
The last half-hour of my visit didn't go quite as planned. Valerie had intended to take me to the airport, then drive herself home to Kentucky, but Eric prevailed so that she could get on the road. Fortunately, someone asked me if I got my luggage out of her car before she was more than five minutes down the road, so she turned around and came back with it. I was so distracted by the thought of what might have happened that I left the front door open when I went out to meet her, resulting in one of my brother's dogs escaping into an unfamiliar neighborhood. Since Eric and Rae have just recently moved into the house and Woody (the dog) hasn't learned the neighborhood yet, he was out without his collar in unknown territory. The posse, consisting of my brother, sister-in-law, sister and brother-in-law, went out to round him up while I stayed behind to guard the door against the other three dogs getting out, while leaving it slightly open in case Woody had to be herded back in. Maya hid in her cage, Annie was indifferent, and August (the baby) pranced back and forth between the window and the door yipping and crying. I thought he was anxious at the hullaballoo, but Rae said he was just jealous that he didn't get to run, too. All ended well, and Woody was rounded up in time to get me to my plane on time.
I had an uneventful flight home, finally experiencing the flight attendant humor that Southwest is known for. I'm not sure where my flight originated, but when I picked it up in Dallas, it still had touch-downs in El Paso, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City to go. The attendant quipped "And if you booked for Salt Lake City, what were you thinking?"
This morning--or rather, technically yesterday morning (Tuesday)--Budd called to tell me that the background check we've been waiting for so that I could go to work at the park was actually done two days after it was turned in, about a month ago, but the HR department lost it. This is the government that plans to fix the health care industry. Right. Now we don't know if the AO will be allowed to hire a temp, as the permanent job has been posted. I'll apply for that, I suppose. Stay tuned for further announcements.
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