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My Profile
Retro-retrospection - 2008-10-06
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1:01 p.m. - 2003-05-22
Life is going to get stupid busy here in the Sage house for the next couple weeks. Don't know why I said here, most of the action will take place elsewhere. Mike's folks will be arriving at SIL's place in NJ today. They drove up from Texas following a rather snaky diagonal so they could visit friends living in such diverse places as a hamlet which straddles the Kentucky/Tennessee border, Wheeling West Virginia, and the 'burb's of Philly. Mike and I are driving down to SIL's tonight, with Wolf of course, and are staying over. Alex is staying here to participate in tonight's Talent Show and go to school on Friday. He's missed enough school recently and the dreg ends of his senior year or not, he needs to put in a decent amount of face time. Engineer BIL and his family are arriving today too. They are flying in from Seattle. This will be my first look-see at my newest nephew. The baby is already 16 months old and running his mom ragged. I tried to warn her that despite her husband's stuffy grumbling about how difficult it is to travel with a newborn that she was better off bringing the baby back East while he was still an infant. Everyone can coo and sigh over a babe in arms much more easily than trying to catch a glimpse of a full bore rampaging toddler. Visiting is easier on the mom too. Now my SIL will be spending her "vacation" chasing her kid around and apologizing for his wayward (but totally normal) behavior, instead of having long leisurely chats with friends and family while the baby was passed hand to hand. This SIL is from here. We grew up in the same town and graduated from the same high school. I didn't know her then, there's 8 years difference between us, but I know plenty of her cousins. Even dated one for a while. She and I got to be friends later on when the age thing wasn't an issue. My friend met Mike's brother here in our house. They fell in love on the instant and by the next morning it became clear that my poker buddy was destined to become my sister-in-law. I was delighted for them, but sorry to see my friend leave. Engineer BIL will live no place else but Seattle, staying here in NY was simply out of the question. So my friend faced that wretched Hobson's choice of choosing between love and home. Love won, obviously. Tomorrow the whole gang is trouping to Newark to attend NJ SIL's graduation. The clan's first Master's Degree. We're all very proud of her. We found it amusing though that she lives 10 minutes from Princeton, but went to Rutgers for her graduate degree. She agreed that studying at Princeton would have made life a bit easier. She's been working so hard! A demanding and high pressure job which requires a lot of travel, 2 teenage boys, a displaced and rather grumbly husband who hasn't found much to love about NJ, and a rigorous degree program she bulled through in just 2 years. I've known full time grad students who fiddled around for 3, 4, even 5 years before actually getting their Master's and here was my SIL with all her other commitments still managing to come in on time and graduating #3 in her class to boot. There will much to-ing and fro-ing between here and NJ. Tomorrow's graduation. Back here on Saturday so Wolf can attend his best buddy's birthday party. Back to NJ on Sunday for a BBQ. Back here with everybody so they can watch Alex in Monday's parade and see the Hobbit House. Tuesday, a long weary trek to the wilds of Pennsylvania to take the younger kids to Sesame Place, a theme park for the under-6 set. (I've got hives already. How much Elmo can any sane person tolerate?) Wednesday, the ladies of the clan are going into the city to see a matinee of "Chicago" on Broadway. MIL, who's been on an Audrey Hepburn kick, wants to go to Tiffany's and the SILs want me to show everyone around Chinatown and Little Italy. Frankly, I'm going to be pooped by then so I may just turn them loose in Pearl River Mart (a nifty import department store), find a handy noodle place and settle in with a good book and lots of tea while the other three shop. Though if I can convince everyone to get up and go in early we can do Chinatown before the show, pig out on dim sum, and waddle back uptown. We shall see. My lust for steamed dumplings might not be enough of a reason for the other 3 to brave the commuter crush on the early train. Thursday MIL wants to do some antiquing. Dangerous, that. During previous visits she's gone goofy and bought things like trunks, quilt frames, and a crank handle ice cream maker. She also collects dolls and went on a spree at a local place that specializes in antique toys. My Viet Nam veteran FIL said it creeped him out that those blank faced porcelain dolls propped up in the back seat were STARING at the back of his head all the way home. When I spoke to him last week he begged me not to let her buy anything with eyes. Friday is something strenuous, far away, or expensive, I'm sure. I've misplaced the schedule drawn up by meticulous Engineer BIL. Saturday is another BBQ at SIL's. This one in honor of Alex's graduation. Really very sweet of her. All the visitors feel a bit guilty that their visit couldn't have been scheduled so they could see him in his cap and gown and want to make a fuss over him, as the oldest he's the first grandson to graduate high school. GAH!!! Enough! There's still more, but I'm exhausted just listing this far. Surviving it will take every bit of energy I have. I think I shall prepare by taking a nap. Nodding out, ~LA
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