Summer Fun With The Family

It's been a whirlwind several months, with wedding plans, showers and luncheons. David and Tracy are finally married, the out of town guests have gone home, and we can all get back to our daily lives. No gifts, no luncheons, no big parties for a while, PLEASE. David and Tracy are so happy. We call them "the lovebirds." The wedding went off without a hitch, everyone looked gorgeous, had a great time, and I was relieved when it was over. Even when you're not involved in the day to day planning of a wedding, as the mother of the groom, you're still thinking about flowers, food, tables, music, and hoping everyone will have a good time. Everyone did, especially Ron and me. We not only loved seeing our son and his new bride so happy, but we had a chance to see many of David's friends from high school and college, some whom we hadn't seen in many years. Naka, John, Austin, Andrew, Lance, Eric, and John (I hope I didn't forget anyone) were just some of the young men we had a chance to reconnect with, and meeting many of David's newer friends was also a treat. It's summertime, Del Mar racing season is in full swing, and everyone wants to be in San Diego. It's paradise here, especially in the summer. David and Tracy came for a short visit, and stayed in a nearby hotel. Unfortunately we have only a single bed in our guest room, so the only overnight visitor we ever have is my mom. We spent an evening looking at wedding pictures with David and Tracy. From 600 pictures, it's hard to narrow it down to just 60, but that's just what they'll have to do to make their wedding album. We went to Phil's Barbeque for dinner, then spent the rest of the evening pouring over pictures. The next day David and Tracy went to the races. They won every race! That never happened before, even when David was up on all the horses and jockeys. Maybe you have a better chance of winning when you don't know too much. Saturday morning we all got together at Pipe's, along with our longtime friend Les. Les has known David since he was born, so he really enjoyed seeing him again and meeting Tracy. We ate and talked for a long time, until the stares of diners waiting for a table drove us out. What fun it was to just sit and schmooze! It's hard when your family is far away. Even though LA is just two hours away, it's always a planned trip to get together. No more drop ins, like we used to have. But we talk all the time, so we feel connected. However, nothing beats a big hug, and an hour spent in the California sunshine, talking face to face about anything and everything. I can't wait until the next time we're all together. I almost forgot to mention the wonderful treats David and Tracy brought for us. Homemade chocolate chip cookies and a strawberry loaf. Both were delicious. I told them not to bring us gifts when they come to visit (I'm uncluttering my house, not acquiring more), but I'll never turn down food. Thanks, guys.