california, here i am...

We're pretty much trying to get as much out of the summer as possible so we took the opportunity to make my 2oth High School Reunion into a chance to visit family in California. And as usual, I've packed as much as humanely possible into this trip. Luckily, Boaz is a good sport and in return for him not totally freaking out when we go to visit twelve of my closest old friends and family in one afternoon, he's been scoping out golf courses everywhere we go.

At this point in the trip, we're drying out in the desert. The kids have rediscovered their cousins, Dallas and Jacob, and Dallas and Tali have taken to calling each other "Sista." And they're all having a great time splashing around the pool at their Saba and Grandma's. We're here till Wednesday and then heading to LA to see more friends and family and then to gasp... Disneyland. I'm really not so sure there are enough golf courses in this state to get Boaz through that.

don't mess with HRH Princess Squishyface...

The other night the kids and I went over to Dan's house to hang out with him and the boys while the Kate was at a class. For some unexplainable reason, 6 kids + 2 adults is always an easier combination that 3 kids + 1 adult, so hauled ourselves over there.

Of course, the other draw of the eve was HRH Princess Squishyface, a.k.a. Baby Eva. The girls are so incredibly in love with her that they fight over who holds her first, longer, better and then last night after she pooped in Tali's arms (I wish I could've gotten a photo of Tali's expression) and we changed her diaper, we all laid on the ground with HRH around her blanket as she gurgled charmingly to us.

"I think Baby Eva needs some lipstick," Naomi said to me. "Can I give her some?"

"Let's hold off on that for a bit," I tell her.
"Oh, because her lips are so small it'd be hard to get it on right?"

"Yeah," I say. "That's exactly right."

Meanwhile, as she rubbed Eva's wrist with her finger in the most loving way I've ever seen, Tali looks over at me and says, "Forget the dog. Let's have a baby..."

Oh, my girl... How to tell her that she'll probably have neither for a long, long while?

happy 70th birthday, mom...

On Saturday night, we threw a party for my mom's 70th birthday.



To be honest, it was really her idea. We'd figured we would do something for her birthday and mentioned a party.



But then she kept bringing it up, as in "Here's a good date for my party." Or, "Here's who we should invite to my party," and "How big do you think this party should be?"






You could even say she was a bit persistent.





And so we sent out invitations, got the decorations, figured out the food and drink menu and ordered the cake.


We fussed over how much to make and whether the party should be in the evening or afternoon, and prayed for warm weather so that people could be outside in the yard.



We spent the day of the party doing prep--cooking food, preparing a slideshow, and Dan, Mari, and I rolled more sushi than forty people could ever hope to eat.



At 7pm, we were ready to go.









Dan even had to squeeze in the requisite little brother move of pretending to take a photo of someone else with the camera phone, but instead taking his own picture.









But what I didn't realize until the moment in the picture below, was how much this party really reflected who my mom is.


It was a great party because she loved it. My mom loves her friends and her community and she is very involved with them. Pretty much everyone we invited showed up because they love her and as she made her way around the room, I could see that everyone there was incredibly important to her.
A few people made some short speeches about how amazing her community involvement is, or how dynamic she is, and if I were a different kind of person, I would've made a speech, too. Or, perhaps if my drinks had been stronger, I might have also made a speech.

But since I'm not and they were not (lesson learned--stronger drinks next time), I'll say what I wanted to here.


Mom,

I think that if I had to sum up some of the most important gifts you've blessed me with as your daughter, I would choose these three that have most impacted my life.


Thank you for teaching me what unconditional love looks like. You have always been my safe place, and even when we don't agree, I know that neither one of us will ever go to sleep angry.



Thank you for expecting so much from me. Even though your expectations have always been high, your expectations have enabled me to expect so much from myself, and to believe that I'm capable of doing what I feel I need to. You have taught me how to be strong.

And, thank you for sharing your love of literature with me. Besides opening up entire new worlds for me as a child, in what is probably the simplest explanation possible, your high school English teacher instructions that a paper (or a poem, or a story, or even a fraction of one's life) needs to be, and can be, revised until it is where you want it, has taught me that nothing is finished until you decide it is.







I love you and we are so lucky to have you in our lives...






















And Happy Birthday, to Natalie, my mom's twin sister! We love you!

more of what it takes...

Tomorrow morning I'm off to California for my Aunt Liz's funeral. As I said less than two weeks ago, it just plainly sucks that it takes a funeral for family to get together. I will be seeing relatives I haven't seen for five years or more, family that I love but don't call enough, people that I enjoy spending time with, but don't make enough time to see them. The fact that we're all busy is now clearly a lame excuse. I just feel sad.

And on top of sadness, I definitely feel anxious about getting on a plane and leaving my three kids at home with their busy dad. I realized after making the reservations that I have never left for more than a night and it feels odd to pack up my own stuff without including diapers and extra kid clothes and drive to my brother's house so that we can take this trip together. But it is probably a good thing for all not to drag three kids to a funeral.

So that's where I am tonight--sad and anxious. On the bright side, a road trip to the desert with my brother once we land in LA involving some good music and conversation sounds like a good time (we really do enjoy road trips) and I've definitely had some very vivid daydreams featuring me devouring some true Mexican food.

And even though I wish I were going for another reason, it'll be good to get back to Southern California for a few days, where oddly, I feel grounded.