Partying Like It's 1986!

The main reason for the timing of my trip home in June was my 25 year high school reunion. It was incredibly special for me because it was literally the first time in more than two decades that I had seen most of my classmates.

 My class held two previous reunions at 5 and 10 years, and I missed both. At five, I was just out of college and still too intent on finding my own way to go back and visit a past I was trying to distance myself from. My 10 year happened the year I moved from Virginia Beach to Seattle, and things were just too chaotic to make time for a trip home. But this time, my life was stable, I knew about the event a year in advance thanks to our great planning committee and I was due for a trip home to Delaware. No excuses. And to tell the truth, I was actually looking forward to it.

The words "high school" and "reunion" in the same sentence can put fear in the heart of even the most confident person. If you dread reunions, it's because you see them as reminders of how much of your life is gone, of the dreams you had as a kid that went unrealized or of how much your physical appearance has changed in ways you don't like.

But reunions can also be a powerful reminder of how the people and experiences you had all those years ago shaped the person you are today for the better. Judy Adams, our class adviser, was one of those people.

She was part teacher and part mother to all of us. Her son Chris was a member of our class. Sadly, he's one of the friends we've lost over the years. I imagine seeing all of us was bittersweet for her in a way, but I'm so glad she came because our gathering would have seemed incomplete without her.

Living in a world with social tools like Facebook definitely helped take some of the anxiety out of getting reacquainted with people I hadn't seen in a long time. I was already connected with more than half of my classmates that attended, so I knew what they looked like now, what was going on in their lives and what their current interests were. There were still the occasional glances down at name tags before saying hello to people I didn't recognize, but the small talk got started a lot easier.

And the more I talked with people, the more I realized most of us hadn't really changed all that much. Our life experiences had just made us better versions of ourselves. And as the memories flooded back and friendships were re-established, it didn't matter how much time had passed, how much weight we'd gained or how we made a living.

All that mattered was that we were a class again. And if I do say so myself, 1986 was a really great year.

Wet, Wild and Dewey

After the craziness of planning Will's 13th birthday party, my sister-in-law needed a night out and with me visiting she had an easy excuse. So my Mom agreed to keep an eye on the boys and Barb and I headed down to The Starboard in Dewey Beach.

We did have a reason for going other than relieving party planning stress. My brother was working that night as the sound board guy (he's the local rock star in our family) and some dude named Reggie Branch was having a party.

Rock Star Brother at work

I am an idiot about professional football, so I had no idea who Reggie was (he won the Superbowl with the Redskins? Well, it isn't The Stanley Cup, but that's cool...). Dave and Barb know him from The Starboard, which is his summer hangout. He sponsors a charity golf tournament every year and happy hour was at the bar.

My brother big pimpin' with Reggie and the boys

Reggie is one very cool, down-to-Earth dude, and all the retired NFL guys partying with him were a hoot! I couldn't tell you who they were, especially since they kept switching name tags with each other. I know there were former Eagles and Redskins, and Kristen and Joe (the band) got a little fight song sing-a-long competition going between the Redskins and Eagles fans.

Should we start a sing-a-long, Joe?

Let's sing AND do shots!

Dewey Beach in the summer is your classic college frat party scene, which is still a great time after all these years and a great place to escape the rigors of adult life for a while. Plenty of fantastic local bands, cheap drinks and flip flops abound, along with....um, creative decor.

But if you can't have fun in the summer, you're not really living are you? As Jimmy Buffet would say, "If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane."

I'll drink to that. Thanks for a great party Dewey!

Thirteen

My oldest nephew turned 13 the beginning of June, and due to school, baseball schedules, etc. his birthday party ended up happening while I was back home. That meant Aunt Meg got to help out with the party -- 15 twelve to thirteen year kids, a pool, and hot tub. Needless to say, I wasn't sure I could handle it! I also found out why all moms need a weekend away with the girls and a bunch of cocktails every so often.

This is what 13 look like!

Actually, the kids were really good overall. Our biggest battle was reminding them not to do any flips off the diving board. And watching them was actually an interesting sociology lesson.

Teenagers are interesting creatures. They're full of hormones that make them do crazy things at times, like talk back to their parents in ways they've never done before. If you're a mom used to hugs and kisses from a pre-teen boy, expect them to stop as soon as he becomes a full-fledged teenager (totally not cool to like your mom that much).

Although it IS cool to be taller than your Mom...

 And while kids at this age start getting interested in the opposite sex, they still have no idea how to interact with each other.

At the beginning, it was almost like two separate parties were happening -- one for the girls and one for the boys. If the girls were in the pool, the boys were in the got tub. Once one of the girls got brave and headed over to see what the boys were doing, one by one they headed to the pool and the girls took over the hot tub. It was at least an hour before they all ended up in the pool at the same time!

The other thing I learned is that teenage boys and girls DO NOT EAT TOGETHER. They were at separate tables the entire time -- at least until the s'mores came out and they all had to gather around the fire pit.

 Will was a trooper in spite of having a broken wrist that made swimming impossible. His Dad managed to find a solution to at least let him get in the hot tub, although it wasn't all that comfortable for the poor kid. As if being 13 isn't hard enough!

But Will is a good sport about most things, so he hung in there. His friends were also VERY generous with their birthday gifts, and he ended up with quite a wad of cash and gift certificates!

In the end, everyone had a great time, plus no one got hurt or grounded (at least that I could tell) and Aunt Meg survived. And when you're a teenager, that's a successful party!

Weekend in Napa

Flight from LAX to SFO: $199
Last minute bargain room at resort hotel in wine country: $109
Ferry from San Francisco to Napa: $27

 Concert in the middle of a vineyard: $75

 Wine, champagne, mysterious bottled vodka drink and poolside mojitos: $150

 One-of-kind birthday celebration for your best friend: Priceless

Seaside Treasures

When I was a little girl spending summers at the beach, I loved wandering the coastline searching for seashells. I had boxes and jars full of them my collected treasures. And every so often I'd be lucky enough to find a piece of beach glass peeking out of the sand.

Beach glass comes from pieces of broken bottles that become worn down by the waves. Most of the time it's green, light blue or clear. Occasionally I remember finding a bright blue one, which was always exciting. When I was in high school, I even recall walking on the beach with one of my boyfriends, who found a lovely piece of beach glass and gave it to me. I think I still have it somewhere...

So when I was driving around at home and saw a roadside banner advertising the Lewes Historical Society Sea Glass Festival, I knew I had to pop over and check it out. Who knew there was so much beach glass in the world?

They even had a shard identification room run by the Sussex Bottle Club, so if you had a piece of your own glass or an old bottle you found on the beach they could help figure out how old it was, where it came from, etc.

Most of the artisans there had beach glass jewelry, but there were some other interesting things as well. I especially liked the framed photos with designs made out of beach glass. That might have to be a future craft project to try some day!

Visiting the festival also gave me a chance to walk around downtown Lewes, DE.  Lewes was the first European settlement in the state of Delaware, and therefore the first city in the first state to ratify the US Constitution (that's your little Delaware history lesson for the day).  It's a beautiful little town with gorgeous Victorian style homes, so I had a little fun walking around and looking for my future beach house by the sea. I dream big!

And no stop in Lewes is complete without a visit to King's Ice Cream! On a day with temperatures close to 90 degrees, a little homemade mint chocolate chip really hit the spot!

I had to eat fast - it was melting on me!

Lewes is one of my favorite summer spots to visit. What's your favorite summer place?

Maiden Voyage

Experience has taught me that one of the keys to traveling successfully is your comfort level with your luggage. So I was just a little nervous starting my trip back East since it was also my first time out with my new travel buddy -- the purple carry-on bag.

As you may recall, the old carry-on bag I use for my computer and other essentials had a bit of a rough trip to Tennessee. The damaged wheel got repaired, but that poor bag has endured 7 years of hard labor following me around the world and it's starting to look a little worse for wear. Plus I've never been totally happy with it as a true overnight bag since it's just one big compartment with no way to keep clothes separate from the computer and other stuff. Hence the purchase of a new carry-on.

A new bag requires a new routine, just like swapping out your old purse for a new one. You have to decide on the best pocket for everything to go in, you pull things out for security checks in a different order, you double check to make sure you pull the right back out of the airplane overhead compartment, etc. It takes a little getting used to even if the new bag is better than the old one.

After 5,000 miles of flying through 3 different airports, I'm absolutely in love with this bag! My travels went off without a hitch, it has a ton more room and it was even easier to access my computer than with the old bag.

Front compartment for your laptop -- complete with a sleeve/sling to keep it safe!

Roomy enough in the back for a couple days worth of clothes!

It's even slightly more narrow than the old bag so it glides down airplane aisles without catching on seats!

If you're in the market for a new carry-on yourself, here's a link so you can get one of your own. The style is called "Big Sur." Very California!

http://ricardobeverlyhills.com/

Happy travels!

The Peace Lily

In addition to cooking, Mom had another job for me during my visit home, but this one was truly a labor of love. Back in December during my last visit, she had asked me to re-pot one of her house plants. I suggested waiting until the summer since winter is a more dormant time for most plants and I didn't want to shock it too badly and damage it. After all, this plant is special.

It's a peace lily and it's been with my Mom for over 10 years. For her, that's quite an accomplishment. When I was growing up, green things were pretty much my Dad's domain, and with 18.5 acres of farm land around our house, he had something growing pretty much all the time. He used to joke that Mom had a black thumb and she'd probably kill a plant if she had one. Aside from the random african violet on the kitchen window sill, plants weren't really part of the decor inside the house.

I'm convinced my Dad has had a hand in her success with this particular plant, because he is the reason it came into her life.

When he passed away shortly before Christmas in 2000, a group of my closest friends from college sent this peace lily to my mother in honor of his passing. I still remember going home for the funeral and reading the card from the florist with her, watching her shock and surprise that people she had met  only briefly would make such a kind gesture. Long after other flowers she received passed their peak and were discarded, the peace lily thrived.

I had re-potted it once before, but it must have been over five years ago. The plant was still healthy, but it had stopped blooming and we were pretty convinced it was from being constricted in a pot it had outgrown. It just needed a new pot and a little love to get it going again. So we found a tape measure, got the dimensions of the old pot and set out to Lowe's to pick out a suitable replacement.

Once we had secured a larger pot and some fresh potting soil, I took the peace lily outside to get it ready for its new home. The roots were clustered tightly together at the bottom of the old pot, so I spread them apart and cleared away some of the older yellowed leaves withering under the canopy of healthy ones. Then it was time to move the plant into it's new space and give it a nice long drink of water.

Thankfully the larger pot still fits in the sunny corner of the living room where Mom can keep an eye on it. She can easily see it from her favorite TV watching spot, which coincidentally is positioned at just about the same distance and angle from which she used to watch my Dad fall asleep in his favorite recliner at our old house.

This peace lily is a beautiful, evergreen reminder that real love never dies. It just adapts to find ways to stay in your heart forever.

I'm excited to check on it when I'm home around Christmas to make sure it's blooming again. Something tells me Daddy and his green thumb will find a way to make that happen.