I Wonder What Was the Best Part About My Weekend?

Well, hands down the best part was that I wasn’t here at work.

Sorry. This has been One Of Those Days, and it won’t be over soon. The roofers pounding just above my head aren’t helping much. So, in order to lower my blood pressure and focus on good times, good times, let’s discuss last weekend, shall we? Because last weekend? Was awesome.

My parents and middle sister came to visit. We see them 3 or 4 times a year, which is not enough, but it’s tough to make that 8 hour drive for just a weekend. The middlesis has signed the lease on her first apartment – whee!! – and we are donating some much-loved items to her household. It’s amazing how much stuff it takes to clean your bathroom or cook a spaghetti dinner, and I like to think that we’ve made it a little more possible for her to perform these tasks.

In any case, these boxed items in our shed + ever-aging baby boy = parental trip, and boy did the weather just suckity suck suck for their visit. It rained and drooped and drizzled and fizzled all weekend. Friday night while we waited for them to arrive, Darlin and I splurged on getting takeout. We ordered fried egg burgers and tater tots from a local bar, and Frog Baby garnered lots of attention in there while we waited. (It’s family friendly til a certain hour of the night – there were lots of kids, but Frog was the cutest!) We gorged ourselves, watched a Sopranos episode, and fell asleep waiting for my family to arrive. They got there around 11pm, peeked in on the baby, and then we all headed to bed.

Saturday morning dawned dreary as ever, but we rallied and sallied ho and took ourselves on up to the Natural Science Museum anyhow. We sloshed through the puddles to the front entrance, and then enjoyed a leisurely two hour (dry and warm!) exploration of the four floors of dinosaurs, whales, trees, snakes, spiders, and so forth. It was lots of fun. Dad bought Frog Baby a soft pillow with a wolf on it. He sleeps with it at night.

That evening we were all treated to a delicious PF Chang’s dinner, on Dad. We did call ahead seating, which is a parent’s savior by the way. The only way we were getting through a nice meal at a nice (slow) restaurant was if the experience was as short as possible. There was no reason to worry, though - Frog was a dream. He sat in his high chair, played with chopsticks, and ate the finger foods I’d packed. He didn’t fuss for a second. Eating out is really different with a kid. I can’t imagine when we have multiple children! That night, my mother and sister saw me perform with my band at a local bar. My mom rocked out until past midnight, drinking a rum and coke and cheering for me. What a mama.

Next day, we casually mentioned that I had praised my mother’s lasagna in a post here, and she gave us all a knowing cockeyed look and then graciously offered to make it. Oh yes. YESSSSSSS. We did a Wal Mart run for the ingredients, and approximately seven zillion hours later it was assembled and boiling hot on our plates. In the meantime, we hung around the house, enjoying each other’s company, and all in all spending too much time with the baby as the center of attention.

Monday morning dawned snowy and bright, and I decided to work from home (much to my Northern boss’s consternation, but tough cookies. It’s not worth my life!) I wished my family farewell, and then alternated working and teaching Jack about snow. It was the best day I’ve had in a long time.

It all feels a million miles away right now, as I wait to fire some people and discipline some other people. But I know that this week can't, in fact, last forever. And that another Friday is waiting for me just around the corner.