Catching Up

glass, sky
Originally uploaded by suzipaw.

It was a lovely weekend this last one. But first, the lovely one before that.

My older nephew took up wrestling this year, to help him play football in the fall, though he's doing quite well without the extra athletic exertion. However, I do admire a fourteen year old male who takes up wrestling, a sport with moves that make me blush, despite the obvious athleticism needed. So I was looking forward to seeing him at a meet last weekend, when my dad would also be out from the East coast. But alas, my nephew had sore shoulders (my brother, his father, explained that a popular move is to pull on one's opponent's shoulders until they *have* to move), so we didn't get to see any live matches, though my brother played several recorded meets for us.

We did, however, attend one of my niece's last cheerleading sessions, at a basketball game. She's cheered all four years of high school, and was head cheerleader this year. It's been wonderful to see her progress throughout the years. She's always been a very confident young lady, but she seemed more comfortable than ever out on the court, and I was so proud to see her out front and leading her team. I can't believe she's off to college in the fall. Usually she's very busy when I visit, but this time she was able to spend some time with us. She had breakfast with my dad, brother, and I in the morning…it felt so comforting to be out with my family, three generations sitting down for a meal together. She says she's nervous about going off to college in the fall, but she doesn't seem frightened at all. And she'll be attending a college just a little more than an hour away from home, which probably helps a bit too.

My brother's been transferring some old videotapes to DVDs, so he treated us to not only to a show of my nephew wrestling, but also to a trip down memory lane. There was his pre-wedding tape from 1986 where our grandmother smiled radiantly into the camera, my ex mugged a bit too (what was I thinking?), I sported bad fashions, short hair with a long tail, and everyone looked positively wrinkle free. Ah, those were the days. My brother kept slyly referring to a tape called "Winning" which didn't ring a bell until he popped it into the player, and there it was--one of my mime performances from college. Oh, could it be more painful? And it was so boring! He made me a copy, and maybe I'll post it on YouTube. That is one advantage to being older--I just don't give as much of a damn as I used to.

Later, Dad and I drove down to my other brother's place to visit with him and his family. Another lovely visit punctuated by good food and family talk and time with the other nephew. Any the news that they're pregnant! We're very happy for them. Better start working on a knitted baby project…

It was so wonderful being immersed in family rather than work, even if just for a few days.

*****

(Insert stressful work week and dealing with sick elderly cat here.)

*****

This past holiday weekend, M and I packed up Rex and Pookie (recovering from pancreatitis, so we had to bring her along in order to administer meds), a cooler full of meat and booze, and several good intentions into the Monster Mobile and drove up to my mom's. My younger brother came over too.

The trip was marred only by the Pook, who was not only car sick (taking its toll on both ends, if you get my drift) on the way up, but on the way home as well, her revenge for us squirting antibiotics into her tuna hole twice a day for the past week, no doubt. But other than that…We slept. We cooked and we ate. We drank. We walked on the beach. Twice. We played 31 and tried to watch "The Departed." Sat by the fire and drank coffee in the mornings. I did not open my laptop, not once. It was hard to leave.

It was so wonderful being immersed in family rather than work, even if just for a few days.

*****

And now I'm back at work and it's late, and I don't foresee a three day weekend in the near future, though I do have to plan a trip up to Grandma's before too long. That would be a welcome thing to look forward to.