Generic Update

Last weekend we were in the DC area to visit Oma and for cousin Elise's 2nd birthday party, and to try and hook up with another cousin's kid who was coming to DC from Texas for a People to People Leadership Program.

Day 1 was a logistical nightmare:
- my mother left at 6:30 am for a Chesapeake Bay lighthouse cruise, departing from the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomon's;

- meanwhile, back at her ranch, my aunt was visiting overnight and was being picked up at 9:30 am by her friend who was driving up from the Richmond area and they were going to the Golden Tech-ite Reunion (a McKinley Tech reunion for anyone who graduated 51 years or more ago);

- and we were across Route 301 at the Sleep Inn, having gotten in late, and finally gotten Micah to sleep well after midnight;

- and Fred, the guy who details my mother's car, and on occasion my car, was coming at 9 am to do his thing (original plan was that he was coming at the much more civilized hour of 1 pm);

- I had a 10:45 am appointment with Lindsey to get my hair colored and cut;

- Steve had to be at my mother's house, with the kids, in time for me to take his car to go to the hair appointment, and then had to keep the kids from tearing up Oma's house;

- my aunt was returning from the reunion luncheon around 4 pm or so, and then my cousin and his son-in-law were coming after golfing somewhere in southern MD to pick her up and take her to Virginia, so someone had to be back at my mother's to be the doorman;

- and my mother was returning sometime after 6 pm from her jaunt.

Surprisingly, it all worked out

- despite my finding a note from my mother stating "LG, Clean out my car. Mom" after Fred had already arrived; this is not as easy as it sounds, because my mother's car is a rolling clutter magnet; it is not a task for the faint of heart or one that can be completed in a few minutes;

- despite being told the money for Fred was on the dresser, and me panicking when I perused both pieces of furniture in my mother's room that could be a dresser, and all the detritus thereupon, and found nothing;

- and despite calling my mother's friend Dorothy's cell phone number (which my mother left for me) and having it go right into voice mail (she had turned it off AND left it home, big help there) to see if she could ask my mother where the envelope was (found on the kitchen counter once I'd gotten to the "oh I'll just go to the ATM stage" of my panic;

- and despite being Lindsey's last client of the day; she was going to an afternoon wedding; it's not a confidence building exercise to know that the person wielding chemicals and scissors around your head is under time pressure to be somewhere else.

Anyway, everyone appeared and disappeared at the appropriate intervals, no one was locked out, cars got cleaned, gray was covered, no maritime accidents occurred, and all was well.

Sunday our only mission was to be at Belle Haven Park at 12 noon for Elise's party, and we made it, if a few minutes late. And we remembered her present and Mom's handicapped parking placard.

The party area was near the riverbank, and Micah managed not to fall in. Bonus. No one melted down, and everyone had a good time at The Very Hungry Caterpiller-themed party. Steve left for home from there, so the rest of us made a stop at the cousins' house where the little cousins got to play with each other, and in a two-for-two record, Elise managed to end her birthday clad only in a diaper and her smile. This is adorable at age 2, but it might get a little worrisome if it persists.

Thea got her first 5th birthday present from her cousins, officially opening our house's birthday season.

Monday, after checking out of Sleep Inn solo, we hung out at my mother's and then drove to the Hilton in Alexandria to hook up with Gregor. Unfortunately for him, he was being held hostage at Dulles Airport until all of the participants in his program arrived - and since we called him at around 3:30 pm, he'd already been here two hours or so and hadn't even left Dulles. We got to the hotel in advance of Gregor, so Micah and I scoped things out, Thea slept in her car seat with Mom staying with her. Once both kids were out of the car we picked a prime stalking spot in the lobby and parked on the sofas. I bought the children's cooperation with a $3.29 individual serving of Haagen-Daz ice cream for Thea and a bag of chips and bottle of water for Micah. May the hotel roast in Hades for its extortionish prices.

To burn off some energy, Thea, Micah and I went for an escalator ride, and one of the adults greeting the arriving People-to-People participants suggested a walk around the little lake, so we set out. Only to find that the path ended about one-third of the way around, and as we schlogged through the grass, and enormous tour bus turned into the hotel driveway. Thea was great about getting her run on, but Micah plopped on the grass demanding to be carried.

We made it into the hotel and back up the escalator in time, and yelled out "GREY-gor!" just as he got into our part of the lobby. Poor thing, 12 years old, cars, planes, buses and just when he's getting his bearings, he gets clobbered by a band of distantly related stalkers. He took it rather well, all in all - and since he was near the end of the group checking in, it gave us a bit of time to chat with him before he got swept into his first meeting.

This little adventure, and taking Mom along and having to get her back to her house before hitting the road put us on the road late. The children were in their pajamas, after eating dinner at Oma's, so it made getting them into bed at home easier.