Here For The Party

I may not be able to taste, drink or speak at length without drying out my mouth but it does not appear to have slowed me down any. Witness the photo evidence above.

The first photo is of our 14th Annual Upper Lou Avenue Block Party, held on July 18th this year. In addition to our usual food fest and Tiki Bar (courtesy of MJ and Anthony), we held a food drive, asking guests to bring a non-perishable item for the local food pantry. We collected 6 bags of food (which Warren and I brought to the church the next day, and many thanks to our friend Cindy for meeting us there). And best of all, we had a touching and exhilarating tribute to our wonderful, departed friend Mickey (if you recall, he was my neighbor that died while I was in the hospital). Warren said a few words about Mickey and then just when we were all getting that lump in our throats, the DJ put on the song "Mickey" by Toni Basil and all the Lou Avenue neighbors gathered in a circle to dance wildly, laugh loudly, and hug tightly, all in celebration of the man whose smile lit up our block. And in our hearts, it still does.

The second photo is of Warren and I at our friend Mary Cannon's barbecue. Our "Girls Night Out" girls (Mary, Mary, Patty, Patti, Jackie, Elisa and I) gathered at Mary's house with our families (yes, we even let our husbands come!) on an absolutely beautiful day. We ate and drank and chattered and planned (Girls Weekend Getaway - let's do it!) and marveled at how much our children have grown (I give Cecelia one more year before she's taller than Mary), how bright and beautiful the girls are (could Colleen's eyes be any more gorgeous?), how smart and tough the boys are (Warren is still talking about how impressive Ryan was dealing with that splinter the size of a 2x4 in his foot), how fast it all goes by (was I really discussing college visits with Lucy?). At the risk of sounding boastful (this will probably come back to bite me), I am going to state that, based on what I saw and heard yesterday, we have all done an amazing job as parents so far. (At the very least we don't appear to have created any seriously damaged ones!) Clearly, we deserve a reward...like, say, a Girls Weekend Getaway!

Life's challenges continue, but so does it's celebrations. Make no mistake, I am here for the parties.

Blessings and Love to All.