And it sure is, peeps. I had a fantastic time in New York with my family. That is to say, my extended family. I traveled to the Big Apple for my brother's nuptials, and left Rick at home with 5 children on perhaps THE busiest weekend we have had ever. He had to do the following:
Friday:
- First off, get everone to school and daycare, usually my gig, and then pick them all up in the afternoon, also usually my gig.
- Get 7-year old to 5 pm baseball practice
- Get to 5:30 soccer practice for 5-year old -- he's the coach as well!
Saturday:
- Get 9-year old to his baseball game by 7:45
- Get 5-year old to her soccer game by 8:30
- Dash over to baseball game to try to make 9-year old's pitching debut
- Take the entire family to an End of the Season soccer potluck
- Drop off two youngest at Saint Nicole's for an evening of babysitting
- Take the older three to a birthday swim party.
Sunday:
- Get 9-year old, along with everyone else, to 9 AM Mass; 3rd grade was doing all of the Mass parts, and our own child did a reading.
- Take everyone to the Annual School Spring Festival. Dole out game tickets like some twisted form of kid-crack.
- Take 9-year old to his baseball game; he had to be there at 2:15, and they didn't get home until 7:30. Yikes.
Throw in one business consultation, which he did with four kids in tow, grocery shopping, birthday gift shopping, and feeding everyone, and it's quite an accomplishment. Wow. He's a keeper.
Meanwhile, I was conducting my own experiment to see just how little sleep and how much caffiene, alcohol, and bread products one woman can handle. Apparently the answers are very little and quite a bit. I love that my family enjoys "the drink." We do have fun together.
My brother lives in Park Slope, a beautiful neighborhood in Brooklyn. My mom, dad, and aunt stayed in a lovely Brownstone via a "house swap" arrangement; my sister, brother-in-law, 3 year old nephew, and I stayed in a great little guesthouse. All of our places were within a 5 block radius of each other.
We did the rehearsal thing on Friday, with a Rehearsal Lunch. Saturday, we walked all over Brooklyn, through Prospect Park and through the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, and the long way home. We managed to arrive at the 6pm wedding in Manhattan via subway with about 10 minutes to spare, freaking my brother out BIG TIME, because WE HAD THE RINGS. We had hoped to be there earlier, but what can you do? My mom and dad were quite the celebrities, meeting Tony's friends for the first time; he's lived there for about 15 years! My dad gave a fantastic toast. He worked in Karl Marx and a reference to porn, and still managed to get a few people teary. You sure are charming when you try to be, dad!
Sunday morning, my brother-in-law and I took the subway into Manhattan and walked around the perimeter of the World Trade Center site. It was very interesting, and sobering.
So. Now I am back. Hoo-boy. I am still digging out from being gone, three days later. Clothes are still everywhere...the to do list keeps getting longer...the kids are WIGGING OUT...and my rejuvenated self didn't last as long as one might hope. It was so wonderful to be on my own for four days. It was amazing how easily I slipped into it. It's not so easy to slip back into the "mommy mommy mommy" and the screaming and the fighting and the squabbling and the potty training and the accidents and the spilled milk and the noise oh the noise. It's a damn good thing I love them so much.
Re-entry is a much longer process than I anticipated. I think part of me is still walking the lovely avenues of Park Slope, sipping a latte, and deciding whether to eat a croissant or a bagel. Today, I was far more tired than I was the day after I got back. So tired I could barely move. I think I need a few more days away!
Hmmmm, don't think I'm gonna get it. A bitch indeed.
By the way, the porn reference was really rather innocent, so please don't think strangely of my father. The entire toast was lovely, funny, touching, and I'll say it again: charming.
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