Life changes in a moment.

It’s been a while since my last post. Mostly because we’ve been on vacation for the last 10 days. I would like to have had another 10 days, but alas, not to be.

Tony and I began our journey west on Saturday the 9th. We drove from our home to Phoenix, Arizona in one day. Let me tell you… it was one hell of a long day! We started out here at 6am our time and got there at 9:30 their time, which was actually 11:30 our time. Ugh. But our hosts were gracious and overjoyed to greet us! We stayed with some family friends that I’ve known forever, but have serendipitously missed during their visits to Illinois. Thus, I hadn’t seen any of them for 15 years! Crazy as it was, we picked up virtually where we’d left off, minus the whole being a teenager thing. Autumn and I stayed up until past midnight talking and comparing life experiences. It was amazing to reconnect with someone I had lost contact with for so long. We slunk off to bed, both exhausted and happy to be on vacation!

We met up with an old college roommate, Molly, while in town. We chatted, had pizza, then gelato, then a little later, wings and beer. I mean, we’re on vacation, we have to eat like it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autumn and I                                                                          Molly and I

On Monday Tony andI went golfing for the first time together. Autumn has a friend who works at a local golf course andher friend hooked us up. It was the first time I’d ever set foot on a golf course to play. I’d been on one several years ago, but that was a charity thing and I was actually cooking bratwurst… nevermind. So, we golfed in the very early morning heat. After 9 holes we were hungry and hot andtired. We had second breakfast (inside joke) and proceeded to go shopping. We hung out andwe met Autumn’s boyfriend, Tim. And had a nice dinner that Anne and Walt (Autumn’s parents and our hosts) had prepared. We laughed and ate and drank Limoncello from their private stash. Yum! We said our goodbyes to Autumn promising that it wouldn’t be another 15 years before we saw her again. Tearfully I went to sleep remembering the last time she and I were together so many years ago.

Tuesday we went to In-N-Out burger for the first time! Both, Tony and I agreed, we would glady trade Whataburgerfor In-N-Out. Hands down. However, Tony was disappointed with their fries. I thought they were great andate most of them. As we were leaving Phoenix, we discussed whether or not we could live there. We decided that there was a possibility that we could given that we could keep the temperature in our house below 75. There was a lot to do around the area. We made our way to the San Diego area to visit our friends Kristene, Woody and their little girl Mina! We were ecstatic to get there! Tony was like a kid in a candy store on Christmas the entire ride there. Almost to the point of being annoying. I stress the almost part. I was excited to see them too. They lived like 4 miles from us and then they moved about 4 months ago and we miss them very much. It was great to go have dinner, talk over wine, then over coffee, then while grocery shopping. LOL.

We CRASHED when we got to the hotel room. Wednesday we got up andwent to the San Diego Zoo with Kristene andMina. Unfortunately Woody had to work. So, we entertained the ladies;) We had a wonderful time touring around, taking our time, watching the animals. Mina was a trouper! She did really well. I was impressed! We said goodbye for the evening and headed to the hotel. However, while getting ready for dinner a curious thing happened. I walked out of the bathroom and felt something wet drip onto my shoulder. I looked up to see water dripping from the door-jam. We started to pick up our things and move them to the other side of the room. Well, moments later, there was water dripping closer to the bed. So, we started taking things outside the room and putting them in the car. By the time we had everything out of the room, there was a steady stream of water coming out of the ceiling! Thankful to get things out of the room and be safe, we talked to the front desk andthey gave us another room. Oddly enough, I liked the second room better, plus they comped us a night’s stay. So, we finished getting ready and went to dinner in La Jolla. We had wanted to be there earlier, but with the water deal, we were totally late. So, we arrived at George’s On the Cove. The sun was juuust setting, though the sky was a bit cloudy. We put our name in andwaited for a table. In the process of waiting for our table, we had a drink at the bar on the upper level of the restaurant. Then we went to the lower bar of the restaurant, not knowing that there was a second level. We had a drink in the lowest level. Then, Tony asked the upper level how much longer it would take for our table and someone escorted him to a table on the 2nd level. But that wasn’t where we wanted to sit. So, we had another drink and were buzzed for our table. By the time we stumbled back to the upper level, we were feeling really tipsy. We had a great server, AMAZING!!! food and a beautiful view. We sobered up and went back to the hotel.

Thursday morning I got an email that my sister-in-law’s water had broken and they were headed to the hospital. So, all day, I was checking in with my brother. REAAAAllly trying to not be a pest, but wanting to know what was happening. Tony and I went on a 2-hour boat tour of San Diego harbor. It was a gorgeous day and the weather was perfect. Up to this point, it seemed like every time we walked out the door we were surprised at how AMAZING the weather was. We were told repeatedly that the weather was normal, and actually a little hot. We just giggled to ourselves:) We went to little Italy and had pizza at Filippi’s and the best canolion the planet! Hands down. That did it for both of us. We looked at each other and said, oh yeah, we could definitely live here. That was the theme throughout the rest of the trip. Comparing Dallas to San Diego andhow we were ready for a change. We met up with Kristene and Woody and went to a Moroccan restaurant. Wow. FABULOUS food. Great service. Just perfect. We went to the Gaslamp District and walked around. We went to Ghirardelli for dessert andstopped at a wine bar for a while. It felt normal to be there, walking arounda beautiful city with them!

  

Friday morning called andalong with it a phone call from a very tired and very happy brother. He is now a dad. His son’s name is Zackary Robert Foster. More on that later…. Brian andJenn had arrived! We met up with them and we went to lunch in La Jolla. Since we were soooo close to the sea, we had sushi. Duh. We walked down to the water, did a little shopping, did a little drinking and munching. We drove back to our hotel and dispersed. We regrouped at Kristene and Woody’s later for the first of several parties for Mina the Birthday Girl! It was great! Just hanging out, laughing, talking, eating, drinking, talking, eating cake, laughing some more. It felt like home. Like all of the pieces fit. As though nothing in the world could ever be better than that, in that moment. While everyone was catching up, I took a few moments to check my email. Suzy, my sister-in-law’s sister Shelly had emailed me pictures of my new nephew. As I opened my email, I was thinking about how life changes so fast. One moment, you’re a married couple waiting for something and in the next, everything you thought life was changes. A little person opens their eyes for the first time andjust the presence of them takes your breath away. I looked at the pictures of my nephew for the first time and sat there and cried. Every picture more precious than the last. Could this really be my brother? A dad? Really? The whole scene was so foreign to me. I’d always thought of him and Suzy as mine. That I was sort of theirs. Andnow, I wasn’t. Not that I ever really was to begin with, but I always felt like I had a claim to them. And now, there’s someone new. Someone so beautiful and perfect and brandnew. I was overwhelmed with joy and appreciation. Zack is a very blessed little boy.  

I sat there andcried a little longer, going back through the pictures again to make sure I’d seen them all. I thought about how much I want to be in those pictures. With our baby. Happy and exhausted with a little piece of me andmy husband to hold in my hands and say, “Isn’t my baby beautiful.” As I signed out and walked outside to the rocus party in the backyard, it took me a while to acclimate. I was rather quiet for the rest of the night. I don’t know if I could have put into words how I was feeling at that moment. Even now, I’m crying remembering it.

We got up on Saturday and headed to the beach. We wound up in Coronado on a beach that Kristene and Woody had been to. It was gorgeous! The sand was so soft and there were flakes in the sand that made it look like gold when the sun caught it just right. We waded in the water, walked along the beach andwent in search of food. As a group we were not willing to pay $20 for a sandwich, so we ended up at In-N-Out burger. Which was just fine with me! Another excuse to have a scrumptious milkshake, of course!

We then got ready and went to Mina’s birthday party. Honestly, it was unlike any other 1st birthday party I had ever seen! There were tables, chairs, caterers, a sound system, an enormous cake, mountains of food, people flowing in, dancing, singing, laughing, talking, (some of us were drinking) having a wonderful time celebrating a phenomenal little person. Mina is so special to Tony and I. To be able to share her first birthday with her and her family was a very exciting occasion. We were there the night she was born. I remember holding her for the first time and saying to her, “Welcome! We’re so glad you’re here! I’m Beth. Tony is my husband. And we promise to spoil you as much as we possibly can for the rest of your life. You have wonderful parents who have waited a long time for you. They love you very much. Be patient with them and the rest of us. We’re new at this.” And crying as I held her.

First time I held Mina.

To see her dancing and enthusiastically eating her chocolate cake, was truly a moving experience. Her uncle Jedd played the guitar and his friend Elle sang Mina her lullaby song, Bubbly. I was crying the entire time. Then, it was Jedd’s time to say the blessing and he looked right at Mina, held her hand and said grace. It was awesome. We had a wonderful time. 

                    Mina and Mommy at her party!

Tony and I went back to the hotel, changed clothes and went back to Coronado. We walked along the beach for a while and then laid down on a blanket and watched the stars and clouds. It was as though everything there, was made just for us, right then.

Sunday morning we got up and went to brunch. Wow what a spread! Anything I could have ever wanted to eat, right there. And they brought me champagne too! We laughed and referenced inside jokes andwere, as usual, the loudest table in our section! We went to the church, watched Mina be baptized, withTony as one of her God-parents. It was a very special moment for both Tony and I. More for Tony than for me, after all, he is one of the God-Fathers. Mina’s so lucky she has 2! I was totally reluctant to go. Just 5 more minutes. Ooooh… just 1 more minute to hug and kiss our friends and then we were gone. Headed away from our oasis. Our solace. Back to reality.

The trip home was rather uneventful and very long. We made great time and got everything done just the way we wanted it to. So, Thank you to all that were there for having a hand in our magical experience. We’re so blessed to have you as part of our lives.

I need to go now. I’ll write more later.