weekend recap, mind blown edition

1. apparently it IS okay to wear a sweater dress to a cocktail party when it's 20º out... if you accessorize properly | 2. there are sharks and there are sharks | 3. the reward for the cocktail party: dinner with friends | 4. dinner planning for two | 5. beloved stargazers | 6. uniform trial run | 7. orientation | 8. on his own | 9. it begins

Spoiler Alert: I didn't cry.

Well, I'm not going to pretend that our weekend was about anything other than getting Cal off and settled into Richmond. Really it feels as if our whole last month has been about getting Cal off and settled into Richmond.

Saturday we shopped and dropped and rushed him from one friend to another to make sure he could fit every last one thing in. We still missed tons of friends and things, but that's what the weekends are for, right?

The pages stood out (even uniform-less) once we were in Richmond. Much as I imagine college freshman orientation looks like. We ran into a family in Starbucks and we had a family follow us to the capitol. After that, the handshakes began. I have no, well almost no, recollection of any of the Senate staff we met yesterday. But everyone was so nice and so happy to see us! We ate lunch first (let's face it, Cal could barely eat) and met two families whose kids were from a city five HOURS away. Our 90 miles seems pretty manageable, huh?

After we met Cal's roommate, we dived into groups and filed into the Senate Chamber for orientation. The pages sat in Member's chairs and the parents sat around the perimeter of the room.

Okay, I didn't cry, (and I'm a crier...we should have that well established by now), but I for sure got teary-eyed at this part. It just felt so momentous. I honestly still can't believe that Cal is going to have the opportunity to be part of this amazing experience. He'll be on the floor when the laws of our state are being hashed out and to see first hand what goes into running our Commonwealth. Aside from that, it'll be such an amazing, growing up experience for him. We went over the handbook and touched on all of the rules (!) and guidelines of the program. The Clerk of the Senate led the day, and she's just what you'd imagine what a warm but strict grandmother should be. I can easily imagine her taking a senator to task as one of the pages. She's very proud of how tightly her ship is run and had many disparaging things to say about the loosey-goosey House program. Ahem.

Accompanying her is the man who runs the page program specifically. Picture Stanley Tucci, from looks to mannerisms, in The Devil Wears Prada. He was strict too (yelling at the parents when we didn't line up quickly enough!), but his humor during the orientation told the tale clearly enough: it'll be strict, but it'll be a lot of fun too.

After a quick tour of the Page room (where the kids hang out between assignments) and where we pick them up each Friday, we headed to the hotel to check in. The kids are housed on one floor with a pair of room parents. They were delightful. I know I was reassured after meeting them, and I feel certain Cal will get comfortable with them pretty sharpish. Cal and his roommate seemed quick to accommodate each other about bed choices and shower times, and after a last chat (and phone and email exchange) we took Cal out for one last family dinner.

I'm glad we got some last minute family time together (and I'm glad he got to watch the end of the Chargers game too). He'd barely eaten at lunch, so getting some food in him was a good thing. I'm not sure how much of those final "You'll do greats," he actually heard, but I hope some of it sinks in.

And then it was good-bye. We got him a little unpacked (his roommate is NEAT, so we may have a Felix & Oscar situation on our hands!), and Neel and I headed out. I didn't cry. I felt great, actually. I think it's because I feel so completely positive about everything he's going to be doing.

And he's uniformed and at work right now. Two days of training (including etiquette training!) and the session starts on January 8th. It's a big week, with our inauguration on Saturday. After that, the fun really begins. As if it hasn't already. 

welcome back, nantucket {life}

There is, I think, something really special about going back to a place that you love. Even better when you're heading there to recreate traditions with dear friends. And you know what's funny? I was on the phone with my friend Megan yesterday and we were already talking about next year! But let's talk about this year before it gets to be next year, shall we? It's taken me forever.

I don't know if you remember, but there was a bit of a storm barreling down on the East Coast on Thanksgiving Week this year. Horror stories of travel snarls had us a bit worried, even though we were traveling a day earlier than we did last year. Our main concern was beating the storm to the ferry, because once the winds get up the ferries don't run.

When we got up, (early, early,) that Tuesday morning in Mystic, the wind was blowing, and the whole of the 100 mile drive to Hyannis, we felt that wind at our backs pushing us toward the island. But we made it. The crowd in line wasn't nearly as full as last year, nor as jolly and there was much talk of being stranded on or off island. I didn't really feel good until the boat pulled out of the harbor. By that evening, the winds picked up and all the boats were canceled.

That night, lying in bed (Cal was in a single bed bunk above the double Neel and I shared below), the wind shook the house so hard that we all woke up, Cal startling, "Oh my God!" The whole of the rest of the day was like that.

It felt, Neel and I thought, rather hurricane-y. Bands of rain and wind, rather than a steady blow. While my friend Megan taught a yoga class, he and I took refuge in a coffee shop to read and watch the town come to life. That afternoon, we took the two youngest kids to several beaches (Sankaty Head Light first and then Cisco Beach, where I filmed the wind video from a few posts back.) to watch the wind and the waves. It was thrilling and exhilarating and some of the best fun I've ever had.

By Thanksgiving morning, all was calm and bright for the Cold Turkey Plunge, a tradition Neel and I are proud to watch from the sidelines. (wink) Everyone else (brave or foolhardy?) plunged though. Negative 22º wind chill with 44º water temps. You be the judge.

After the big blow on Wednesday we were graced with clear skies and crisp air straight through the remainder of the week. Long walks, windy strolls through quaint shops, and lunches bellied up to the bar. We did it all. How we crammed everything in, I'll never know. There's never enough time. And I still haven't quite got a handle on how to photograph this place. While my family is used to my lagging behind, I'm keenly aware of others needing me to catch up so I tend not to linger. I think I need to go back with photography my sole concern. Yes? Yes!

Still, before we knew it, we were back on the ferry, sitting high atop the bluest water you've ever seen, our pennies ready to throw at the Brant Point Light to ensure our return. Headed home.

I have more to say about Nantucket and this trip, and I'll probably bore you with a couple more posts on it. But what I was struck with most this time is how special it really is to come back to a place you love. These friends that we spend this holiday with are some of our dearest in the world, and we took that newly-coined hash tag #friendsgiving and ran with it, I'm afraid. I could spend a weekend (or week!) with them anywhere and it would be wonderful, but I love Nantucket, and to have to have it grow familiar alongside my loved ones is something special indeed.