It was a dark and stormy night…
My family and I traveled to South Jersey to gather with my sibilings and their families to celebrate the 46th anniversary of my mother’s 29th birthday. (If you ask her, she’ll tell you that she is barely passed pubescence…yeah, whatever!)
We had grand plans. This morning was supposed to start with a grand buffet of eggs and bacon and croissant and orange juice and fruit. A veritable cornucopia of food at Mom’s place. After fully indulging in brunch, the family was going to go ice skating (with Granny watching, rather than participating). Yes, it’s been almost 30 years since I donned a pair of ice skates (I was involved with figure skating in high school, because I had a crush on one of the skaters, who unfortunately had less of an ability to express her emotions for me, and thus we never really understood how we felt about each other. Nevertheless, that is a story for another time.) After ice skating, we were going to have a HUGE family style dinner at Maggiano’s restaurant, in which our families, in addition to several of my mother’s friends, would gather and eat and celebrate her 46th anniversary of her 29th birthday. After dinner, my Mom wished merely to see the movie Avatar in 3D, for which we had pre-purchased tickets.
Well, that was the plan. Of course, then Mother Nature struck (again) and for the second time in 3 months, in which my family traveled to the Northeast, we are trapped under a blanket of snow 18-24″ in depth. Guess what? The ice rink is closed. The restaurant is closed. The movie theater is closed. In fact, the whole county has been declared in a state of emergency. Luckily for us, even though the county is in a state of emergency, necessary businesses remain open; and thus, my brother, niece (Samantha) and I braved the challenging roads to make a run to Traino’s Liquor store to get necessary supplies for waiting out such a snow emergency.
So I sit here, enjoying my adult beverages (as are several of the other adults in the group), throwing our plans to the winds and making dinner at my sisters. It may not be Maggiano’s, but what’s really important to me is that most of our family (my brother Chip was unable to make it because Baltimore received even more snow than we got), is together and “enjoying” each other’s company. Sure, my mom is downstairs “watching” the movie (meaning , her eyes are closed and she is breathing deeply and evenly and, if you were an impartial judge, you might suggest she was asleep) with her grandchildren.
We will have dinner lovingly prepared by my sister, my wife, and my brother-in-law. We will celebrate my Mom’s birthday together and regardless of whether we stick to the plan or not, we are together and that is more important than what we do. I love that we have come together to celebrate my mother. She has given all of us so much (each in her own way). My sibilings and I are so very different in many ways, but we all share a similar love for our mother. Happy Birthday, Mom. We love you. We would not be who we are without your influence.
Now, the big question is whether we will actually be able to fly out tomorrow. I have to admit that I would not mind being stuck another day, as we could then watch the Superbowl with my family. However, if we fly back tomorrow, it will be with the knowledge that, for at least this weekend, we were able to come together and celebrate the matriarch of our family.
Thank you for your continued support.
Love to all!
Merle