The More Than Half-Full Glass

After my previous angst-filled posting, I thought it appropriate and necessary to acknowledge the overwhelming amount of love we received on our recent vacation.

I had opportunity this morning to talk about vacation with some friends, and I was suddenly overwhelmed by the memory of all the people who so graciously fed, housed, entertained, and accommodated us. I realized I have not painted an complete picture of our trip.

So, the following is a list of much-deserved thank you’s to some of the people who made our trip special and memorable:

Thanks to Karin for housing and feeding us so generously, and for being so centrally located. There were many great conversations over glasses of wine. I got my first introduction to TIVO and watched “The Sopranos” for the first time ever. Karin has a genuine gift of hospitality. She was very gracious about letting us invite over extra people.

Karin and John

Doug, John, Me and Ellie

Thanks to Doug and Kathleen for being so willing to slip into any available time slot we had, including coming all the way up to Birch Bay just for the day. The cousins had a great time playing together, despite wind, chill air, rain, and facial injuries. And for having us over at their place just long enough to go to the playground, break a vase, and eat some sandwiches.

Baby Joey

Thanks to Gillian and Kent for having us over and feeding us lunch at the drop of a hat, and for having us for an entire afternoon. Also thanks to Gillian for driving up to Birch Bay for an overnight (not an easy task with two-month-old Baby Joey, plus the two girls). Jack will miss Katherine almost as much as I miss Gillian.

Jill

Thanks to Jill for pulling kids out of school in order to have a two-night stay at Birch Bay. We had some great talks and managed to keep the nine kids relatively reeled in. Jill brought games and kites for all the kids, and had a supernatural patience and graciousness in helping the kids play both inside and out.

Mom and Me

Thanks to my mom for coming down to Seattle for one night just to spend some time with us, and for later hosting us at Birch Bay. Even more thanks for her bottomless graciousness in allowing me to invite two friends and their kids up for a couple days. Thanks also to Mom for so quickly mailing back to Anchorage the videos, Bluey, and day-timer that we left at her house.

Thanks to Gary and Mary for not only hosting a St. Paddy’s Day party, but letting us stay overnight, and take over the master suite. I promise next time I’ll try to stay sober long enough to play a genuinely competitive game of Texas Hold ‘Em.

Me, Kaylin, and Karen

Thanks to Auntie Karen who so graciously let us move our family reunion to her house at the last minute, despite recovering from back surgery. Her poor dogs may never be the same after being bombarded by the six nieces and nephews. She also spoiled those same nieces and nephews with lots of presents. Thanks for spending that extra afternoon with us on Mercer Island.

Thanks to Scott and Wink for the amazing brunch at their beautiful home, and for some more great conversation. Wink’s own nose-piercing paved the way for acceptance of my own. Wink also provided me with a couple valium to get me through the terror of flying home.

Kinh and Hali

Thanks to Kinh and Dave, who, despite almost having given up on us making our prearranged meeting time, had us over anyway, and were amazingly tolerant of our eating in such close proximity of their new sofa.

Ellen, Gillian, and Me

Thanks to Ellen and Marian for taking valuable family-time on a Sunday night to spend a couple hours with us, trying to catch up and connect in a meaningful way – not an easy task with so little time and so much to say.

Thanks to Gillian, Jill and Margie for working in time to meet at our traditional haunt, Third Place Books, for dessert and decaf. Extra thanks to Margie for offering her lake-front vacation home as a possible base-camp for next year’s trip.

Thanks to Liz and Steve for coming down to Federal Way for the afternoon, despite a very busy schedule and some health restrictions, and for contributing such thoughtful choices in brews. I wish we’d had more time with you. I hope you can make it up in June.

Thanks to Bob and Barbara for having us invade their Port Ludlow home just days after Bob having a “procedure” on his retina. They always spoil us with activities and treats. Barbara was kind enough to babysit a couple times, and Bob and I had one of our traditional dates involving lunch and books. He even helped us find a beach with sand.

Thanks to Kaylin and Dave, for making me feel like a princess even when I’ve convinced myself I’m a toad. In addition to attending and partially bartending (apple-tinis only) the St. Paddy’s Day party at Gary and Mary’s, they hosted us for an afternoon at their beautiful Mercer Island condo. Thanks for the change of clothes for a very moist Evan.

Lisa and Me

Thanks to Lisa and Rich for having our family over for a rewarding and memorable morning. It had been way too long.

In the end, every day of vacation was spent being loved by beautiful, beloved people. Why it takes me so long to notice how full my glass is, I don’t know. I’m thick, I guess. From how we were treated, you might have thought we were movie stars.