The next generation of weddings has started in my life. When a friend who still has kids in school was talking about all the craziness that is the end of the school year I realized that that season of my life has been over for almost 8 years. Now weddings are again becoming a bigger part of my life, whether it’s a wedding in my own family, or one of my kids’ friends, or my friends’ kids. Last week I attended 2 weddings. One was actually a wedding reception as the bride and groom, Quinn & Nick, got married the Wednesday before in San Francisco City Hall with just their families and the wedding party. I got to help out by dog sitting while they were in the city. Their dog Luke is an Irish setter and just the sweetest. He greeted me at the door with a bark, then lots of licks and tail wags. While I was there Emmy and Garrett had me over for dinner one night, I enjoyed the warmer East Bay weather and went hiking with Julie. Originally, we had planned a hike in the East Bay Hills, but got caught in so much commute traffic we decided to turn around and go to Briones Regional park. Neither of us had been there in a while. It was lovely to get out and hike around that beautiful place especially before it got too hot.
While it was very warm earlier in the week, by Saturday, when they had the wedding reception, the weather had cooled. The reception was held at a winery high up in the Martinez hills. It was pretty shady and windy, so it got chilly quickly, especially for the young women in their strapless dresses. Most of us older women had brought wraps and extra layers, and soon the younger ones were wearing their boyfriend/husbands jackets, though once they started dancing they warmed up. It was a wonderful celebration, in particular seeing Quinn dancing with her father who recently finished cancer treatment. Emmy and Quinn have known each other since the first day of 6th grade. My ex, Brendon and his wife, Janet, were also at the wedding. We spent a lot of time speculating about when we thought Emmy and Garrett might get engaged – we are all hoping it will be soon!
The next day I went for a hike with my friend Heather and her sweet dog Miloh, then got to see her new house she bought a couple of months ago. Then Mom and I went to my nephew Theo’s birthday party – I can’t believe he is 13! Time flies much too fast – it seems like not that long ago my kids were teenagers and now they are rapidly hitting their 30s. Geez.
On Memorial Day I had a yummy brunch with Kieran and Kourtney, then helped Kieran as he put together the supports for his new deck cover, while also throwing the ball to Bentley. That dog was obsessed with the ball as usual. I had gone over to their place early, hoping to miss the Memorial Day traffic on the way home. I took back roads to avoid as much of Hwy 80 as possible, but it was still slow going at times. Later I went to the Mill Valley Community Center’s 25th anniversary celebration to hear Tainted Love, one of my favorite 80s tribute bands. They did not disappoint, there were lots of people singing and dancing – mainly women close to my age, but also some kids whose parents had educated them well about 80’s music. Other kids were patently mortified to see their parents dancing and singing, some even covered their ears because it was too loud! Lol.
Tuesday was an early morning as we were flying to Dallas for my nephew’s wedding. We originally planned to take an Uber but after 45 minutes of being unable to get a ride we went old school and got a taxi. This was moms first time flying since we went to Paris in 2018, and she can’t walk long distances so we ordered wheelchair service for her. I was very impressed at how easy it made everything. The staff were so kind, and it allowed all of us to quickly get through security, a bonus! Our flight was easy and smooth, mom really enjoyed it. My sister picked us up, we got dinner then headed to the AirBnB. The airbnb was in Odilla, a small town about 15 minutes from Waxahachie. Just before we went to bed the rain started and soon it was bucketing down with thunder and lightning! That was such a treat for us Californians.
Wednesday we spent time visiting various Texas icons – we went to Buc-ees, a gigantic family rest stop with 50+ gas pumps, multiple variations of any kind of snack food you can think of, especially beef jerky, clothing and gifts. We also checked out downtown Waxahachie, the town where my nephew is getting married. Waxahachie is full of ‘gingerbread’ Victorian houses, and its crown jewel is an absolutely gorgeous courthouse in the center of town. More people arrived later that night and we all had a great time hanging out.
Thursday morning found us all up early to help with wedding stuff. We headed over to the venue, The Springs, which has beautiful buildings set in a lovely forest. We put up decorations, got the tables set up, put together flowers, etc. I love getting to help out with wedding set up, it’s so much fun to be involved in that part of the event, not just show up when it starts. My nephew, Larkin and his bride, Noel, were originally going to get married in a grove outside but because there was a chance of thunderstorms they decided to move the ceremony inside to the chapel. I thought that was a good move as the humidity would not have been good for the older attendees or the ladies in full makeup!
The wedding was beautiful, their dog Kahleesi got to participate, at one point coming over to nuzzle with my sister and brother in law, then, after unsuccessfully trying to get her mom (the bride) to hold her as they were exchanging vows, plopped down on her train and checked out the wedding attendees. It was adorable! It was great seeing folks I haven’t seen in years – friends of my sister and brother-in-law and his family who live in Texas. During his speech at the reception my nephew thanked everyone for being there and then said that they were expecting! This drew lots of gasps, mainly from us older folks, as the younger ones apparently knew what was coming next…. (apparently this is a common joke to pull at weddings) He continued by saying ‘Expecting you all to have a good time tonight!’ The parents, grandparents and aunties all tried not to be disappointed that there wasn’t a baby on the way. Actually, we were glad there wasn’t as they are only 24! As with Quinn and Nick’s wedding, there was lots of dancing. I was thrilled and surprised to see how much Kieran was dancing and seemed to really be enjoying it, I think that this is something Kourtney has helped him get comfortable with. At the end of the night we all helped take down the decorations then went home, tired but very happy.
On Friday, after sleeping in, we went to the Fort Worth Stockyards to see the longhorns being herded down the main street. We checked out the shops – one place had a window full of taxidermied animals including rats pole dancing and raccoons playing poker! Next was lunch at Joe T Garcia’s, which doesn’t look like much from the outside, especially where it fronts the main road, but the back courtyard where we sat was like being in a mediterranean garden. It was cool and shady, the food was plentiful and delicious, as were the margaritas. Emmy had not been to Buc-ees so we went to the one outside of Fort Worth. She was impressed. We hit traffic on our way back – it seems like in Texas it’s either huge freeways with flyovers or unlabeled two lane roads, and lots of churches!
I got out for walks, as early or late in the day as possible, marveling at how lush everything was. on one of my walks I saw a drive-through prayer service at the side of the road! I also spent considerable time in the pool as I am not used to the humidity in Texas!
Before we left on Saturday we went back to downtown Waxahachie. Our first stop was Meat Church, a BBQ place, where they gave out samples of beef brisket with their signature rub on it. The slices were huge – if they had given me two it would have been enough for a sandwich! We also checked out The Wyrd and Wand Archive, a Harry Potter themed bookstore. It has a lovely seating area in the front window, a crazy bookcase and a staircase that goes up and splits into two balconies with seating – very much like what you would see in Hogwarts. We ended the morning getting coffee and ‘refreshers’ (caffeinated juice drinks) at White Rhino cafe which is located in an old house. We sat upstairs on overstuffed leather couches in the library, bookshelves lining the walls. It was a relaxing way to end our trip.
Our flight back home went pretty smoothly, except for the absence of the wheelchair that was supposed to bring mom from the departure lounge to the plane. Instead we slowly walked down the jet bridge and onto the plane. It was another uneventful flight and San Francisco was MUCH cooler than Dallas, so we all had to put another layer on when we got off the plane. Emmy’s boyfriend Garrett picked us up and gave us a ride home. It was such a treat to not have to wait for the Airporter or take the shuttle to the parking garage. Later that night I got out for a walk around the neighborhood and relished the cool breeze. The humidity really zapped my energy when we were in Texas.
On Sunday I got out for a long hike out to Oakwood Meadow and the Rhubarb trail. Monday was a work day, lots to catch up on having been gone the week before. I also volunteered at SPARE, the craft reuse store, sorting out notions. Met some really nice people and enjoyed the great 70s music they had playing. Later that afternoon I headed out to the East Bay to a board meeting at VCRC and during my drive I caught up with a former BOD member who is looking for interim help as they contemplate retirement and figure out how to transition their law firm. Definitely an interesting idea! It was fantastic catching up with everyone at VCRC, getting lots of hugs and meeting new staff. I loved seeing the positive changes that have happened in the last six months, especially knowing that I was able to help them during their time of transition. I’m looking forward to the next opportunity I get to help out an organization going through changes.