The first visitor was last weekend when Sara, who was visiting the US from Paris, France, managed to squeeze in a quick visit here, leaving her children with her parents in Chicago. The weekend was filled with great conversation, many laughs, trading stories and catching up, and much good food. I think that she tried to meet her quota of Mexican food for the year in a 48-hour time span. We ate out at a Mexican place on Friday night, after she arrived, and then she grabbed tacos from truck on Saturday and Sunday. Very impressive! She is a huge sports fan, so it was doubly sweet that she was able to see both football play-off games on Sunday.
As for me, I considered the weekend a triumph when I made risotto with Italian sausage for eight people on Saturday night, starting the preparation at about 7:00 pm. I can cook a nice meal for two to four people, but eight people is stretching it! I enjoyed (sort of) the challenge, and the dinner turned out to be quite tasty. Shew! It also produced enough for leftovers on Monday, which is always a bonus.
(A quick aside - I think that I love leftovers! They make me feel so adult, unlike when I was in my 20's and didn't really ever "do" leftovers because I rarely made meals for 4 people or more.)
Sara left on Sunday, and it was a bittersweet farewell. We are planning on a visit to Paris in July, right when every other tourist is there. Still, it is such a great opportunity to see them and tour around the city and other parts of France. I can't wait!
That visit over, I've frantically prepped for final exams this week, reviewing with students and boring myself to tears on occasion. Now, I'm awaiting the arrival of my parents tomorrow. This in a way *should* be a big deal, and it kind of is, but I'm also downplaying it in a way. Not too much - I've learned that the total downplay often exacerbates a situation because I'm pretending that it doesn't matter to me, while it does. However, my ego, sense of self, identity as a daughter and a wife - these do not rest on this visit. In addition, I think that it will be pretty fun. Michael is dealing more with my parents than I am, most likely, because he is the ideal son-in-law. Also, I've planned activities for us that appeal to ME. And to my parents, I promise!
Seriously, we are going to the desert this weekend AND will hopefully see snow too, so they will have that "total" Southern CA experience of beach, desert and mountains all in a few days. We aren't going to cram it into a one day experience, although we could!
I'm excited about snowshoeing on Saturday and hiking in the desert on Sunday. Fingers crossed that it works out for us!
In the meantime, I hope that the entire senior class doesn't implode tomorrow. I have meetings with multiple students whom I want to strangle.
2 comments:
I hope you have fun with your parents! Snowshoeing sounds so fun! Where are you going to do that? I've been wanting to do that. I'm very impressed with your cooking for 8 people! That's awesome! I know how stressful it can be to play host for a weekend, let alone 3 weekends in a row. You seem very calm :) Have fun!
Kim,
Not sure if you'll read the comments, so maybe I'll shoot you an email. We're going to try to go snowshoeing up at the top of San Jacinto which is the mountain just outside Palm Springs. I've never been, but you ride a tram to the top, and in the winter, it's a total snow 'wonderland'. The snowshoeing may not happen this time around, but it will still be fun to toss a snowball or two.
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