The crud is receding, so I'm back to my regularly scheduled late summer anxiety festival. My mom had a pool party for her nursing school friends today, so I was pretty distracted what with keeping 5 kids from drowning.

(Why was I the only adult in the pool? You mean, besides the fact that when three nurses get together the talk quickly turns to shunts and med follies? There's a lot you don't want to know about your hospital staff, trust me. I felt better in the pool, even if it meant that I had two preschoolers clinging to me like nervous monkeys.)

It was also a chance to catch up with my Flower Child, who has used the last 6 years to grow into quite the young woman. She'll be ten in a few weeks and if she lived closer, I would hire her to babysit Blake. Yes, she's that good. In fact, I kind of wish she'd been around to be my friend at age 9, although I'm afraid that she's a little too cool. You think I'm socially impaired now? I'm just glad no one is able to timetravel to 1985 and check up on the old me.

Speaking of the Old Me, my 30 years of Tea and Biscuits went quite well. I was horribly, nail-bitingly anxious for weeks: first there was a date change, then a time change, then a guest list change, then a payment change. It all seemed a little...DOOMED. If worrying was a sport, I could have competed on the international circuit.

But then, with no fanfare and no hassle, it all unfolded beautifully. Everyone was there, and tho' we had to colonize an extra table, the colony very much wanted to be in the comfy fireside chairs, so that was all right. As is usual for me when I do these events, there are so many of my favourite people in one place that I overload a little and stop recording memories sequentially. So, here’s what I remember in no particular order:

• Loftwyr, Monstre & all of Monstre’s female relations there ahead of us. The waiter spilling wine down sister’s back and her brave decision to walk it off (tea it off?)
• Scherezade giving me 2 Hois and the DIY book I wanted: Generation T. She had forgotten that she heard about it from me, so it was a pleasant surprise to both of us.
• Being reminded of the Don Ward Spiral (see: Varsity staff list, circa 1995), giggling wildly
• Loftwyr, the Boy & Dirk = the only men in the room not serving wee sandwiches
• Blake & Demi stuffed silly on sandwiches
• The temporary success of the Noizangel Knee Horsey Ride
• Noizangel taking Blake out for a run and pressing him against the window so he could make faces at the room
• Monstre following my unintentionally salacious remark with one even saltier
• Loftwyr, despite being free of sin, deciding not to cast the first scone
• Corona & Little Spider in their classy black dress ensembles, later referred to by Corona as “job interview outfits”
• Stacy arriving in something fabulous & gingham from Japan
• Cheryl with her classy shawl & her knitted gift: a teal felted flowerpot with her garden’s flowers. Sooooo pretty.
• The Boy taking total responsibility for Blake so that I might be flighty
• Everyone’s face when they realized that force of will, fasting or cosmic intervention could not help them to eat another scone.

I am lucky to have these people in my life. Happy tea day to all, and to all, a good tea.

- 0 comments/hedgehogs -

- Rocketbride's adventure of 8/28/2006 01:49:00 p.m.