Monday August 9, 2010

I should stop doing part I and part II posts. This is the third time I’ve left a post hanging in the middle of the story and I have yet to finish any of them. It bothers me because it feels unfinished. You know, like washing dishes but not wiping the countertops or draining the dishwater. Or baking a cake but not icing it. But by the time I sit down to finish a story there is always something new and more interesting to talk about. Maybe that means my life is more exciting than I realized. Or maybe it just means I’m long-winded and undisciplined. Oops.

Whatever.

But back to Virginia Beach … which I wish meant physically instead of in memory only.



After we left the beach part of our vacation, we headed to Jonathan & Heather’s house to spend the weekend. Heather is one of those girls who would totally fit into our family of girls. She stayed at our house one weekend a long, long time ago when we were all three still at home and it was like we’d become a sisterhood of four. But then our paths divided and she headed off to places like Romania and Poland and back to Georgia.

They moved to Virginia Beach a few years ago and Jonathan and David got to know each other through cabinetry work. Heather and I re-connected during my girl’s beach trip in May. And now finally the, “we need to get together” day had actually arrived.



Heather is one of those absolutely amazing hostess people I’m going to be like someday (I hope). They were all out the door and down the walk to meet us when we arrived. Inside the house I glanced at a beautiful table of china and crystal on my way up the stairs behind Heather to find our room. Our beds were all ready for us with a towel and washcloth and chocolate truffle. And then my heart went all flippety-flop because in Liam’s crib was a baby towel and washcloth and a little package of mini-marshmallows tied with ribbon in place of the verboten truffle. Is that not the sweetest thing?

In many ways, it felt like being at Heather’s house was more truly vacation than the beach. I was so glad we saved the best for last. She asked about Liam’s diet and fixed little versions of our food for him which meant he ate much better. In a million little ways, I felt so cared for all weekend long. Her only fault as hostess was that she kept apologizing over and over again that I “had” to wash so many dishes. I could not understand that because I was having an absolute blast talking to her while I did it. In fact, half the time all four of us ended up in the kitchen talking while we cleaned up.
 

A dinner that rivaled Olive Garden Friday night. A picnic lunch with Lavon and Karisa. Boat rides and wave runners all afternoon. Dinner out at Ruby Tuesday. Late night talks and iced coffee. Children who played and played and played and played together without fighting. Stimulating Discussions. Shrieks of laughter. Combing Damaris’ hair (Dear God, please may I have a little girl sometime?). No matter how I try, the description would fall flat in the face of how much fun we had.

David and I connected with Jonathan and Heather in a way I don’t remember ever connecting with another couple. We have tons of fun with other people. But often we’re either hanging out with his friends and their wives or my friends and their husbands. And while we have fun, one or the other of us is definitely more invested in the relationship. It was so much fun to hang out with another couple when we both felt like we were with a really close friend. And it was super fun to do it together as couples instead of me having girl time while he takes care of the boys or David doing something alone. The fact that our children meshed so well was like a slice of lime in my iced tea! (If you’ve never tried that, you are so missing out. I am crazy over limes the last while!) I’ve never been anywhere that felt so much like being with family without actually being family.



Damaris and Adam are like two peas in a pod. They are both smart, highly verbal, and intense. They laughed so much at the table they could hardly eat. But the funniest part of all was hearing them give each other a little dose of themselves. Like the time Saturday when both of them had long, long rides on the wave runners. Heather and I were getting ready to head out and both of them were looking marginally pouty because they thought it should be their turn again. They’d both been told they couldn’t go this time and you could see it in both of them … that serious disappointment coupled with, “how can I get back in control of this situation” look. And then Damaris turns to Adam and says, “Sorry, Adam. Sorry that you can’t have a ride on the wave runner again.”

And now we’re home. At least for awhile. Living on love, good memories, and a little iced tea.

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