Everybody Wave!

And say hi to Mary Ellen!

(Hey -- I've been spending the last week making I.D. cards for kids with names from Mars, let alone every member country of the United Nations, not to mention your odd Savannah Goldberg and the like, and I would just like to say: Grace and Mary. Are there two more lovely and classic names for little girls than that? I think not.)

Speaking of birthdays, today is that day each year that the Hubs catches up to me and is my age for a few months. It's a race to see what's going to get here first today: him home from work, or UPS with the DVDs of Homicide we ordered (one from the girls, one from me.) It's about 5:40 now, so it's truly anybody's guess. How embarrassing for him to come in the back door and for me to have to leave in mid birthday kiss to answer the bell at the front door to get the delivery.

As the big wedding approaches on Friday, I'm growing more and more -- oh, I don't know what it is -- about this whole thing. I'm not truly anxious about it, it just seems like so many parts of it were inconveniently planned. And I also realize that since this isn't one of my own children's weddings, I should just shut up. But here, get this. The wedding itself is happening in a lovely place right on the Hudson River in New York, north of New York City. It is not also a hotel, so the bridal party and many others are staying in a hotel that is about six miles away, and there will be shuttles and limos, so we are told, so that anybody who wants to drink at the wedding can go right ahead and not have to worry about driving. All well and good. Now. The bride told me the other day that family pictures are at 3:30 on Friday, and really, I was touched to be included, since none of us are in the actual wedding party. I figured that would give us plenty of time to get to the hotel, dress and do hair and make-up there. I checked today; the check-in time at the hotel is 3:00. Hmm. Anyway, I've got my sister looking into the various time aspects of all this. The Hubs can't come early at all; he's coming from work, as I assume many of the guests are. R and I each took a personal day to have the time to get ready. I just don't know what's going on, which is probably what's making me feel like ... okay, like I don't know what's going on.

JJ, eldest nephew is in already from California. I talked to him on the phone before, and really, it did my heart good. My sister's sons are as close as I come to sons of my own; they are their sister are truly children of my heart. JJ asked if I could give him a quiet phone call tonight after the Hubs is home and had his dinner so that he can come over and say happy birthday in person.

I had the strangest day at work, not just all the I.D. cards, but no actual lunch period, since I was doing cards during both of the available times. I had my lunch at my desk at 10:30, and then I did the craziest thing: I went into our little stock room and lay myself down on the floor, my head on my backpack with my lunchbox in it, and just let my whole body relax while I played some mellow tunes on the iPhone. It totally recharged me, or at least, allowed me to keep my back upright for another several hours.

Okay, I'm going to go check the front porch again.

WATCHING FAMILY GUY :: ENTRY #1853
READING: A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson