<p>MP, it is funny to even think they would do such stuff for acts that in today’s context are unpleasant, but relatively minor. </p>
<p>sevmom, good restaurant. Others to try: Amaya (expensive), Dishoom (a little trendy), Masala Zone (cheap but fun), Tamarind (expensive but lovely), Quilon (haven’t been there in a while but from a different region that normal), and for sentimental reasons, Veeraswamy, Red Fort, Rasoi.</p>
<p>Congrats to Moda’s D2.
MP just smile and nod at the relatives. Personally I’m not a fan of tats, piercings and the color lilac, but that’s not something I would ever judge a parent on. How much longer is this visit with the in laws? </p>
<p>Woohoo ModaD! Delighted to hear! NM, good wishes for both your D’s ;)</p>
<p>Shaw, the great thing about former clients is IME they become better clients the second time 'round. I recently (reluctantly) did some work for a former client who I’d essentially “Fired” six years ago for bad behavior. Project went swimmingly ;)</p>
<p>Missy…re lilac and tats, just come on over for respite…I’ll make you a margarita :)</p>
<p>kmc, I thanks. I do need a real margarita, because the mix we were drinking at the lake was really syrupy. (Is that a word?) Fall Girl, the visit only lasted from last Thursday to Sunday. We are home now and we don’t have to see any inlaws for the forseeable future.</p>
<p>Younger D’s hair looks pretty good. A friend at her mall job is also in cosmetology school, so she went there and let him do it. The “professional” color is much softer than the boxed stuff she was buying at WalMart. (Bonus of a beauty school color job: only $34, with tip. [And yes, the Beauty School Drop Out song from Grease is going through my head right now.]) </p>
<p>H just called to tell me that he just ordered breakfast from the “55 and older” menu at IHOP.</p>
<p>Decided to try and find you guys after a long absence. 35K replies, great job all! I think of you often, and am glad to read about so many busy/happy lives. Weddings, grad school apps, study abroad, jobs, and more importantly, margaritas! I hope everyone is well and enjoying the summer!</p>
<p>Good to hear from you, peonies. Please report what is going on with you and yours.</p>
<p>Hi peonies – Glad you checked in.</p>
<p>MP – My H glares when I suggest he order from the 55+ menu on the rare occasions when we’re at a restaurant with one. It is too funny. </p>
<p>Really thrilled for your daughter, Moda. Transitional K is such an incredibly sweet time. </p>
<p>Thanks for the welcome back! In view of my falling in the deadbeat category, it’s very nice of you to remember me 
</p>
<p>As for me, 2014 has been a challenging year with the passing of my mother in May (from complications of having been a paraplegic since 1950). My sister and I had been her primary caregivers until she entered a very caring nursing home in spring 2013, and I continued to be closely involved after that. Over the years, Mom, my sister, and I had come to see ourselves as much as friends, even as sisters, as mother-daughter. Hopefully that doesn’t sound weird. Our dog (aged almost 16 years) also passed away in February so I’m missing two good friends now. We will get another dog at some point. Both of my daughters hope to know the next dog as a puppy, which will be tricky since one is now in grad school in Boulder, CO, and the other is a camp counselor in Ontario and will be home for one day before heading back to college in the fall. The CO daughter is loving life in Boulder, and the younger one had a very happy sophomore year after transferring at the end of her first year. She loves being a camp counselor, with the added bonus of hanging out with Canadians all summer. </p>
<p>I love reading all your news. Good luck to NM’s D2 on her CPA exam, and to Moda’s S on his med school apps. Neither process is for the faint of heart. My D1 has applying to med school on her radar screen, though not for a few more years. </p>
<p>Woo hoo! Thirteen. months after graduating and two months after relocating, today D accepted a position as a Marketing Associate for a financial company. She’s very excited about both the company and the position. It’s been a long time coming!</p>
<p>Wow, cq, congratulations to D!! Sounds like a wonderful opportunity - much deserved by your talented and personable daughter!</p>
<p>WOOT to CQ’s D! Having witnessed my employee’s boyfriend land a job after a year-long search out of grad school, I’d say the experience has made him a very conscientious employee, which is never a bad thing. </p>
<p>Welcome back, Peonies. I’m sorry for your losses this year but happy to hear your kiddos are doing well.</p>
<p>Missy, I don’t know what’s up with this sugary margarita trend, but I literally have to interview the bartender before I’ll order one in a restaurant anymore 
I tried to experiment making a low cal margarita at home and realized quickly that you can’t mess with perfection, which to me is 2:1 tequila to grand marnier plus 2:1 fresh squeezed lime juice to bar syrup. People often say grand marnier is wasted on a margarita where triple sec will do, but I find some brands of triple sec more sugary.</p>
<p>CONGRATULATIONS to cqD! What great news!!!</p>
<p>Hello to peonies. So sorry to hear about your losses – your first half of this year sounds eerily similar to mine last year. Hold on to all your memories.</p>
<p>Today is laundry day in preparation for our annual week at family camp in NH, which starts Saturday. D and bf are coming with us for 2 nights, and S also hopes to come for a couple nights if he can get leave. If he’s going to be more than 5 hours away, he needs to put in for leave. He has plenty of time “in the bank,” but he’s in charge of a visit by a “higher up” later next week, so isn’t sure if they’ll let him go. We will see him at a July 4th party tomorrow, though, which is good. Said party will most likely be inside due to Arthur, but we should only be getting some rain out of the storm.</p>
<p>kmc – your margarita recipe sounds yummy. The bus will be headed your way after stopping at NMinn’s lake cabin.</p>
<p>Congrats to CQ’s D!
Welcome back, peonies. And my sympathies in the loss of your beloved mom and also your pet.
Have fun at camp, CBB.
KMC - my FIL and H both make a mean margarita using Cointreau. Have you tried it? </p>
<p>cq, so very very happy for your daughter! Both of you deserve for her to have a great job!</p>
<p>peonies, so sorry for the loss of your mother (and dog). It sounds like you were a wonderful daughter to her. </p>
<p>I keep trying so hard to enjoy my own mother, but I wish sometimes she would just at least pretend to be happy. I know that is terrible to say about a grieving widow, but it’s such a beating for every single phone conversation to be about how much she misses my dad, how lonely she is, the trouble she is having with the phone/computer/TV/my sister, or all of the above. I keep thinking about the old saying about how love is not a feeling but manifests itself in action, so I try to be good about the “actions.” But it takes its toll.</p>
<p>There was a thread on the Parent Cafe asking folks to post what they learned from their parents. I hate to say that everything I can think of with respect to my mother relates to food safety. Seriously. Funny, but not.</p>
<p>Hooray for CQ’s D. Glad to hear from you, peonies.</p>
<p>Here’s a funny story. I’d told you that ShawSon asked ShawWife to come and decorate. Well, from ShawSon’s perspective, ShawWife said, “I’m planning to come out at the start of the year unless you really, really don’t want me.” As he perceived it, it was like “You would only say no if you no longer love me.” Smart boy said yes, but how much furnishing is going to happen in a dorm room. He’s going to sell his car in Massachusetts and buy a used car in California (newer and hopefully without rust). He wants my help on that as he’s never bought a car – he inherited a 96 Subaru from my mother and when that died and 2000 Acura from me. As usual, I’ll make it a teaching exercise. </p>
<p>Oh cq! I am so happy to hear this! Congrats to your D! Independence Day indeed!!</p>
<p>Welcome back peonies… so sorry to hear of your losses.</p>
<p>CBB - Enjoy the camp vacation. I hope S gets to join you but that IS a big assignment and responsibility.</p>
<p>Thanks for the welcome back! I feel like I have a lot to learn from my mother. She NEVER complained or asked ‘what if’ about her car accident (right after her 21st birthday in 1950) that left her a paraplegic. She also was always very appreciative of her caregivers (especially relevant during the last 20 years of her life). She wasn’t perfect, however, and her relationship with my father wasn’t the best over the last decade or so of his life. Part of this was due to personality differences between them. We all have our ups and downs with family, that’s for sure. And it can get more challenging when one parent predeceases the other. I hope missypie’s mother finds a way to be happier with time.</p>
<p>congrats CQ D! hello peonies sorry for the losses too.
MP we have had to deal with H’s mom , she wasn’t a depressed person but she never let you forget she was alone. Now we are dealing with her alzheimers and it is exhausting. I am sorry, you always seem to be the one who takes the brunt of everything.
We lost another girl in my BC group 33 years old has hit us hard. but it makes you grateful for every day.
I have to work the weekend, I have the 4 th off but it will rain.We met the couples we went to Europe with for dinner tonight , it was fun, we live in a town on the ocean. It was warm but a nice breeze. We go to the lake soon, CBB envy you , I love NH have fun.</p>
<p>Last August, my Mom sent me some plastic stemless wine glasses here at the nook. I unwrapped the gift, loved the thought and said thank you, BUT… I didn’t actually open the packaging of the glasses and take them out of the box. After all, my birthday comes at the end of the season, just before Labor Day and usually the start of packing up around here. I figured they’d be perfect for the something new… </p>
<p>So… first porch gathering of this season I pull them out and unwrap them. She had had them monogramed with my initials. I had had no idea when I said I liked them (and I really do), but I burst into tears because it was such a surprise and I couldn’t tell her. It was if I had this cosmic “cheers” from the heavens. So we all raised our glasses… and said a Here’s To ModaMom… It was cathartic.</p>
<p>My mom wasn’t perfect. Never the soft place to land. But …she was the most resilient person I’ve ever known and always knew how to make a house our home and the best of any situation. She just never stayed down… ever. </p>