Celebrations

Picking up Chelsea from work at 4:30 on Friday afternoon, I drove her and Sawyer up to Granite Bay for the Memorial Day weekend We knew we’d run into lousy LA traffic but we wanted to get on the road, the sooner the better. It really wasn’t that awful. A trip I’d made before alone with Sawyer in 7 ½ hours only took 9 hours, and that included rush hour and 4 pit stops. I told the Gallachers I thought I’d be in around 1:30am and amazingly, we arrived at their long driveway at…1:30 exactly. My brother-in-law, Kelly, was sleeping in front of the TV, being kind enough to “stay up” for us. I felt special. No one waits up for me—ever. The drive on I-5 is a cakewalk for me and while Chelsea and Sawyer slept, I enjoyed my itunes mix on my iphone, after first catching up on last week’s “Car Talk”. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that show. No matter how gloomy the weather or I might be, Tom and Ray can always get a laugh out of me. http://www.cartalk.com/menus/show.html

Saturday morning, my sister, Marlene, and I took Sawyer for a 2-mile stroll down Itchy Acres. It’s a walk we used to take many mornings when I lived up there, a walk that allowed us to share many ideas over the years, and I wanted Sawyer to see the chickens at the end of the street. Needless to say, he was very excited when I pushed the stroller right up next to the coop. We also saw the most beautiful giant purple clematis up against a rock wall.

Eli and his cute girlfriend, Carrie, along with his long-haired German Shepherd, Belle, arrived in the afternoon. The Gallachers, as usual, had a fabulous feast prepared for all of us which also included their youngest kids, Cami and Briggs, my sister, Sandy, her husband, Bill, from Woodland, and our parents. We were celebrating Eli’s 36th birthday on the 27th and Mom’s 86th birthday on the 28th. Eli was Mom’s first grandchild, he was born on Memorial Day in 1974, exactly 1 day before she turned 50. Belle and the Gallacher dogs, Mirabelle and Sam, ran like crazy across the acreage. We sang birthday songs, ate birthday cake, and later played mucho rounds of Mexican Train and The South African Dice Game (that’s not the real name but that’s what I call it).

Carrie and Eli

Sandy and Bill

Kelly, Carrie, Bill, Eli, Sawyer, Chelsea...Yummers!

Marlene, our very own Ina Garten

Dad, our very own WWII Vet, me, Mom

Sunday church started early at 8:30. Sawyer and Chelsea stayed home and went on a nature walk and looked at the horses. I really enjoyed being able to see my friends from my former ward. It was strange sitting in the row I always sat in by Cami and Briggy with Marlene and Kelly behind us, no Sawyer on my lap. I kept thinking to myself, “So this is what my life would be like if I hadn’t moved to Orange County two years ago. Still sitting here with all these fine people. Still attending the same Sunday school class. Still appreciating all the goodness in Loomis”. Yet for all I’ve been through since that move, I couldn’t imagine my life without my new ward in Monarch Beach and my new friends and my new neighbors. And my little Sawyer, sharing the sacrament with me on Sundays, sitting on my lap. Another classic Gallacher feast of the Austrian type and 5 of Cami’s friends for Sunday dinner along with our folks and many more rounds of Mexican Train completed our Sabbath. The weather was the most perfect of all on that day, not too hot, not too breezy, but really just perfect.

Choo choo

On Monday we all got a late start due to more Mexican Train. Marlene and I finally made it to the grocery store to pick up food for the yummy cheeseburgers in paradise. We dallied when we should have dillied and got home later than expected. Chelsea was trying to get organized and I packed up so we could get on the road. We hugged good-by to Mom and Dad and hugged all the Gallachers and wished we could stay longer. We finally pulled out around 4:30 (this seems to be the magic hour of departure) but made it home an hour sooner than before, arriving by 12:30. Once again, an easy drive, less traffic, and a stop at the cherry stand near Patterson. I can drive a long way with fresh cherries, sunflower seeds, and a bottle of citrus water.

Briggs with Sawyer

Cami with Sawyer

Chelsea, Sawyer, me, Mom, Dad-4 generations on Memorial Day

Thank you, Gallachers, for your wonderful hospitality. Thank you for letting us come to the oasis and letting us drink. Thank you for letting us slumber peacefully and awaken refreshed. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It was only 3 days, but a respite well-needed and graciously offered.