Family

I regretted not getting my hair trimmed on Friday, so decided to rush over to Great Clips (right in the Von's shopping center) after breakfast. Walked in shortly after 9:00 and was taken almost immediately. Lourdes  did a pretty good job, it looks okay, and you just can't beat the convenience: I was back home at 9:30.

Heard from Carolyn and Ellen about getting to Santa Barbara; C. asked us to come about 3:00 and El said she'd pick me up an hour earlier. I prepared the things I'm taking, which included the coffee pot I had borrowed from El, plus the "Frank Book," plus the crystal pickles I had made the other day. 

Spent time on the this machine looking for the picture Mike had mentioned showing him, his friend, Steve, Betty and me at a computer fair at what was then Trenton State. I've been looking all through the  pictures (there are hundreds and hundreds) here and I've come to the conclusion I never copied it. I know I still have the original 8 by 10, but haven't come up with it yet. I'm going to keep looking. 

El picked me up and we got to Carolyn's at 3:00--what a wonderful day we had! As soon as we walked in to hugs and kisses, Carolyn and Francine wished Ellen a happy birthday. I had El I wouldn't mention it, but Carolyn already knew. 

Frank and Betty were sitting side by side on the couch and I sat down to chat with them--rather, respond to nonsense, but oh, well. I gave Frank the book I had made and he sort of went through it; as I knew would happen, Francine enjoyed it more than he did. Carolyn's husband, Dana, and children, Finn and Claire, were there, too, as was Calvin--you can't party without him! (He's clumsy, though--he knocked over over glass of something on the coffee table wagging his tail.)

We all talked and laughed and laughed and talked. Ellen and Carolyn sat at the piano playing a kind of duet at the piano. What fun to see the cousins interact!

 

Carolyn then set up on her laptop some wonderful old home movies from her brother, Wes, taken by their Dad. We're talking movies here, not videos, as these were from fifty to sixty years ago. They took place mostly at Betty's, Mom's, and  my houses and featured various members of the extended family, a wonderful experience. Here was Mike as a toddler, Ellen as a baby, niece Joan as a teenager, Betty and me as slender young matrons. What was eerie was seeing Mom close to the same age my oldest child is now. My husband, Pat, was there, a young and handsome father; so was Wes Senior, with no inkling, of course, that he had less than a decade to live.    

Francine brought me up to date on her own family:  husband, Charlie, who is an associate professor of sociology at  Holy Name College in Oakland, and her three boys, the oldest of whom goes to Berkeley and will be twenty tomorrow. In between times, Betty or Frank would mention something and we'd listen and concur without the slightest knowledge of what they were talking about.

I had brought crystal pickles and Carolyn made a good salad, then Dana went out for pizza and that was a yummy casual dinner. I was so surprised and grateful when Carolyn brought out a tiramisu with three candles and we all sang happy birthday to Ellen. Pictures were taken; I'll ask Carolyn to send me hers later, but the one above and this one are all I took:

Betty and Frank seated,

Carolyn, me, Ellen, and Francine standing

We left about 7:00 after a full day, joyous, melancholy, and fun, all  mixed together.  Sad--no, tragic--as it is to see my siblings' decline, I'm aware of my remarkable luck in being born into this family.