Goodbye to Boston, Hello NJ
Crashing at your house, by the way.
We arrived at my brother’s house on Wednesday afternoon,
just in time for cocktails! David
is an amazing host and I joked about how I was expecting a gourmet meal upon
our arrival; little did I know, he called my bluff!!
A small family BBQ turned into an episode worthy of the Top
Chef! There was steak teriyaki,
duck a l’orange, seared ahi tuna, and homemade creamed spinach, corn on the
cob, bottles of wine…I’m sure I’m forgetting something, but you get the idea.
Dad and his friend Lois joined us. I was so happy to finally
meet the woman who seems to have helped my dad relax and mellow out a bit! We missed Max and Nicki, who were busy
being counselors at camp, but we got to hang with Jason, who I’m told actually
spent more time at home those few days than he did all summer! We were
honored!!
After our best night sleep yet, we were refreshed and ready
to enjoy a beautiful day. Unfortunately, the weather had other plans. Apparently the NJ/NY area had been
having two types of weather this summer: the usual hazy, hot and obnoxiously
humid type, and rain. Thursday was
rain, which I guess was fitting.
Our first stop was visiting the cemetery to visit my mom’s grave. It had
been my first time back since she died over 2 years ago. It was Jessie’s first time here as
well…just as it had been at Phyllis’s grave. When my mom passed, Jess had an interview for a position in
her music department that I’m convinced help get her into college. She was also
so sick that she needed to be on antibiotics. When Phyllis passed, she was in the middle of finals. Jon and I convinced her both times that
her grandmothers would have wanted her to stay where she was and do what she
had to do, rather than fly across the country and put her life on hold. We still believe it was the right
decision at the time, but she felt so alone and missed on some sort of closure,
for lack of a better word. So, on
this trip, she finally got that closure.
She was finally able to put her own pictures to our stories and
memories. We walked away from the
grave, the rain mingling with our tears, and tried to remember when mom was
alive and healthy and happy.
Next was lunch with two of mom’s dearest friends while we
were growing up…my pseudo “Aunts.” We walked into the restaurant where there
were maybe 4 tables with other people.
Let me backtrack for a moment.
This was a family trip. We
had to make a choice because we had so little time. We didn’t make plans to see friends this time, because we
literally had 2 days in NJ, and 2 in NYC to spend time with our own
family. We reluctantly drove right
through Connecticut and my own hometown, where we could have stopped and seen
so many friends. We promised
ourselves next time.
Ok, back to the restaurant and the four other tables. I don’t have my glasses on, so everyone
in the distance is blurry. We go
and sit down, and around the corner appears my very best childhood friend,
Gigi. Gigi was the matron of honor
at my wedding. Gigi was one of
those friends who I didn’t call to tell we were coming. Who feels like an absolute idiot
now??? Yeah, me…that’s who. Gigi was sweet, gracious and I begged
her not to hate me!! She didn’t
and doesn’t and I love her for it.
Lunch was amazing.
Catching up with my two other mothers, seeing them get to know Jess and
bit better, and just being back in Suffern and my childhood for a few
hours.
Back to David’s and later onto a terrific dinner at a local Italian
place where everyone knew “Dr. Gold!”
I loved it!!! After dinner,
it was laughing to Pitch Perfect!! Who knew it was a family favorite?!!
It was a too short but very sweet visit.
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