Sunday, December 28, 2014
I woke up at Neal's at 10:15 a.m. I can't remember waking up so late, but then again, it's a rare thing to stay up until 5 a.m. playing board games and bridge. Neal and Karin made eggs, bacon, and fried potatoes for breakfast (yum!) while we prepared ourselves for the big game today at 1:25. I hung out for another hour or so, then took a shower, packed up and headed back to Gwen's before 1.
It was tons of fun watching the final Seahawks game of the season at Gwen and Greg's. The stakes were huge, at least they felt big. With a win, the Hawks clinched homefield advantage. With a loss and a Cardinal victory, they would be a wildcard playoff team, allowing them no rest the following week. I was not surprised at how the first half unfolded. St. Louis's defense is tough! Down 0-6 at the half, I wasn't worried at all. The Seahawks have been a strong second-half team all year, especially throughout the past several games when they were either behind or tied at the start of the third quarter. True to form, they scored 20 unanswered points in the second half, causing turnovers, making plays, and keeping the pressure on the St. Louis offense. It was exciting to cheer for a team that consistently does that, figures out ways to win and wears their opponents down. It was a great game and put everyone in a fabulous mood for dinner with Dad.
We only had a few minutes after the game to get ready for dinner at Daniel's Bar and Grill in Bellevue. It was nice seeing Dad and Sue so close after Christmas. Usually, they're on a cruise during the holidays. We had our own private room overlooking downtown Bellevue. It was beautiful.
I sat next to Dad and Gwen and across from Nicole. I was at the quiet side of the table, while Mathew, Tristan and Greg were conversing with Mugs, Sue and Mary on the other side. Their conversation was a lot more intense, interesting and engaging than the simple, quiet pleasantries going on at my end. I so wanted to be part of the "therapy" action over there, in which Mugs's partner Mary was asking for little jewels of information about everyone without sharing any of her own. Yeah, I really wanted to throw a few questions her way, just to see where she was with her own stuff, but instead, I behaved myself and didn't take the bait, didn't get up and go over to the other side of the table and get into a personal conversation (boundaries be damned), though I sure wanted to. Maybe I'm maturing and no longer need to stir the pot, but I so wanted to stir things up with Mary, who I'd never met before, whom no one had met before, yet was interacting with Gwen's family as if she'd known them all for years. I love talking about "stuff" and "issues" and all the head noise that everyone has, whether they're aware of it or not. I know all about the head noise in my head and the head noise in my family's head, but I really wanted to know about Mary's head noise, I guess because she came across as having none, but delighted in hearing the head noise around her, like a passionate, fully-invested therapist who can't stop working, probing, asking questions, searching for blood. Maybe next time I'll make sure I'm at her and Mugs's end of the table.
Mathew and Tristan have amazing energy. They're so charismatic. It's fun to watch the two of them in action.
I enjoyed hanging with Dad, Gwen and Nicole, keeping it together in my own little quiet corner of the table and thinking my own crazy thoughts while the personality jewels were being shared. Good thing Jill wasn't there, because that would have been explosive. She and I are a lot alike. When there's a shark in the room, they have a way of tapping into our need to be bigger sharks with an seemingly limitless capacity for gamesmanship and mental fencing. It's that sick, ruthless, competitive part of me that didn't get to participate at the dinner table tonight, which in a way is a good thing, but still...I so wanted to talk shop with the pro.
Anyway, this is why I get up each morning and play racquetball. If I didn't, I'd be as big as Dad! I love of good food has only increased with age and isn't slowing down anytime soon. Good thing I love chasing balls around a court.
Gwen's in a good place these days. It's wonderful to see.
I had lots of alone time with Nicole this visit. She is amazing.
Dinner ended around 9:30, and back at Gwen's it was board games (Smart Ass, Scattergories, and Pandemic) until 1:30 a.m. Great day!
I woke up at Neal's at 10:15 a.m. I can't remember waking up so late, but then again, it's a rare thing to stay up until 5 a.m. playing board games and bridge. Neal and Karin made eggs, bacon, and fried potatoes for breakfast (yum!) while we prepared ourselves for the big game today at 1:25. I hung out for another hour or so, then took a shower, packed up and headed back to Gwen's before 1.
 |
| Ready for the Game! |
We only had a few minutes after the game to get ready for dinner at Daniel's Bar and Grill in Bellevue. It was nice seeing Dad and Sue so close after Christmas. Usually, they're on a cruise during the holidays. We had our own private room overlooking downtown Bellevue. It was beautiful.
I sat next to Dad and Gwen and across from Nicole. I was at the quiet side of the table, while Mathew, Tristan and Greg were conversing with Mugs, Sue and Mary on the other side. Their conversation was a lot more intense, interesting and engaging than the simple, quiet pleasantries going on at my end. I so wanted to be part of the "therapy" action over there, in which Mugs's partner Mary was asking for little jewels of information about everyone without sharing any of her own. Yeah, I really wanted to throw a few questions her way, just to see where she was with her own stuff, but instead, I behaved myself and didn't take the bait, didn't get up and go over to the other side of the table and get into a personal conversation (boundaries be damned), though I sure wanted to. Maybe I'm maturing and no longer need to stir the pot, but I so wanted to stir things up with Mary, who I'd never met before, whom no one had met before, yet was interacting with Gwen's family as if she'd known them all for years. I love talking about "stuff" and "issues" and all the head noise that everyone has, whether they're aware of it or not. I know all about the head noise in my head and the head noise in my family's head, but I really wanted to know about Mary's head noise, I guess because she came across as having none, but delighted in hearing the head noise around her, like a passionate, fully-invested therapist who can't stop working, probing, asking questions, searching for blood. Maybe next time I'll make sure I'm at her and Mugs's end of the table.
I enjoyed hanging with Dad, Gwen and Nicole, keeping it together in my own little quiet corner of the table and thinking my own crazy thoughts while the personality jewels were being shared. Good thing Jill wasn't there, because that would have been explosive. She and I are a lot alike. When there's a shark in the room, they have a way of tapping into our need to be bigger sharks with an seemingly limitless capacity for gamesmanship and mental fencing. It's that sick, ruthless, competitive part of me that didn't get to participate at the dinner table tonight, which in a way is a good thing, but still...I so wanted to talk shop with the pro.
Dinner ended around 9:30, and back at Gwen's it was board games (Smart Ass, Scattergories, and Pandemic) until 1:30 a.m. Great day!
No comments:
Post a Comment