For five years I have been a stay at home mom. And, for five years, my social life pretty much went to crap. I did have a bunco group that I've been a part of that, unfortunately, recently dissolved. But, aside from that I haven't gone out much, and have turned down invitations to go out, or even left gatherings early to relieve whichever family member had been recruited for the evening to take on the task of corralling all 4 children.
At the end of the school year last year we got a call from a girl who was a student of Corey's brother at Hood River High school - Her name is Anii. She informed Corey that she was given our number because we were looking for a babysitter and she was available. Funny thing, though, we weren't!! We SHOULD have been, and had discussed it, but, had not taken action, really. So, the brother in law gave our number to someone who he thought would be a good fit for our family - Or, maybe that was his way of saying "GET A REAL SITTER!"
Long story short: We hired her, we love her and she's been our sitter for any dates or outings that we've had this entire Summer.
This, as you can imagine, didn't sit well with Katie. Here she is, 14 years old, and we've hired a 16 year old to come in, sometimes while she was here, to babysit the younger kids. After Katie returned from California, something in her had changed - something good. She was suddenly WANTING to talk to us, WANTING to help us and WANTING to have new levels of responsibility sent her way. Her first babysitting experience was for my brother and sister in laws 3 month old son Ren. Now, you can imagine how nervous I was over this, and hesitated significantly at first. But, when I asked Katie how she felt about it she became excited and was more than willing to take on this task. Okay. I let her do it...surprise, surprise; she did fine. And, so, we've tested her a couple of times with her own siblings, last night being her first "late night" while Corey and I were out with friends. After a banter of texts back and forth, us checking on her, her getting disgusted with the 30 minute check ins, she did it!!! And, I'm so proud...Thanks, Katie!
So, about last night;
Corey and I attended a gathering at a friend's house this weekend to celebrate the completion of their new shop. They hired a band, PHOENIX, to play, and man, were they good!! They rocked it, and many of the 80 plus people there were dancing and having a blast. Jello shots were passed around, and Marcie came up with a new drink concoction that was so yummy I had two. (4 smashed raspberries, 2oz citrus vodka, 2oz triple sec, and a top of of 7up) I'm sure the one Marcie made was a little stronger than mine, but I was sunburned after tending a garage sale all day yesterday, and wasn't up for being in pain inside and out!! Anyways, the night started fine, with a little wind at our backs. But, as the evening progressed I noticed the dark clouds heading in. Eventually came the thunder and lightning (HORRIBLE for the fire in White Salmon being battled) and then, at 10PM, just moments after the band stopped for an intermission, the rain began - And, not just any rain - I mean, these drops were HUGE. It has not rained in 3 months, and it was 90 degrees yesterday with few clouds, so the band had set up outside with no cover. No one ever thought it would rain!! Everyone ran to the shop and the band members scrambled to gather and protect their electronics. It was slightly chaotic for a few moments. But, all chaos and worry went out the door when I saw everyone gathered in this shop, trying to stay dry and stay out of the way of the band. Outside, in the dark, everyone was glistening, people were dancing like they were on So You Think You Can Dance - after all, it was pretty dark out there on the "dance floor" and it was all about pure, unrestricted fun. But, inside under the fluorescent lights everyone was just as they were. People looked haggard - Like it had been a REALLY hard day! Haha! The glistening wasn't a glow, but the sweat from dancing. The hairs that, in the dark looked well put together were actually quite tousled. Nobody was dancing inside, but everyone was talking and having a good time. Nobody cared how each other looked. The laughter resumed and in no time the music had been turned back on. It was too much for the band to set everything up again, so they packed up and left. THIS was fun. This was real, and I enjoyed being out with my friends just being......us. I loved meeting new people and having grown up conversations. The food was wonderful, the drinks were a plenty and the music was right. Heaven knows that if this was a group of twenty somethings they would have all ran to their cars to leave when the rain began. This was a very nice way to end a Saturday night.
So, thank you to Katie for staying home with the kids so we could go out. Thank you to the Zorza's for hosting such fun (and to Kris for protecting my honor in Corey's dream,) and thank you to everyone who made it a memorable night out for me - I've been out more in the past 3 months than the past 5 years....I like it!! Keep it comin', friends!!
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