Weekend sans Ben

from Ben's mom

We did it! We left Ben with his grandparents and went off. He was fine. And I did very well.

We flew to Sacramento with friends, the Cooks, on Friday night. We enjoyed a nice Italian dinner when we arrived and had a nice hotel, Hilton Garden Inn, thanks to Priceline.

I was able to spend all of Saturday with my college roommate of three years--Dia. She and her family live in Pleasant Hill and she left them for the day and we were able to spend 8 hours together without distraction. We talked non-stop the whole time and in the end, it wasn't enough time. I needed to do some shopping and so we set out on a bargain hunt. She helped cheer me up about the effects of aging. A lot of my friends are younger; it is nice to have someone else at the midpoint of life to remind me I'm not alone. I could write a whole post on my friendship with Dia. It has really been a gift from God. But suffice it to say, we enjoyed ourselves.

Next, I was reunited with old friends from all over. I especially enjoyed the chance to catch up with Janice, and Kevin & Amy. We all worked in the same building in Virginia for a time, and had some amazing times together. We were able to meet the famous Meredith who is the cutest little girl with the greatest personality.

And my brother was there. He was handsome and tired. I got him home at a relatively decent hour by having him give me a ride back to my hotel. (After a day full of meetings, my introverted husband had gone to a movie with the Cooks and left me to catch up with old friends.)

After an excited Sunday outing (that will be another post of its own), we flew home Sunday night and met Ben. We both enjoyed our time alone together but we were ready to see our boy.