The Weekend

The weekend is over and I am totally exhausted. It is extremely sad to be a California orphan. I happen to think that California is paradise on Earth but have never been able to convince anyone from my birth family of that fact. So when any of them are in town it is like California in turbo drive. This visit was my sister with her friend J who has now been technically adopted as a younger sister by this solitary California Allen. Thursday was all about the food. The whole day was dedicated to eating. I was disappointed in the turkey which was too dry for my taste and the gravy which I single handedly destroyed. But everything else was just fine. Friday we walked the neighborhood - we hit Santa Clara University, my work place and Safeway to pick up some microbiotics for P and then back home again. Then we were off to downtown Palo Alto and Los Altos and then home to make some turkey pot pie. Saturday we journeyed to Half Moon Bay to walk another downtown and have a late lunch at Moss Beach Distillery. We had dinner with D and P and shared some great memories of Italy. It was the first time that I thought about the reality of going back to that fabulous country. Sunday was the final day and it was a full one. We started off with coffee at Barefoot with M and B and then to Campbell to their farmer's market. Then I was in for one of the most humorous experiences of my life. J had never been wine tasting before and so we were off. We did Los Gatos, Saratoga, and a couple in the Santa Cruz mountains. It was such an interesting thing for a teacher of language to be a witness to the attempt to describe something as complex as wine. What an afternoon we had! It was after 5 before we were done so there wasn't much time for the Santa Cruz experience. We had dinner on the wharf and then headed for our final stop of the weekend - to show M and B's house to J. I didn't sleep well last night and woke up totally wasted. Too many late nights. Too much food. Life is such a series of highs and lows. I spend days in what seems like total isolation and then a weekend like this comes out of nowhere. It was quite an event in my simple life. My favorite moment of the weekend was at Moss Beach Distillery in the middle of a "family" discussion with my sister. J stopped it completely with a comment about her confusion with the difference between what she has always heard from P about my personality and what she had up to this point witnessed for herself. That's why I love this woman. She says what is on her mind. She asked P to stop talking so I could explain my view. I don't think anyone has ever done that before or maybe that's just the perspective of the baby of the family. The result was that my sister listened to my side of the story. So as I reflect, I have to say that it was a good weekend. I can't wait for my head to hit my pillow tonight and for that awareness just before I drift off, that I am sleeping.