Super Bowl and then some...

Are you ready for some fooooootball? some Patriot packed football?!?!?!?!

Superbowl – well for other reasons as well, but if the Patriots hadn't made it I am not sure I would have had the same vigor to try and make it back to the homestead to watch this big game with my family. Although to be honest, I think as happy as my parents were to see me, I think they would have enjoyed watching the game with a bit more silence then they had. But seriously – I hadn't seen everyone in so long and my attention span isn't what it used to be! It was a night though – everyone in their Patriots gear, eating, drinking and laughing. An evening that will be cherished in my memory bank forever – minus the fact that the Pats lost but next year baby, next year (especially because the Vegas odds are already favouring them – thanks for the tid bit of info Pa, now I sound like I know what I am talking about!! Hehe) Aside from this game I was able to catch up with most of my family, all my besties, play with the two most adorable babies EVER, see a few people from the office and just all around enjoy my time at home. It was a bit jam packed and it went much too quickly, but I think it was just enough home to get me through the next few months, which will be full of who knows what, especially now that I am waiting (and waiting and waiting) to hear about the job I interviewed for a week or so ago (I hope you all have your fingers and eyes and legs and everything else crossed for me). I also stuffed my suitcase full of American delicacies including Velveeta and blue cheese salad dressing. One of the best things about this trip aside from seeing my loves, eating lots of (disgusting and not good for you) delightful American food was that I missed an incredibly cold streak here in Paris. Don't get me wrong I grew up in New England and can handle some pretty bitter temps but the cold here is a whole new ballgame. It is so humid and bitter it freezes you to your bones, actually it was so cold when I left last week the equipment that moves the planes on the tarmac was actually frozen in place and my flight left almost two hours late!! I am hoping that I brought some of the mild temperatures back with me...

Those tired eyes are from the jetlag not the beer I am drinking... I swear ... sort of...

And... just for fun... my favorite Super Bowl commercial this year:

My Mother Always Said

When you have nothing nice to say, then say nothing at all. I know that is an old been around the block kind of a saying but for the past few weeks that is the motto I have been living by. At least when it comes to writing in this little blog of mine…. now after a few weeks, I think, I have my head cleared up enough to finally let it out.

On Saturday, August 13, 2011,  I was told that an incredibly important person to me did not have much time left to spend with the rest of us here in this little thing we call life. This was something I was sort of expecting because a recent (re)diagnosis about her breast cancer had not gone well, but I honestly was not ready for it to happen so quickly (nor was anyone else for this matter). So after crying on the shoulders of two caring and amazing friends on Saturday and  spending hours googling whatever cheap flights we could (there may have been a bottle of wine and some junk food involved…) then spending Sunday baking cupcakes with the PIC and her two amazingly adorable children to keep my mind occupied... I finally shoved whatever I could find in my room in a suitcase at 2 am Monday morning and was one a plane home by 11 that Monday….  This was the going to be the beginning of an incredibly hard transition for me, my family and a lot of people around me. How do you fit enough time in with someone you love and try to still just enjoy it without constantly wondering about what the next two weeks might bring? There is no way to prepare and it was the most intense learning and growing experience I have had since I have moved here…. This woman was one of the most encouraging, kind hearted, open minded, funny and loving woman I have ever been blessed to have in my life over the last 20 years. She has been more than a friend of the family (and so has the rest of this fantastic clan) she (well all of them) are my family...

We have spent camping trips (a lot in the rain), hikes up Mt. Monadnock on the coldest and windiest days of the year, parrot head concerts, endless holidays, nights of Wamser Whammies, graduations, proms, Superbowls and everything else you can think of in between together.

Whether we were comparing who’s butt was tighter and more toned (she always won), or if I was shedding tears because of the love of my life at that moment in time, fears about moving here to Paris, drunken Skype calls, or just exchanging simple emails gossiping and catching up, she was always a breath of fresh air and took on the motherly role with open arms and never thought twice about it. But she wasn't just another mother to me and my sister but she also was my Mom's best friend and her PIC (Partner in Crime) ....

I don't have many memories that don't involve the two of them laughing or plotting some crazy bike trip, vacation or just a night out at Chili's so we could all be together!! I was not only blessed enough to have her in my life but I was lucky enoughto have the opportunity (Thanks to my parents and a fantastic boss) to spend time with her before she passed. In this time everyone laughed, remembered, cried, ate and drank with many toasts to memories... and well... we were all just there for each other. It reinforced something I have always held incredibly dear to me, my family, and the love we all have. The time I spent at home was very bittersweet but it is a time I won't ever forget and although my "other mother" may not be here with us in person anymore, I KNOW that she left us knowing how loved she was, how important, influential and treasured she was and I KNOW that somewhere right now she is watching over all of us and well probably just hoping we have all stopped crying and are making the best of what we can and moving forward doing things that would make her proud.... 

Getting back to normal has been interesting this week and I know it will get easier but I feel like I have a bit of a different perspective on things now and I plan on using that perspective to make sure that I make the most of everything I have around me. I especially want to make sure that the people who were there for me, more than I could have ever imagined, know how much that means and that right now I just can't even find the words (shocking) to describe how lucky I am to be surrounded by those friends and my family. 

Jet Lag

Made a super quick trip back to the states last week. I mean really quick about three days - so quick in fact I thought I was really going to make it without screwing up my sleep schedule too much. But as I lay here almost hungry for dinner again - I think I was wrong!!!!! It was nice to head home although I definitely did not get to fit everyone that I very much wanted to see in. Unfortunately I missed almost all of the beautiful leaves, from what I could tell all of the bright red and gold colors were piled up on the ground waiting for the mass of rakes to attack!! But the weather was lovely which was a very refreshing break from the sogginess of the city for the last week or so. Even though I missed the leaves, I was able to pull off my first successful surprise attack on one of my very favorite lovely ladies and spend some quality time with ALL of my parents and my little brother, who well isn't really very little anymore. To make it even more enjoyable, I ate every single thing I had been craving for the last three months, even when I wasn't hungry and........ to top it off a quick visit from the bestie before hoping back on a plane to Paris.  So even though I am laying here WIDE awake it really was well worth it to see some pretty and very familiar faces.