We spent 5 days relaxing at my parents' home. With Granny, GPop, Aunt B. & me there, we had a very sensible 4:2 adult to child ratio and there was always someone to hold the baby. I met my sister K.'s dog, Chaco & got to know her husband a little better too. The girls had some nice playdates with my cousin's 4yr old son Wyatt, who is the nicest boy you'll ever meet. Here they are eating lunch in the playhouse:
We set off on Friday for St. Louis for my medical school class reunion. I didn't go to any official reunion activities (lectures on orthopedic surgery research, anyone?), but the people I wanted to see the most (minus one--Christie, where are you?) were there & we planned our own reunion. Tim's flights to Springfield kept getting cancelled, so instead of flying into Springfield & driving with me & the girls to St. Louis, he ended up flying into St. Louis. I drove the girls BY MYSELF to St. Louis to meet everyone. Did I mention I drove 200 miles with my 4yr old & my 8wk old BY MYSELF? Actually, it was a pretty uneventful drive & everything went fine. Dinner Friday night with M. (neuroradiology fellow) in the Central West End at a new Asian restaurant, then dessert at a cupcake bakery (fun!). Then breakfast with M. & her husband L. at a crepe cafe, and then off to rediscover St. Louis. We visited the Gateway Arch museum (the wait was too long to go up the Arch), then went to the zoo & met up with D. (anesthesiologist now in Portland OR), J. (family practice in ID), J's 
husband & their 2 beautiful children. The zoo was the perfect activity: sunny & 80 degree day, plenty for kids & adults to look at, a little walking, and the best penguin exhibit imaginable. When the pre-naptime meltdown started, we regrouped, with the physicians beelining to a lovely LYS, Knitorious, while the men took care of the kids. Dinner at Olympia for Greek food (the flaming cheese was as fun & delicious as I remember it) and then to TED DREWES for dessert. The Great Pumpkin concrete was everything I imagined--a slice of pumpkin pie mixed into rich frozen custard, big chunks of pie crust . . . Maybe I did go to St. Louis to eat. We certainly did the next morning during our pilgrimage to Uncle Bill's Pancakes for breakfast the next morning before hitting the road back to Springfield. 
My father's retirement party was that night, and it was the party of the year. 38 years as a pediatrician, all those dues now paid. Good food, good jazz band--my dad played his trombone for a short set--and good turnout of the people I remember growing up with. Somehow it didn't seem strange to be an equal adult with my parents friends & colleagues, and calling people by their first names instead of Mr./Mrs./Dr like I did as a child. I don't understand people who moan & groan about getting older. To me, it feels like I am progressing in life just as I should be.
It was so wonderful to see everyone & revisit the great places we used to visit. I was also choked up with nostalgia when we cruised our old neighborhood in St. Louis. I have said goodbye to so many wonderful people & nice places in my 38 years. Some of these of course are inevitable & even happy times, like graduations, and we can continue 
connections with people no matter where we are if we make the effort. But it made me realize that I don't want to move on any more. Southern New England is my home now, and we're staying.
connections with people no matter where we are if we make the effort. But it made me realize that I don't want to move on any more. Southern New England is my home now, and we're staying. 
Woof.