Mea Culpa...

(Now Listening to: Collide: Chasing the Ghost: 'Razor Sharp',
In the Nursery: Anatomy of a Poet: 'Hallucinations', Dead Can Dance: Aion: 'Saltarello', Miranda Sex Garden: Fairy Tales of Slavery: 'Havana Lied', and Enigma: 'Principles of Lust')

*sigh*

OK. So, this weekend was VERY special. On Friday after work, I got to go see Erin's little girl's soccer practice - it was an honour to be invited. I even sat with his ex and had a nice conversation(really nice). Then, he and I and the kids left to drive down to Akron for (yeah, are you ready for this?) - a gaming convention!!!

(mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa)

We spent the night at the Quality Inn (which did not live up to the 'Quality' moniker). Erin booked us a suite of rooms. We had a living room, 2 bedrooms (with 2 double beds in one room and a King-sized bed in the other) and 2 full baths and 1 1/2 bath - the price was incredibly reasonable so, if you ever have a need to go get a 'party' room down in Kent/Akron area, check out the Quality Inn down there...

Erin's daughter had passed out in the back seat so when we arrived we had to put her to bed. He and his son and I stayed up and played a board game: Carcassonne - it was a lot of fun - I was new to this game (as I am to a lot of newer board/card games in the 'Gamer' realm) and still enjoyed it immensely - I *almost* won (yes only in hand-grenades, horseshoes and the back seats of cars does 'almost' count) - next time I plan on kicking some serious ass. (Details about this game can be found HERE )

We retired for (from) the night - I was pleasantly surprised that we spent the night within sight/sound of the kids (instead of me having my 'own' room) this was a first, and a HUGE step in this relationship and as we lie in bed together, he held me in his arms and told me things that made/make my heart flutter. (Oh Erin...)

I don't sleep well in strange places (I've become convinced I perhaps may have a touch of insomnia - Goddess I hope not) - but I've especially never slept well in hotel rooms, never. This was no exception. So being awoken at like (I think) 7AM would have normally landed anyone else in hot water with me...but since it was my love and since well he um...er...(geez I can't believe I am blushing as I type this)...ok that's as much info as you guys get - do the math.

The kids were wonderful to wake up with and raring to go to the con. We all headed over and, after a nondescript breakfast, began our day.

I was pleased to see one of my favourite artists Nigel Sade there, displaying and selling his work. Not only is he 'eye candy' - he's a great person too. His children were there as well - lovely, well behaved kids. I have to say I was very impressed with all the events they had to keep the kids occupied. It was very family friendly. Nice. I spent most of my day hanging out with Erin's daughter. I really enjoyed getting to see her play and enjoy herself. Erin himself was busy running games - namely:
Munchkin . Meanwhile, his son spent most of the day participating in a card tourney. We all had fun and at the end of the day, Erin, his son and I participated in a role-playing game called 'Toon' where you get to play cartoon characters on a 'mission' (I was FiFi the French Feline). We laughed a lot. I look forward to playing again. Of course, by the time we got to 'gaming', my brain was 'toast' from lack of sleep, so I probably was not at my most 'creative' when it came to my imagination for gaming.

All in all the day was wonderful and I'd do it all again (mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa).

*******

Today was my son's very, very belated birthday/graduation-from-high-school party. Our family and some very close friends were invited to help us celebrate. What my son wanted was for everyone to go to the Cleveland Museum of Art to see 'Barcelona!' the current exhibit, featuring Pablo Picasso, Miro, and Dali. I had also asked Erin if he wanted to come along and bring his kids to the museum AND the 'party' afterwards. Boy was I thrilled when he agreed. Of course it's a lot to ask to meet my entire 'family' at one sitting - but I consider Erin and his children an extension of my family now (which is really amazing and incredible to me), and so I wanted them to feel welcome and comfortable and I hope they did. At any rate the only people who went to the exhibit were Tony, his dad, my brother, (me), and eventually Erin and his kids. Nice exhibit - it cost a bit, but to me it was worth it to see the art - very well put-together. Then we went up the hill to go have Italian and meet the rest of the family and friends. We were suppose to go to Mamma Santas but (and I swear to you guys I did not know this), they were closed today (on Sundays) - go figure. Instead, (thanks to my wonderful sister, Jeannine), we were able to go to a nice place called 'Anthony's' - appropriate considering it was for Tony. We all had a grand time - the food was good, the company was wonderful, and I think everyone enjoyed the 'party'. Except Erin is now convinced that my friend C2 does not exist because she was suppose to show up (and she very well may have at the exhibit but I did not see her) - so now, the running joke was that she is my 'imaginary friend' (great just what I need, more 'proof' that I am crazy...).

I want to thank ALL of you for coming and helping us celebrate these milestones in my son's life. You all mean so much to me - I am lucky to call you 'family'. To my love and his children - thanks for joining us - I know this stuff can be overwhelming. I had to laugh as they were pulling away my sister R - turned to me and said: 'DO you think we scared him off' to which my ex-husband (Tony's dad) laughingly replied: 'No we couldn't have, we didn't act like ourselves.' My sister-in-law replied: 'Well no, we can't do THAT in public' - we all laughed. Yes my darling we all acted like ourselves, boisterous, joking, teasing each other, and loving one another despite everything. Great fun.

I love you all so very much.

Colette.