I Happen to Hate New Jersey.....(ok, not really)

I'm baaaaaack. Hard to believe that a week has gone by since the whole family fiesta thing....time sure does fly. And while I did have fun.....there were parts that were NOT fun. But really, isn't that the joy of family togetherness?

As with most family events....it started out with the very best of intentions.
I happily picked up my mom and sister from the airport last Thursday night.....I still had a bit of scrambling to do to get ready to leave ~
We left Virginia Friday morning and headed up to New Jersey. We sang along to the Bee-Gees and Don McLean....it was awesome.
Mom had kept her arrival a surprise so that her mother - "my Nan" would be surprised. When we arrived, Nan was still at the hairdresser....so we were able to make ourselves comfortable and visit with Pop before she arrived. (Nan has been getting her hair done every Friday for my entire life.....I shudder to think what would happen if she missed her appointment....she also complains about how awful it looks every Friday at the end of the appointment)
When she returned home, she did get quite the surprise....she kept asking if she was dreaming....It was a nice moment.

Sadly, the nice moment did not last long.....my Mom's sister called, and Nan told her that we were all there.
Ugh.
We don't like Aunt Patty. She is mean. She is negative. She knows how to ruin a party.
One of the reasons Mom kept the secret was so she could enjoy at least one day with her parents uniterrupted.....It took maybe 2 hours and Patty showed up at the front door.....bringing her requisite black cloud along for the day. She did have her granddaughter Hannah....so that made it easy to ignore Patty and give all our adoring attention to cute little Hannah.

Happily, she was unable to join us for dinner! I knew we could digest in peace. Of course, we had to make plans for the next day....Patty was the organizer of the reunion, I was in charge of games and there were some last minute items to pick up. I grudgingly agreed to go with her the next morning to finish the tasks.

The next morning....I woke early to get in my morning excercise. I walked thru Phillipsburg and over the river to Easton and back....I was feeling really great, and determined to make this a great day. As I arrived back at the house, my sister and Pop were up in the kitchen....the three of us enjoyed conversation and the relative peace and quiet before the chaos of Patty arrived.
I made my list of items to purchase:

• colored bandanas
• pies (5 fruit)
• pork ribs
• 2 cakes
• side dishes

When Nan came downstairs that morning....she was in a bit of a tizz. Mainly she was stressed out about all of the work I was having to do for the reunion. Then she was stressed out about what we would eat the next day. What time would we leave for the grocery store? What time would we all need to get showered and dressed for church that night? Where would we eat lunch that day? What would we have for lunch tomorrow? Who was going to drive? Did we all have a serving of fruit for breakfast?

The frantic nature of all of these questions defines Nan. The woman is a walking worrier about nothing. She hates to entertain. She hates to cook. She doesn't particularly enjoy gatherings. She loves routine. She loves what is familiar. We had really thrown her for a loop when we descended unannounced and with an agenda of our own.

I explained that I would take care of everything. She should just relax and let us handle it.

Meanwhile, in the back of my mind....I continue to curse this stupid reunion that requires everyone to bring thier own lunch, dinner, side dishes, cakes and pies. Nobody would know the stress it was causing this poor 86 year old woman.

The day flew by in a manic whirl of Party Stores, Walmarts and Grocery Stores. We returned just in time to unload our purchases and shower and dress for church.

Nan and Pop go to church every Saturday night at 4:30. You must be ready to leave at 4:00 for the church that is 3 minutes away so that Nan and Pop can take their regular seats.

I was way overdressed. Ironically, a bird pooped on me and my sister as we entered the church. Pop very eloquently stated......"the birds only sing for the rich"

Nice.

The biggest thrill of the night came from dinner after church. Pop belongs to a 'social' club. This particular town is filled with 'social' clubs that are members only and require some special card and handshake to get into. Once inside, you are treated to more cigarette smoke than you could ever dream of, pitchers of beer for $2 and the ability to feed 5 adults for $33. 34. Yes folks, $33.34.

Nothing like being dressed in fabulous chocolate brown patent leather sling back shoes and drinking a pitcher of $2 beer. I felt like Grace Kelly in this joint.