We've been playing endless rounds of Sorry! Two, three, four games a day aren't enough for my boy's insatiable appetite. Maybe it's the combination of cards with numbers (which he's always loved) and games for a group (which he's learning to love). Or maybe it's because beloved cousins introduced him to the board game at the cabin over New Year's, thus cementing in his 4 year-old mind the concrete connection of coolness that links friends and getaway and holiday. Whatever the reason, we're stuck playing Sorry! from morning till night. There are worse childhood games to get roped into, as any adult who's ever tried to cheat to end Candyland can attest. And I actually enjoy playing Sorry! (at least the first time or two) because it takes me back to sprawling on the living room floor as a kid, flipping over the dog-eared deck to crow at the cards that would send my younger brothers back home. Even more than Memory, this game offers enough surprise and strategy to hold a grown-up's … [Read more...] about a new year: what to treasure, what to trash
friendship
mary & elizabeth: back booth, corner bar
We met up at a sports bar, around the corner from the dive where we used to dance until dawn, down the street from the stadium where we spent all those Saturdays every fall. The place was packed with football fans flocking inside from the swirling snow, beer flowing before noon, TV announcers barking out touchdowns and tackles on the sound system blasting overhead. But in the back corner booth it still felt like our small world again - the world that was cozy enough for one college quint and wide enough for all of us to dream our ways into something bigger. The gift of friends who pick up exactly where we left off. We laughed and caught up and cracked old jokes like we always did. Except this time when we hugged, we each bumped bellies. Four babies on their way to join us. How far we've come down this road together. One friend is set to deliver in just a few weeks, and as my husband and I drove home we reminisced about the wonder of that moment, the tipping point when you … [Read more...] about mary & elizabeth: back booth, corner bar
the call to friendship
One of my best friends from college came to visit last weekend. She lives 400 miles away, and as a physician, she leads a unenviable schedule in one of the most demanding professions around. But she had a rare free weekend, so she dropped me an email and said she could catch a bus if we'd like a visitor? Even in the throes of morning sickness I couldn't decline that sweet offer. So she hopped the bus to come see us for the weekend. We had a great time catching up, hanging out, and even venturing downtown in a rare burst of energy on the part of yours truly. She was a fabulous houseguest, especially given the laid-back (read: lazy) state of affairs in exhaustion-ville, population moi. And as always happens when any members of the college crew get together, I felt like I got a bit of my old groove back. She brought a bright spot to a gloomy January. I was really touched that she made the trek: solo, in the dead of winter, on the bus, with no prospects of an adventurous weekend out on … [Read more...] about the call to friendship
