Yesterday, I took a stroll down Memory Lane -- literally! My friend Joe arranged a picnic in a park that was, appropriately enough, right off a street called Memory Lane.
The picnic was an informal get-together of Prosoftians (people I worked with at a company called Prosoft). I was only there for a year, but I worked with some of my close friends (Jud, Susan and Patrick) and made some other really great friends there as well.
I was a little nervous because after I left, there were waves of new people who joined the company, people I didn't know very well (and probably wouldn't have had a lot to say to). But imagine my surprise when I turned up to see my core group of friends there! This was gonna be a fun afternoon for sure!
Joe, party organizer extraordinaire, was there when we arrived. So were RuthAnn, Bill and their kids Natalie and Buddy, who all drove down the mountain (they live in Crestline) for the picnic. Jill arrived, then Jud, announcing the Lanes were on their way. They arrived soon after, Patrick carrying little Tabitha, and Susan carrying her own surprise.
"Got any questions for me, Joe?" she asked, unzipping her jacket to reveal a baby bump.
We all cheered, and congratulated Susan and Patrick. They're such great parents, and new babies are always wonderful news. (They're expecting another little girl in May -- Susan worried it might push Patrick over the edge, having THREE Gemini women in the house!)
Mark, meanwhile, took this opportunity to transform into a loner. He shook hands (and perhaps even made eye contact) with all my friends, but then moseyed away with a ball he kicked at a wall. Buddy and Natalie tried to engage him, but he refused. At one point, he found a giant broken tree branch and dragged it across the park. Every time he stopped dragging it, the other kids casually sat on top or leaned against it, but still, he refused to be drawn in. It was pretty funny -- at one point, five-year-old Buddy was just chasing him around the park, and Mark couldn't avoid interacting with him.
I could understand his moping if I'd taken him to a party with all adults, but man, there were lots of kids running around here. I think he was really bummed that Gillen, Jill's son and Mark's buddy, wasn't there.
But I was just glad to see all my friends again--it had been too long! We sat in the park, enjoying a sunny Southern California day, and each other's company, laughing, catching up, and occasionally looking for or feeding the kids. (I gave Mark a granola bar, and poof! He woke up, and instantly transformed from Sulky Mark back to Happy-Go-Lucky Mark.)
After a while, the kids got bored, so we packed our stuff and headed over to the playground. Mark climbed up on the play structure, announcing he was a bus driver, and asking where I wanted to go. Jud suggested San Diego, to see his grandparents, and Mark loved that idea (he loves my parents!). I asked how much the trip was, and Mark replied, "Three dollars."
"That's a deal!" I said. "I'll take one ticket."
Mark realized maybe he'd undersold the tickets, so he amended the price to "Six dollars. Each way -- that'll be 12 dollars please!"
I shook my head, and RuthAnn commented on how quickly inflation rises these days.
Behind us, her husband Bill was twirling their son Buddy around like an airplane, swinging him by one arm and a leg. Bill didn't know Buddy had filled his pockets with acorns, which were flying out of his pockets as he spun, smacking him in the face.
A bit later, I was sitting at the table, when I realized I didn't see Mark anywhere.
"Hold on a second," I told Jud, mid-sentence. "I lost my kid."
I took a quick stroll around the playground, but didn't see him. "Mark?" I called out.
I heard a voice behind me call out, "A little help?"
I tuned to see Mark just below the ground, gripping onto a tree branch -- he'd just climbed up the steep ledge behind me. I walked over to see a rocky dried riverbed below -- Mark said the ball "fell" down into the riverbed, but I'd bet my money he kicked it over the edge so he could climb down there.
"Next time it goes down there, you call me," I told him, pulling him up onto the grass.
"So you can go get it instead?" he asked.
"No," I said. "So I can stand at the top of the ledge and make sure you don't hurt yourself getting up and down there."
Jud laughed and said, "Yes, a good parent always supervises their child."
I thought we'd be there a couple hours, but it turned into a long, lazy afternoon. It was just so good to see everyone again, and hear what they were up to. I could've stayed longer, but it was getting late. Some people had to leave because they had babysitters coming, and some had to leave to go babysit (Mark and I were watching the nieces and nephew). And so, with lots of big hugs, we bid each other farewell, and promised not to wait so long for the next gathering.
Thanks Joe, for setting up such a great day!
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