Ringing In
2004-01-05,

So it's a whole new year. Happy to ya.

Our New Year's Eve was spent sedately with friends. We made intelligent conversation with insightful members of society and played games until tiredness bade us to make the 45-minute trek home. The boy was the only one of the kids with us; Hil actually spent the night at a friend's house, a first for H. Amazingly, H took it pretty well, the little bit of letting go. It's traumatic, the slight tearing and redefining of the mother-daughter relationship. Detachment and reconnection does not end with the cutting of the cord at birth. I once mused that the cutting of the umbilical cord and the maternal trauma that follows was not too dissimilar to having a limb removed, save that you get to keep the limb around afterward. H heartily agreed with me.

Anyway, the rest of the weekend was just as sedate. New Year's Day was spent all at home with the kids, playing with our new toys and whatnot. I ended up starting my own game of Final Fantasy X, which Hil got for Xmas. As of last night I'm almost caught up to where she is (though don't tell her that - she'd be mad if I ended up finishing the game before she does). Simon had his new Dragons sets to occupy him, and H veged out to Tetris more than once.

Friday brought us a dinner party thrown for a select group of friends - mainly ones we don't get to see very often, including one from out of town. Again with the intelligent conversation and playing of games. And I just happened to be at the peak of my wit that evening, if I do say so myself. Picture a dog carrying around a squeaky toy that looks like a forearm and fist (cue laugh from the Lesbian crowd) and you get an idea of where the night's conversations ended up.

Saturday we spent the evening at H's sister's house, which has been dolled up nicely since they moved in toward the end of summer. H and I both envy their living room. I then dropped the kids off at their dad's and met a few friends at a Lakewood bar, something I rarely do. Had a tall one courtesy a thankful dinner guest, then we made our way to a new pub that just so happens to be owned by our friends Kevin and Angie. The place is called the Grafton Street Pub (or Tavern? or Bar? Suddenly I can't remember) and it's on Madison in Lakewood, for those in the NE Ohio know. The place, I must say, is gorgeous. It's done up as an Irish pub, but one as it would be in modern times, rather than the typical Irish bar with a motif from 100 years ago. A super-cozy place to hang out, and I think we'll be doing just that again quite soon. Kudos, Kevin and Angie.

Sunday brought us little but an afternoon at Panera with the Sunday paper and some quiet time at home, just the two of us. And laundry. Always the laundry. Oh, and I bought myself a desk lamp for work; all the fluorescent light just kills my eyes. And we scoped out a snowthrower that we might go in on with a neighbor. Judging by the weather outside, we just might need it soon.

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