Saturday, how I love you so

I think that Saturday just might now be my favourite day of the week.  Most recently, it's become the day when I can get the ever infamous "big grocery trip" done and satisfy my need to have a full fridge, freezer, and stocked cupboards.  There's just something satisfying about planning out my menu for two weeks, checking the inventory, and making a list to fulfill the needs of the menu.  It's even more satisfying to be able to accomplish this and still have some money left over.  I have a tight budget and shop for my food with only cash.  It's not always easy.  This time, though, I was able to get my two week menu full, and feed ten people tomorrow night, all in that tight budget.  Awesome.

I started out the morning making up my menu and shopping list while the kids played and bickered and tried to mess up the living room.  We were on the road at 9AM sharp.  A little later than I'd have liked, but, I needed the time to finish my planning.  By 11AM, we had finished at two stores, doing the bulk of the shopping.  One thing the kids love to do is stop to see the lobsters when we are at Meijer, and our two hour trip included 10 minutes watching and talking to the lobsters.  The kids have no idea why there are live lobsters in the grocery store, and  I don't have the heart to break it to them.  I'm just glad that neither of them can read the sign that says, "We'll steam your lobster or shrimp for you while you shop....for FREE!".  Fred had a ball waving at the lobsters and talking to them through the glass.  Ethel, on the other hand, was quizzing me the whole time.  "Why do they have claws?  Why do they have rubber bands on their claws?  Why are the rubber bands all pink?  Why are the lobsters red?  Do they swim?  Do they fly?  Why?"  Then one lobster would climb over another one and Fred would squeal with excitement, "Whoa!  That one's crawling around, Mommy!!".  Shoppers pass us by, admiring the two little blondes, many of them smiling at me as they breeze along to get their groceries.  Their faces tell everything.  Some of the smiles say, "Oh, what darling children".  Some say, "I remember looking at the lobsters at the store when I was a kid".  And others, "Ya, she hasn't told them that those lobsters are for eating yet, that's so cute".  Still, others just show their abhorrence for the act of shopping for food, and they quick offer a smirk as they pass by because, let's be honest, who would be able to hold back a smile after seeing two little kids talking to the lobsters in the tank? 

I was about to complain about the cold spring weather.  Then I looked out my window.  You know what?  This ain't half bad.  It's not snowing (hope Mother Nature didn't hear that), the sun is out, it's not raining (today), and the bulbs are all peeking out and reaching for freedom above ground.  Soon the tulips and daffodils will be sprinkled about and the landscape around us will start to perk up with the colors of life.  The sun is already hanging out in the sky much longer than even a month ago.  Honestly, this is what I've been dreaming of since December.  No, late November.  And now it's on the horizon.  Aaaahhhh.....

Tonight we're going out to dinner with some new friends.  Our kids are all in the day care together, and this time we're getting together sans the baggage.  We're heading out to a local tapas restaurant.  I am really looking forward to some sangria!  On top of that, it will be nice to get to know the G's better by having time to actually talk, rather than talk over the kids or around their questions or their mischief.  Should be a fun night.

Tomorrow is the big day.  We welcome some of Daddy's family, whom we haven't seen in 7 1/2 years.  Recently reconnected by some unusual circumstances, Daddy is really excited to see his cousin, her three kids, and his uncle.  As an only child, Daddy doesn't have much family around, and I know that he is really excited to be reconnecting with this side of the family.  I don't know why, but I'm in competitive mode, hoping to impress them with my clean house, great food, good wine, and awesome kids.  Is that wrong?  I mean, I don't know why I'm so focused on this one night, this one dinner, this one experience.  I could have just added more fish to our normal Sunday night dinner of salmon, tuna steaks, or whatever fish I have found on sale.  Instead, I had to plan a meal, a meat and potatoes meal with substance and heart.  We're going to eat on Grandma's china, the grandma who was the glue of Daddy's family, and whose china we salvaged from a box destined for eBay.  Her loss is what created the divide in the family, as there was no longer the one place for everyone to gather, there was no longer that one woman who wanted her whole family together.  So they drifted.  They drifted in their own directions.  Tomorrow they will come together for the first time since Grandma's funeral.  It will be emotional, I'm sure, whether it is the elephant in the room or fills  tissues with tears.  I hope that whatever happens, everyone will leave our house tomorrow with bellies filled with food, and hearts filled with family.  That's one thing that Daddy has been missing, family.  I hope everyone stops drifting now, and drops their anchors near each other.  Even if the anchors are in the world of Facebook, e-mail, or phone calls, I hope that they remain close to each other.

I will leave this post on the subject of family, because I just received a call from family, about family.  My life has been my own for quite a long time, and it seems that a former loved one wants to come back and enter my world, or at least learn more about it.  I'm a little apprehensive about it, so that's all I'll say right now on that subject.  Suffice it to say, the theme of the weekend is quickly becoming "family".