Mother's Day...Redux

The call came on a Tuesday.  That which we had waited for, our match, our son.  At the meeting with our social worker, we got this photo, and I lost my heart to you.  For months, I carried you with me everywhere I went.  So close to you, yet still so far away.

Tuesday, May 4, 1999.  The call came.  You were to arrive, in Philadelphia in one week.  One week!  One week and I'd hold my beautiful boy.

Tuesday, May 11...It was a day unremarkable to most.  But to me, it was Mother's Day.

Your plane was scheduled to arrive at 7:17, PM.  You remember, David, why I will always remember that exact time?  I told you of it this morning...your connection to my father, to your grandfather.

The plane landed...and everyone... everyone could sense the anticipation.  Coming off the plane people told me of the beautiful boy, the boy who didn't cry, the boy who was waiting so patiently to meet his forever family.

I'd waited so long, yet those last few minutes, those last seconds felt interminable.

Finally, the last of the passengers deplaned and the babies came.  Two pinks, girls, followed by 2 blues.  Daddy says he didn't know you at first, but I knew you the moment I saw you.  I'd carried you in my heart forever.  Your escort, the beautiful nameless woman who brought you safely to us, seemed reluctant to let you go.  'Good baby' she said, as she finally relinquished you to me.

Today, David, is a day, always will be a day, wrought with emotion.  As I waited on this side of the globe, another woman gave me the greatest gift of my life.  The gift of you.  I take time today to honor her, to revere her, as I do throughout the year.

But mostly, David, today is about you, and how you turned Daddy and me into a family.  Forever.  I love you two times.

It Begins Again

A couple months ago, Lonnie invited some of our Union Avenue friends for an afternoon get together. And the kernel of an idea took form. 

We created a small committee, with plans to get started after the new year. So here we are. 

Not much information available yet. What we are pretty sure of is, it will be in the fall, between Labor Day and Thanksgiving. It will not be Columbus Day weekend. 

It will be in South Jersey, near Cherry Hill. 

It will be an afternoon event. 

Currently we're polling our alumni to determine attendance. We're debating whether to hold the reunion at Lonnie's house (his house always was the party house!) or have it out. Attendance will determine that as well as the cost. 

We'll be posting updates in several Facebook groups as well as on our own social media, and I'll be posting new developments here. 

Fran's Photos

I put Fran's photos up in the snapfish album.

Mike and David and I have a wedding Friday night (another opportunity to wear my red dress!) then, we're leaving for Florida Saturday morning. I don't expect to be blogging, though I do expect to see Marla, so, you never do know. Below are a few of Fran's photos.

This is my favorite photo of Fran and Larry taken at lunch on Saturday.

Gloria and Meryl.....

The heartthrobs...Louie, Eliot and Michael

Me and Big Al!

Have a great week!

As I wait for my words to come...

Several of us made an entire weekend of the reunion. Lisa Wagner and Marion Schwartz, Larry Zarra, Ann Lubell, Matt Wolf and his wife Sharon, and Fran and I. Peter Biedermann and his wife Joanna were supposed to be with us, but Peter's dad had been unwell the weeks prior to the reunion, and Peter had to cancel at the last minute to be with him.

We went to dinner Friday night (the Wolf's were not with us, but Al DiBiase did meet up with us) at Biaggio's, a local Italian restaurant. We caught up with each other, had fun, then went back to the hotel. The night was beautiful and we were able to sit outside at the Tiki Bar. We said our good nights about 11:30 or so. Fran and I were sharing a room, and stayed up til the wee hours chatting. It was like any of a number of sleepovers we shared in 8th grade!



The next morning we met for coffee in the lobby (there are pictures of that on Snapfish but I am exercising my editorial rights and not posting no-makeup photos on my blog!) then some of us went for a walk on the Long Branch boardwalk. Later, we met up for another walk to Pier Village, and had lunch at It's Greek to Me. After lunch we headed back to the hotel lobby, where we awaited the arrival of the Saturday gang. Fran and I invited everyone who was assembled in the lobby back to our room (612) for pre-reunion cocktails. Apparently, we had a group back to our room after the reunion for some post-reunion festivities. I have the pictures to prove I was there.

The girls...

I put Meryl's photos up on Snapfish. Take a look: Click Here

We all opted for fabulous shoes...

Thanks to Meryl for these!

Mark and me...the night of....

and the morning after...as I toy with my bb....

Give us this day our daily blogpost

NOTE: I fixed the broken Snapfish link.

Those of you who know me know that if I can write a novella around something I will; that I like to share my thoughts in images.

My thoughts, my feelings, my emotions about the reunion.... I'm still wrestling with them. I haven't found my words yet. They'll come, and when they do, I'll share them..for those of you who were there, and for those of you who weren't.

I will say this for now; although the reunion wasn't the one I'd anticipated, I had a wonderful time and collected great memories.

Mark sent me a few photos. I'll post a couple here, and put the rest up on SnapFish. Remember to continue to hit up Snapfish. As people send me their stuff, I've been adding to the album!

The view from the hotel. It was a spectacular fall day at the Jersey Shore.

Marion Schwartz and Lisa Wagner...looking great the day after