Home again, home again

Okay, a week after returning to California, I think I’ve finally recovered enough to write about my trip to Massachusetts.

I can’t go for more than 3 months without seeing my family. Most of my friends in California are transplants from the east coast. Some of them will go for a year or more without returning home. I don’t operate like that. Point in case: I was in Scituate in December, my mom was in California in January, my brother Brian came to visit me in March, I was in Scituate in April, my mom was in California in May, and I returned back to Scituate over Labor Day for a week.

What can I say? I love my family and I need to see them. So I did, and my week there was, as always, wonderful but busy.

I arrived Wednesday morning after taking a red eye. Not long after my arrival, mom and I went to the harbor for a morning of beauty. After manicures, pedicures, and haircuts, we were beautiful. The rest of the day was spent quietly with Mom and Dad.

Thursday morning I slept later than any other day I was there—until 9:30 EST. I woke to find Dunkin Donuts coffee waiting for me; I’m so spoiled! Dad left to pick up Dylan and Abby, my brother Rich and sister-in-law Tracy’s kids, who are the cutest children on the planet. And no, I am not biased. Not even a little bit.

I spent an exhaustingly fun day trying to be Super-aunt, playing hard all day long. It’s crazy—I know I just saw the kids in April, but three months later, they’re like different kids. Such is life when you’re almost 2 (Abby) and 3 (Dylan).

Friday Dad and I went out to lunch and tried to do some shopping. There was not a shopper’s sky, so in a *shocking* development, we headed home empty handed. Dad dropped me off at Alex’s house, where I met Mom at her weekly girly-girly day for cocktails by the water with Alex, Marsha, and Mary.

Saturday was Looney-Palooza. For those of you not in the know, I am related to a bunch of Looneys. Saturday was a big, wonderful BBQ with the Looney families, Stiles family, and McAuliffe family. We had an excellent time, playing with the kids, laughing, eating delicious food, and doing green-monster-turkey-baster shots. (Oh yes, in case you hadn’t already figured it out, our wedding is going to be fun.)

Sunday was the Labor Day parade, and the infamous Montanari house party. The parade was fun; my niece and nephew looooooooooved the parade. 3 reasons: candy, music, and a Nana who bought them the BIGGEST Thomas the Train and Dora the Explorer balloons that you have ever seen. I enjoyed the parade, especially the bagpipers. The parade seemed very short though. Initially I thought that perhaps the parade had always been that short, and it only seemed longer to me when I was younger because I was smaller. Thankfully my memory is not that fickle, and my brother Rich confirmed my suspicions that this year’s parade was a bit lackluster. Oh well, you can’t win them all.

The rest of Saturday was spent with Brian and his crew, drinking beer, playing wiffle ball, and laughing about a bunch of nothing. I snuck out of the party with Mom at 9. I was exhausted and knew that if I stayed and tried to keep up with the boys, I’d spent the night praying to the porcelain god.

Monday was low-key: we had cocktails with the Keefes, and dinner with the Montanaris on the deck. I discovered that ribs are not as disgusting as I’ve spent my whole life believing.

Tuesday was a big day. Mom and I went shopping to look for bridesmaid dresses. Once there, I had to try on a few bridal gowns. One dress was hideous, one weighed at least 3000 pounds, and three were beautiful. I’m not done looking yet though. Donna came over for a quick visit in the afternoon. After that, we traveled to Plymouth for a BBQ at Rich and Tracy’s house sans Dad, who was feeling under the weather. After a delicious and raucous dinner (during which Abby kept yelling “Hi, [insert name]” to everyone at the table), I headed back to Scituate to pack.

Wednesday morning at 4:30 AM, Dad and I left Scituate for Logan Airport. After the long flight back to Long Beach, I was happy to find a smiling James waiting for me.