Come Visit Us!

So we have had a lot of visitors in the past few weeks. It's been really great to be able to catch up with people and to introduce them to Lukas. Last week, Alex and Flora came to visit from Toronto. I haven't seen them in almost 10 years. It was great fun even though it was a short visit. We made breakfast and took them around for some quick SF tourist spots. We went down Lombard Street, walked around in Fisherman's Wharf, ate some clam chowder, and stopped by Chrissy Field for some photos of the Golden Gate Bridge. We did all of this in 2 hours. I told them it was a teaser tour to make them want to come back to visit soon. Edwin and I love to travel and we love to have friends take us around to cool spots. It's so much faster and much less stressful.

This week, our friend Vicki came for work and to visit. We walked along the beach and in downtown Alameda and just talked for hours. It was a great time. Chatting with Vicki was like food for my soul. Last weekend, I had Girls Night which helped to energize my spirit, but talking with Vicki helped me to feel like I was me again. I'm not just a mom. It's not that being a mom is bad or that I don't want to be a mom, but I think it is really easy to lose your identity when all your energy is spent taking care of a baby, house, and husband. It is a really hard job. When people say that it is hard for a new mom to shower or even to pee, it's not an exageration. You really don't have a lot of time for yourself or to reflect. You feel like you're living ground hog day over and over again where time resets every 2-3 hours based on feeding and sleeping schedules. Talking with Vicki reminded me of all the times when we lived in Chicago and we would meet each week and talk for hours over dinner. It's as if I went back in time. I used to spend a lot of time hanging out with my girlfriends talking about our problems and relationships. Now, there are usually husbands or children or both around. It's not that I don't want either Edwin or Lukas around, but I can't have the same types of conversations or even have the ability to finish conversations sometimes. Girls Night was great because it was a group of girls and we were able to pack in a lot of activities, but talking one-on-one with Vicki was nice because I could focus on just one conversation and we had no agenda. Edwin and I had a similar experience when Ellen came to town for a visit and we were able to go out with her and float around SF without an agenda and just having a spontaneous night hanging out.

I'm not a very spontaneous person. Most people would say that I'm a planner and I don't like to have changes to preset plans, but I love it when we have plans to just hang out and we go place to place with our friends all day long. It's very freeing.

Today, we got another out-of-town visitor. My friend Binh from college came up from LA unexpectedly. She came to visit the Jamba Juice tasting kitchen and we got to have lunch with Nikki. It was a leisurely lunch and reminded me of all the times in college when we would cut class and go shopping. Another blast from the past.

This weekend, we're going to Pismo Beach for a wedding with a former coworker from KSA. So many reminders of people from our past. Then, on Monday, I am meeting another old college friend Amy and her family for breakfast. I try to keep in touch with people and it seems to get harder as the years go by, so I am so happy when people come to visit and call me up when they are in town. I used to feel a little hurt if people didn't call me to meet up when they came to SF, stay with me, or call me last minute since it felt like I was last on their list to call. Now, I don't take it personally. There have been a few times myself when I have not been able to see everyone I wanted to see on a trip or called last minute to see if people are free to meet. Now, I am just happy if our schedules work and we are able to meet up and catch up. I have come to realize that everyone just gets exponentially busier when you add another person to your life such as significant others or kids. Everyone's got a schedule- even when they are only 3 months old.

My point after all this reminiscing? It would make me so happy if you would come out and visit us! And if you can't visit, call me and tell me what's going on with you.