It’s official. My son gets up around 6 in the morning. That seems to be his routine, and therefore, mine. sob
The problem? I am a night person. I can’t seem to get myself to bed before midnight. Between my own idiocy and his all night nurse fests, I don’t think I sleep more than about four, maybe four and a half hours.
I think I may be doing long term damage to my brain.
Does it bother anyone else that Indiana Jones is turning sixty-seven years old this July?
67 people!!!!
The sexy leather jacket wearing whip-toting adventurer I lusted over as a young woman is about to be 70 years old. This means that Han Solo is also nearing 70. The smart-ass Star Wars hottie is slightly more than a decade away from the PC term “octogenarian”.
Granted, he is a supremely good example of nigh-seventy. He obviously takes good care of himself. However, he can’t turn back the clock, and neither can I. Time is marching on, and it is marching right across my reality!!!
This week I feel old. My hero’s are old, my peers are adults, my children are getting tall and stubborn, and the hot new actors are young enough to make me a bad person for thinking they are hot. My face is starting to keep it’s expressions, long after I am finished expressing.
I am no longer cool!! There are subcultures forming that I have no understanding of! I was in the damn Goth scene! I got it! I had the clothes, the music, the cool hangouts and the seriously Goth friends. I got the invitations to the subversive parties, I wore the make-up, the corsets, the insane seven inch heel thigh high fuck me boots!! I was part of the underground scene.
Now? I am a housewife wondering what the hell “Emo” is!!! It’s a thing I don’t get! My daughter will soon tell me I don’t understand, and she will be RIGHT!!!
There are things in life that I will accept with grace.
This whole aging thing ain’t one of ’em. Fuck aging, where’s my damn NIN hoodie?
Aack!! I went on vacation intending to update my blog to tell y’all I would be gone for a few days, only to forget completely about doing so!! Everything is fine, we are all well, and in fact we are all tan and relaxed and fantastic. We spent five days at Ben’s family’s house on Catalina Island soaking up some sun and down time with Ben, Aunty Mop, Lily Jane, Devon, Richard and Luke. We spent a lot of time talking, cooking, eating, drinking, wandering around town, swimming, and simply relaxing. Here is a sampling of the myriad of moments I caught on camera.
Monkey is too cool in her movie star glasses
We pass the Queen Mary on our way out to sea
The house where relaxation happens
The garden where we sit in awe at the amazing profusion of color
and contemplates the ocean next to our amazing sand castle
Ben begins serious construction on the castle (Luke watches in the background)
Ben, Richard, and Monkey shape their sandy vision with some hard work and water
Ben and Lee add to the Sand Castle version of Catalina’s Casino (while Luke reads a book)
Monkey army crawls towards the water’s edge after making some sand shapes
The army crawl continues… and continues
Aunty Mop and Lily investigate the powers of sand shovels
I greet my husband in the usual style
“Mama? Dada? This stuff is cold. I am not sure I should have my feet in it.”
Monkey dashes between beach and castle, ever ready to assist with sand dampening
Lily and Aunty Mop splash and play
Monkey strides confidently into the cold
Aunty Mop and Lily Jane march into the water 
Mommy and Otter catch a few waves
Monkey sits in the waves, trying to convince herself it’s warm enough to swim
Monkey stands atop a mountain overlooking the sea where we sat and searched for seals, whales, and dolphins. (Many a seal was seen, though no whales or dolphins.)
Ben and Monkey smile goonishly after Ben has allowed Monkey to steer the golf cart up the mountain. (Later, he would let her steer it down. I closed my eyes and prayed.) 
What Otter looks like strapped to the back of a golf cart 
Otter and Ben hang out at the top of the world. 
There was more, there is always more. I caught 337 pictures of the vacation, so I will not be posting all of them. However, there were many moments of baby cuteness between Lily and Otter, along with some more beach fun, so I will likely toss a few more up tomorrow.
I was a little apprehensive about going on this trip, because the last time I went Nick was along and I was a little afraid his absence would be glaring and painful. It really wasn’t. I was able to remember the fun we had, feel a pang or two, and then relax and enjoy the days with the people I love. I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends. It was a real joy to catch up with them and just slow down for a while. I didn’t want to return to the real world.
Tomorrow I will share with you my take of the travel day from hell, along with more stories of island bliss. Sorry I didn’t alert you to my vacation beforehand. I am touched to have been checked in with as much as I have, thanks for caring so much about me!!
SavvySpoons 