Saturday, February 20, 2010

The Art Room

On the IPOD "A Case of You" by: Joni Mitchell

When I was very young, my mom met a lost women(Susie) walking home from our Elementary school. She had just moved to Dallas with her husband (Alan) and two girls (Marni and Amy) and she couldn't remember which way her house was...Of course my mom showed her the way and then became best of friends.

Their house was always one of my favorite places to go... I mean are you kidding me, two beautiful older girls (remember I didnt have a sister), an art room under the stairs and a laundry shoot that I'm pretty sure, knowing my brothers, we used for much more than laundry... The girls were my brothers ages...Growing up, Marni was so much fun. She was a mommy's girl just like me, although I was a daddy's girl too. . I was lucky enough to get some of her hand me downs and of course those were the best because they were Marni's. Her older sister Amy was like a living Barbie doll. As far as I was concerned she was the most beautiful sophisticated teenage girl I knew. I think I pretty much idolized them. The funny part is that when the older kids were off doing grown up stuff that I, as my brothers usually put it, just didn't understand, I was usually sitting with the adults having a grown up conversation or I was in the art room creating a masterpiece.

As we grew up the girls got busy with their owns lives as did my brothers. And what used to be family dinners turned into me tagging along with the adults... On the plus side, I got extremely close with Susie and Alan. After college the girls met boys, got married and moved back. I couldn't have been more thrilled! I was finally going to to have that "close girlfriend" relationship with these two women who were always everything I wanted to be...But just as we started to get close both girls up and moved to California...

As the time went by each girl had baby after baby making a grand total of 6 (3 each) 5 boys and 1 baby girl.

Susie has been following the blog since the beginning. She goes to Nia with me when she can and has been incredibly supportive. A while back, she told me that both of the girls were reading and loving it.

About 2 weeks ago I got an email from Marni telling me that she is obsessed with the blog and that she and Amy were coming into town and just had to see me and talk to me about it! To say the least I was pretty excited! So Susie and I started talking about planning a day for me to come to the house. We decided that I would come over Friday and make Shabbat dinner for the family (unfortunately I couldn't stay for dinner because I had another commitment.)

Shabbat Dinner Menu
Spring mix Salad with Candied Pecans and Fresh Raspberries with a Raspberry Vinaigrette
Pecan Crusted Artic Char
Roasted Mixed Veggies
Rice Pilaf
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake
So yesterday morning I was greeted at the door by Marni and 5 little boys! The boys and I made dinner. We took turns peeling carrots and chopping mushrooms. It was definitely a zoo but so much fun. The girls wanted to discuss everything; fertility, weight loss, my dad, the hardest entries and the easiest too! Marni, especially, knew the ins and outs of every post and the best part about it was hearing her version of what she was getting from the blog.
I guess the interesting thing is that I have lived my life thinking that I was the only one that felt these ways. I never thought that the girls around me whether they were skinny or not all had similar feelings. At times while writing this blog I have wished that this happened sooner in my life, but then I remember that maybe all of the hurt feelings and the secrets made me who I am!
I am absolutely looking forward to having a "close girlfriend" relationship with my now "not so much older" family friends!! Thanks for a very special and memorable day!
xoxo chef a

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