For the first time in a good long while, I have an entire weekend off. I don't have to work; I don't have to study. I could do some house cleaning, but other than that, I am free...free as the wind!
This lends itself in an excellent way to family time. And it's a good thing that this weekend is so free because we have the possibility of having either of my stepsons involved in up to nine basketball games this weekend. It's a good thing that I have a lot of games downloaded to my cell phone because that is the only way I will make it through all that basketball with my sanity intact. We start out tomorrow at a tournament for Connor (age 13), head to a different county for Collin's (age 14) play-off game for the Diocesan championships, and then head back to home base to watch some games for both of their elite teams. Sunday, we have two games, again for the elite teams. Wow...that's a lot of basketball!
Tonight, we headed down to the town that Bill is from for the Knights of Columbus fish dinner that he, Connor, and Collin and Connor's brother Preston were working at. I went along for the fish and the company. While there, we saw one of our favorite people in the world, Mr. Ruppe. Mr. Ruppe is the father of some friends of ours, and he is among the best men you could ever hope to meet. He is one of those people who is always willing to give of himself for the good of others. He is someone who places his priorities in God and family, and he is a fantastic role model for me and Bill (his marriage is strong thanks to the fact that he and his wife work hard at it), as well as for Collin, Connor, and Preston. We are truly blessed to have someone like him in our lives.
Before Bill and I were planning to get married, I felt on the outskirts whenever we hung out with the Ruppe clan. It's a large, loud, boisterous family, much like the Caseys are. Their parties are legendary and used to go all night long. They are always up for some fun. When we used to attend these parties, I would invariably end up sitting off to the side, observing all the fun, not really in the mix. Sometimes, my brother-in-law's wife and Bill's cousin's girlfriend would be there, leaving me feeling like less of an outcast. I would imagine it was my own take on things, as opposed to how everyone else felt about me, but I never quite thought I fit in.
After Bill and I got married, we headed over to the Ruppe house one night for a visit. While there, I felt as if I finally fit in. After all, I was a Casey now, and the Casey and Ruppe families had been friends for many years. You know what? I was right. That night, Mr. Ruppe congratulated us on our wedding and welcomed me to the fold, telling me that I was family now. In marrying Bill, I had gained two families...my in-laws and this wonderful, crazy Ruppe clan.
In this crazy world, when sometimes husbands and wives (in this very house) might only see each other for minutes each day, it's nice to have time to share dinner with a great group of people who have as one of their missions to help the community. It might not be the community I grew up in or the community I live in, but it's a community I married into, and it means a lot to me. And now, as I type this, I hear Bill in the living room, laughing with Connor and Preston as they watch a movie, and my sweet puppy is chewing on his bone in the hallway. And I am thinking that I have got it pretty good...it's not everyone who can look forward to a whole weekend of family time.
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts
Friday, March 02, 2007
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Surprise!
As we all know, I have been car-less this week, so I have been relying on the generosity of friends and family to get me where I need to go and retrieve me from where I needed to be. On Friday, I needed to be at work from 7 AM until 11 AM. My lovely and talented fiance dropped me off at work earlier than I needed to be there because he then had to head to his job over an hour away. My mom offered to pick me up after she was done with her bowling league, about an hour after I was done with work. With no better offers on the table, I settled into a chair in the lobby of the hospital to await her arrival.
At about 11:45, I received a text message from her that she would be there around noon. At about five minutes before noon, I headed outside to await her arrival on the curb. Right at noon, a car pulled up that looked just like my sister's. However, knowing that my sister was at work* and noticing that there were three people in the car and knowing that the Saab 9-3 is a popular car here where the yuppies rule the earth, I didn't really expect it to be my ride...until my cousin climbed out of the front seat and started making her way over to me. After my initial reaction of "Oh my God!" followed by "What the hell?" I learned that my shower is this weekend and since they didn't think they would be able to surprise me with the shower, they decided they would surprise me by picking me up at work and taking me out to lunch. The third person in the car was my best friend Amy. She is another of my bridesmaids. We headed to lunch at a Mexican restaurant, and it was mmmm, mmmm good!
I love surprises!
*she is sneaky, that one!
At about 11:45, I received a text message from her that she would be there around noon. At about five minutes before noon, I headed outside to await her arrival on the curb. Right at noon, a car pulled up that looked just like my sister's. However, knowing that my sister was at work* and noticing that there were three people in the car and knowing that the Saab 9-3 is a popular car here where the yuppies rule the earth, I didn't really expect it to be my ride...until my cousin climbed out of the front seat and started making her way over to me. After my initial reaction of "Oh my God!" followed by "What the hell?" I learned that my shower is this weekend and since they didn't think they would be able to surprise me with the shower, they decided they would surprise me by picking me up at work and taking me out to lunch. The third person in the car was my best friend Amy. She is another of my bridesmaids. We headed to lunch at a Mexican restaurant, and it was mmmm, mmmm good!
I love surprises!
*she is sneaky, that one!
Monday, July 31, 2006
Mania...
Sometimes, when you live in the mountains and your husband-to-be goes away for the weekend, you are totally SCREWED if the power goes out, causing an inability in your alarm clock to wake you up for work. Sometimes, you wake up, and you think, "Hmmm...it's a little too light out for my liking." And you notice that EVERY digital clock in your house is a big, black, blank screen. And you jump off the couch (where you were sleeping in front of the now-silent air conditioner) and fumble for you cell phone and realize that it is 6:32, and you should have left for work, well, 32 minutes ago. After throwing on some clothes (working at a job where you wear scrubs = SO good not to have to decide what to wear) and throwing your toothbrush and toothpaste in your purse (because the electric well pump needs some of that newfangled electricity to get the water to come out of your faucet), you hop in the car while frantically calling someone...ANYONE...at work (not always easy during the change of shift) to let them know that your morning has not been a good one and you will be there, at the earliest, at 7:15, which is a full half hour late. Damn that move up into the mountains, anyway.
Luckily, my coworkers are understanding and would prefer I arrive even later than that and also alive. Luckily, also, it was Sunday, so I was able to go a little heavier on the gas petal and not worry about cops so much and also there was no traffic. Luckily, as a final also, my day got better.
Yesterday, my friends, was my VERY FIRST BRIDAL SHOWER!!!! And there are also some tricky people in my life! TRICKY LIARS! However, it's okay because, man, I was surprised!
My baby sister turned 26 on Friday, and the Big Event of our Sunday was supposed to be dinner out for her birthday. She was to arrive at 6:00 or 6:30 at my parents', where I was going after work, and we were going to head out. I work closer to my parents' than to my house (again about the mountains), so I went to their house to shower (ah, the running water) and change and wait for her and her boyfriend and also Bill, who was out of town for the weekend. So I am sitting around reading the paper, and the phone rings. It's my parents' neighbor, Barb. Barb's son got married a few weeks ago, so when she invites us over to see the pictures of the wedding, fresh back from the photographer, I think nothing of it and report that we are on our way.
She meets us at the back door. We go into the house. I walk into the kitchen...and right into a trap. About fifteen members of our family of friends are standing in the kitchen, and I about fall over as they yell, "SURPRISE!" It's a party! It's for me (and Bill, who is still out of town...sneaky, sneaky man)!
Apparently, the birthday dinner was all a big ruse to get me down there and to lure an unsuspecting me into their trap of margaritas and merriment. I was, of course, touched and thrilled. After an initial moment of near hyperventilation and tears, we got down to the business of fiesta-ing, complete with margaritas and queso and fajitas and tacos and margarita cheesecake and frozen strawberry margarita pie. There were games. There were gifts. There were good times, had by all (especially me)! And at the end of the evening, there was an actual showing of the wedding pictures because they weren't actually lying to me (much)! I feel very lucky to have so many people who care about me.
Of course, no shower is complete without pictures...and those pictures had something to do with what I have done this morning. I noticed that the surprised and blushing bride, who was photographed walking into the ambush, was looking a little, um, wide across the beam. The camera adds ten pounds? Well, it had better add more like fifty because I was NOT happy with what I saw.
So this morning, I decided to get up and take a walk. Have I mentioned that I live in the mountains? Well, here in the mountains, they don't specialize in flat roadways. They specialize, instead, in neighborhoods where EVERY street goes uphill, and I don't know how I didn't walk all the way to heaven with all the uphills I was doing. It was dirty. It was ugly. It was wheeze-y. It was sweaty. It was forty-five minutes long, and although I felt great (tired) when I was done, it was definitely insult added to injury when I had to finish up the walk with a trek up my hellish driveway. Man, I can't wait to get that thing paved!
How was your weekend?
Luckily, my coworkers are understanding and would prefer I arrive even later than that and also alive. Luckily, also, it was Sunday, so I was able to go a little heavier on the gas petal and not worry about cops so much and also there was no traffic. Luckily, as a final also, my day got better.
Yesterday, my friends, was my VERY FIRST BRIDAL SHOWER!!!! And there are also some tricky people in my life! TRICKY LIARS! However, it's okay because, man, I was surprised!
My baby sister turned 26 on Friday, and the Big Event of our Sunday was supposed to be dinner out for her birthday. She was to arrive at 6:00 or 6:30 at my parents', where I was going after work, and we were going to head out. I work closer to my parents' than to my house (again about the mountains), so I went to their house to shower (ah, the running water) and change and wait for her and her boyfriend and also Bill, who was out of town for the weekend. So I am sitting around reading the paper, and the phone rings. It's my parents' neighbor, Barb. Barb's son got married a few weeks ago, so when she invites us over to see the pictures of the wedding, fresh back from the photographer, I think nothing of it and report that we are on our way.
She meets us at the back door. We go into the house. I walk into the kitchen...and right into a trap. About fifteen members of our family of friends are standing in the kitchen, and I about fall over as they yell, "SURPRISE!" It's a party! It's for me (and Bill, who is still out of town...sneaky, sneaky man)!
Apparently, the birthday dinner was all a big ruse to get me down there and to lure an unsuspecting me into their trap of margaritas and merriment. I was, of course, touched and thrilled. After an initial moment of near hyperventilation and tears, we got down to the business of fiesta-ing, complete with margaritas and queso and fajitas and tacos and margarita cheesecake and frozen strawberry margarita pie. There were games. There were gifts. There were good times, had by all (especially me)! And at the end of the evening, there was an actual showing of the wedding pictures because they weren't actually lying to me (much)! I feel very lucky to have so many people who care about me.
Of course, no shower is complete without pictures...and those pictures had something to do with what I have done this morning. I noticed that the surprised and blushing bride, who was photographed walking into the ambush, was looking a little, um, wide across the beam. The camera adds ten pounds? Well, it had better add more like fifty because I was NOT happy with what I saw.
So this morning, I decided to get up and take a walk. Have I mentioned that I live in the mountains? Well, here in the mountains, they don't specialize in flat roadways. They specialize, instead, in neighborhoods where EVERY street goes uphill, and I don't know how I didn't walk all the way to heaven with all the uphills I was doing. It was dirty. It was ugly. It was wheeze-y. It was sweaty. It was forty-five minutes long, and although I felt great (tired) when I was done, it was definitely insult added to injury when I had to finish up the walk with a trek up my hellish driveway. Man, I can't wait to get that thing paved!
How was your weekend?
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