I Suck At Wakes

On Sunday, my eighteen month old daughter (Briana) had a play date. My friend (Meredith) brought over her son (Xander) who is about four months younger than Briana. To be honest, the play date went a lot better than I expected.

I think the last time Briana and Xander saw each other, Briana basically grabbed all of Xander's cheerios and ate them... in front of him. Not this time. This time, she actually shared some of her toys with him. It was definitely nice to see her share her toys.

It was also good to see Meredith again. I haven't seen her in some time. So it was good to catch up and hang out even if it was for a short period of time on Sunday.

Following the play date, Karen, Briana, and I ventured into the great white north known as Lowell. There's a lot to like about Lowell, or so the city would have you believe. Karen's Lowell-loving cousin's (Karlene) husband's (Tommy) mother had passed away and her wake was on Sunday.

Too bad I suck at wakes. I can't imagine what it must feel like to lose a parent. Losing my son (Braden) was heartbreaking enough. I dread the day that my parents pass away because I love them dearly even if they drive me insane at times. I wouldn't be who I am without them. So it's tough I'm sure to lose a parent.

Anyway, it was an interesting wake particularly because Briana was with us. Bringing an eighteen month old definitely seems to make people smile at a wake. Of course, it could be that Briana was hamming it up since she got a lot of attention from people and other strangers waiting in line.

Karen and I also got to hang out with Karlene and Tommy's friends (Kim and Rick). We have never hung out with just them before. It was interesting. Apparently, I introduced Karlene and her friends to the term "vagitarian". The topic came about because Kim and Rick own Subaru's, which is the type of car that Karen recently bought.

Jokingly, I mentioned to Karen that Kim and Rick are Lowell versions of us: Kim/Karen with the Subaru, me/Rick with the computer stuff. At least, I think Rick does stuff with computers. As a side note, a lot of Tommy's family (and Kim/Rick) thought Karen and Karlene could be sisters. That was weird.