The first weekend I was back in town, I left town to go camping. It was just an hour away, but still a fun first trip for Liam. (If you recall, Jack’s first camping trip occurred when he was four weeks old. That was much easier than taking a 21 month old Liam, I must say.)
On the way home from camping, we attended the Metairie Saint Patrick’s day parade and a cookout/party thrown by friends of ours. I discovered that I am not refreshed and renewed after Mardi Gras parading, and wasn’t feeling it. But I enjoyed the company, and discovered chartreuse, a delicious (if deadly) liqueur.
I went straight home and sorted through our beads, picking out the green beads (for a friend, who was making a Saint Patrick’s Day beaded costume), and recycling the bulk of the rest.
The next week was spring break, during which time I caught up on working for a judge (an externship obligation I have that has been suffering of late from my travels), and then welcomed my sister and her husband for a little post-honeymoon trip. We kept it lazy and easy, and I really enjoyed having them here. We each took a turn going out to dinner with them (the other parent remaining home with the kids), we spent time at the Aquarium and Riverwalk, we spent lots of time child-chasing. My youngest really took to his uncle, and Jack just adores his Aunt Amanda. There was lots of nephew adoration going on, and my sons were gleeful little boys for several days. My sister took all the pictures with her camera, so I have none to share. 🙁
The next weekend was Saint Patrick’s Day. The Professor took the boys to see the parade, while I joined my church choir in singing (a paid gig) at a church member’s wedding. This wedding was at least a million dollar affair. It was one of the most astonishing sights I have ever seen. There were thirty chefs on site, there were about twenty florists putting up at least a hundred arrangements, there was a 40-person choir, 17-person boys’ choir, and 20-piece orchestra, hand-stitched Irish linen tablecloths at every one of the 300 or so tables set out for the 600 guests. There were FLOATING CANDLES AND BALLS OF ROSES IN A BLUE-SLATE LINED SWIMMING POOL. It was like a wedding in a movie. Gorgeous, absolutely dripping with money and class. I’ll never have that level of wealth, never, but it makes me kind of happy to know that somebody out there does – seriously (although I think those people could probably afford to subsidize some health care for poor people, and still have their ridiculously amazing wedding, but that’s all I’ll say about that). I tried really hard not to be totally gauche and gawp at everything.
Monday night, it turned out an old high school buddy that I hadn’t seen in over ten years was in town. (The bonus of living in New Orleans is that almost everybody comes here at some point in their lives for some good old laissez les bon temps rouler debauchery!) He’s from California, and picked a place downtown I’ve never been in the hopes of getting some crawfish. It turned out to be a California surf-style bar. Ha! Nevertheless, we had dinner and talked for three hours, and it was awesome.
This week we’re back in class. I’m planning our annual blood drive, figuring out financial aid exit counseling, reading ahead for classes, and gearing up for the last few weeks of my last semester in law school. And also . . . hosting the MILP roundup this weekend! Stay tuned for my first attempt!