Eternally.

[tedwords]

“Many things can prolong your life, but only wisdom can save it.” ― Neel Burton

This was certainly a busy week. Not just work wise, but of the garden mill, social variety kind.

Thursday started off the weekend early with a visit to Gay Bingo, something that's been in the works for a few months, and hasn't been done in quite a few years. Although the drag queens this time around had very thick RhodIsland accents and plowed through the bingo calls a bit too quickly, and the food served wasn't much to write home about, it was at a nice location and we went with a lot of good friends. We would definitely do it again. Just may bring better munchies next time. 

Friday night was our usual martini and shitty musical night. The martini was espresso (which is a rather tame choice, but we were at a Mexican restaurant, which limited our options), and the shitty musical was "Two Girls and a Sailor," with the always dreadful June Allyson, which we watched in bed. This caused Corb to fall asleep within about two minutes.

Saturday was my dad's 80th celebration at Col. Blackington Inn, and it was a lovely afternoon. I think Dad really appreciated everyone being there for him. The only minor complaint I have is that because I had all the kids, Josie, and Corb's mom, we had to sit at a separate table from the rest of the family, which kind of felt a bit alienating. Not to sound ungrateful, though, because I am used to it and it was important for me to be with my kids. There's just a bit of a melancholy twinge, sometimes, but everyone was super pleasant and the food was great.

After that, we had to rush to PPAC to take in a production of Jagged Little Pill. My hot take? Although the New York Times claims it "fixed the jukebox musical," I'm not so sure. I really wanted to like it, because it has a lot of things in it I really care about. But I think the problem with a jukebox musical when asked to take it seriously are only compounded, because you are essentially in all cases fitting a square peg (a group or artist's backlog) into a round hole (a Broadway musical), and because you are trying to take it seriously, that's only amplified. So, for example, while You Oughta Know was a showstopper, and justifiably so, and the person singing it was the best singer in the show, the words being sung don't make complete sense for the situation. Square peg, round hole. The scene was built just to showcase that song, not the other way around. This is easier to accept when it's "The Winner Takes It All" vs. "You Oughta Know"! Also, there were just so many issues for this poor rich CT family to deal with that it was stringing an awful lot of bulbs on the Christmas tree, so it could be taken really seriously. It was almost like they wanted to shove as many issues as they could into one show. The choreography was silly (I think mid spasm was what they were going for?) and there were moments where they tried to lighten the mood that didnt work well (the new boyfriend jumping into the audience being the worst offender.) I also think a lot of these characters were self absorbed and rather unlikeable, but really...earnest and insufferable overachievers who even when failing still maintained a smugness that I didn't really love. That said, there were some interesting moments and thought provoking situations and good singing, so overall, I'd give it a C, overall. This wasn't even as close to as bad as Margaritaville (my gold standard for awful) but not in the league of Tina, and I can see a lot of people loving it a lot. There are important issues of substance abuse that really stand out that are important to discuss. However, I probably won't remember this 20 years from now.

And then, today. Today, the main focus was on Ashley's wedding. Specifically, figuring out how to swing paying for it. This is one I have been sweating out since Christmas, when she first announced they were engaged. I am very supportive, believe me, but I am also, well, a practical person and very aware of my financial condition (look, I like to travel, I like to eat out, and my husband is just starting up a business. You do the math.) By the time she told me, much of my holiday bonus had already been spent, so the first question I had was, "now what?"

So I've been very practical about this. I've been calm, I've been thoughtful, and I've been doing a lot of research. Based on where she wants to get married, I have been tallying costs and created a spreadsheet of how much I think it will all cost. I met with her and Dan and Josie to go over what they want, and added that to my spreadsheet. And then, I spoke with a bunch of folks (like my dad, and a friend at work whose daughter is getting married a few weeks after Ashley) to see how they handled things.

Today, I did the final tallies and called Ashes to tell her how much I would be happy to contribute. I made sure Dan (who tends to calm her down) was on the phone, too. And it went really well, too, so thankful for that! Both of them sounded really appreciative.

Now to actually pay for it all. Phew, weddings are a lot.

One of the outstanding issues was whether Ashes would invite Laurie to the wedding. Ashes has been rather against this since Laurie was married in October and Ashes wasn't invited (Laurie had to limit the # of guests). Josie was all set to speak with our beloved daughter, but I think my dear Bridezilla was in a generous mood today. Or maybe it was the awkward hug she exchanged with Laurie the night before. Whatever the case, she did decide to invite her to the wedding, after all. 

Anyway, it was a nice way to end the week-end. It also helped me to actually relax for the rest of the day, and after we did the last few days, I need the time!

Sometimes repeated personal contact can warm even the coldest of situations. And that's by design, I suppose. As long as the bonds keep connecting, the possibilities remain endless. Possibility is good for the soul.