Our Visit Back to Houston

This past Memorial Day weekend, Chris and I went back to Houston for three days during which we attended a rehearsal dinner and wedding, organized a brunch with friends, played a new disc golf course in Conroe with disc golf friends, and attended a Memorial Day back yard barbecue with dozens of friends and musical folks in League City. We also took a swim in Chris's parents' pool and ate Mexican food and had multiple margaritas! It was a deliciously fun and busy weekend full of great friends and good times compacted into just a short period of time.

My thoughts on the trip about Houston in general are thus:

1. It was damn hot! I mean sweat oozing from your every pore and running down your face / neck / legs / chest / back, etc., dripping onto your clothes, soaking your shirt kind of hot, with 98% humidity. I haven't sweat like that since leaving Texas and almost forgot what it was like. I believe I was near heat-stroke on Sunday morning playing disc golf at Little Egypt in Conroe. Our car said it was 104 degrees when we got back into it. I was having cold sweats and my brain had pretty much stopped making decisions. I was sunburned on all the areas of my skin that were showing. It exhausted and drained me. When we returned from playing disc golf, we decided to jump in the pool. That was very refreshing but also tiring.  We then took a nap for about an hour.

We could have slept till morning but we had a party to get to. Jumping ahead to Monday, we caught a super early flight and slept the whole flight back to Chicago and went right to bed upon our return that morning for a five hour nap. Today is Wednesday and I still feel tired from the trip. I didn't make dinner last night for lack of energy - we went out for dinner which saved us from frozen pizza.

2. Weddings are the most fun! I love weddings! I especially love weddings where Chris is the officiant marrying two people I know and love and for whom I hope all happiness and good things. There is nothing so great as witnessing someone you know finding love and declaring it in front of all their friends and families. And Chris does a fabulous ceremony! Carl and Chanel's wedding was the wedding of a life-time! Attention to EVERY detail! They had it all! The kick-ass dress! The coordinated mothers outfits - mom of the bride wore pink, mom of the groom wore green to match the colors throughout - pink and green were everywhere! Pink & green pillows in the lounge, pink & green M&M's as a give-away, pink bridesmaids' dresses, green groomsmen vests & bowties. Pink and green flowers spilling from every available vase and location. pink rose petals to throw at the couple as they made their way to the limo waiting to take them to their honeymoon suite. A large portrait of the bride near the bar. Open bar - all you could drink. Delicious food from steaks to seafood, roasted vegetables, scalloped potatoes, salads and rolls. A photobooth complete with costume trunk for dressing up your photoshoot, music and dancing and photographers recording everything. It was grand. Everything about the whole wedding was absolutely grand.

Weddings also always make me reflect on my own wedding! What a fabulous party! I loved my wedding so much! There's no way you can ever recreate the happiness you feel on your wedding day. You simply cannot stop smiling no matter what you do! All your friends and family are surrounding you and wishing you well, participating in your union and in the love you feel for each other. And while during my wedding we may have been barefoot on the beach and had no photographer or coordinator or caterer or personalized M&Ms we had the best darn beach party you can possibly have! We felt the love from all our guests and ate and drank til our bellies were as full as our hearts.

3. I really miss having friends, and Mama Tried and going out to hear local live music. We need to get back into having a social life. I know it took a long time to develop our social life in Clear Lake to the point where it was as rich as it was (and still is to some extent.) And I believe that a lot of it had to do with disc golf. It was years of playing disc golf with some of the guys out playing before being invited to people's houses or inviting others over to ours but we made it there. The same with my knitting / crochet friends. I dragged Chelsea with me to the yarn convention - Stitches Midwest because I don't know any crafty people here. I don't think anyone could ever replace the people in Clear Lake in my heart but they are in Texas and I am in Illinois and I want friends and activities here the same way I had them in Texas.

Over the course of the weekend I saw and had conversations with at least 40 people I know and love ~ mainly due to the fact that there was a wedding and a huge backyard barbeque going on and everyone was already gathered at these two events. Except for brunch on Saturday morning and disc golf on Sunday morning where we saw some friends who weren't at either event. And there were at least a dozen or more people I did not have a chance to see who I would love to see again - mainly my family members - I didn't get a chance to see my lovely sister or any of my other siblings or my mom, or Chris's family, I didn't get a chance to see my knitting / crocheting friends or Toni who I haven't seen in many months.

Finding people whose company you enjoy is often so difficult. It's like dating to some extent - first you have to put yourself out there by going out and doing things and meeting new people which is scary and hard to do. Then you might meet others but so often they are sort of "not your type" or they are crazy or weird or offensive in some way (chauvinistic, small minded, republican, racist, homophobic, party too hard or into heavy drug usage, gamer hermit types who just sit and watch tv or play video games for entertainment, overly religious types, etc.) It takes hours of conversations and multiple outings / events / meetings to determine if you are a "match" for a friendship to develop. It's daunting! But I have to do it if I want to attempt to emulate my old social life.

I should start with my neighbors. I should invite them over for tea or we should have a barbeque in the back yard with frisbee and plenty of beers! I'm going to set a date and make invitations!

LOVE