It's back where it belongs

5 years after I had to take off my college ring, it is back on my pinkie.

The Westhampton Ring is a very special signet ring. It is such a unique design, sporting the "W" for Westhampton College, and an image of North Court Tower in the center. I had seen this ring my whole life on my mother's hand. When I went to University of Richmond, I just knew which ring I would be purchasing come my junior year. I didn't even need to look at the many selections. And in all actuality, the majority of my classmates got the same ring.

Westhampton College (the women's college of the University of Richmond) has a Junior Ring Ceremony. When my parents went to school there, and also when I was there, it was a really big deal. All of the juniors dressed in long white gowns, and were "presented" at the top of the staircase (the same one from "Gone With the Wind") by their father. Their father then turned and put their college ring on their finger. After descending the stairs, the women went and got in place to form a large letter "W" - think marching band on the field, but with pretty girls all dressed in white and in a beautiful hotel lobby! It was a beautiful memory that is forever engraved in my mind and heart. I wore that ring every day, rarely taking it off.

When I was pregnant with Brian, my whole body swelled up. Around February/March, I had to take off all of my rings for fear of having to have them cut off if I didn't act myself. Just like my feet, my fingers grew in size and never returned to my pre-pregnancy size. I had my wedding bands resized a long while ago, but had never gotten around to getting my college ring resized.

When we were packing up to head up to my 15 year college reunion, on a whim, I took my ring out of my jewelry box, and brought it with me. The joy when I saw a "ring guy" sitting outside of the bookstore. I explained what I wanted done, and presto-chango (well, about 4 weeks later) - my ring was returned to me. This time in white gold, since I don't wear yellow gold anymore, and in the right size. It feels so strange, but at the same time so comfortable to have my ring back on.

Visit with Great Gramma

Let's go back almost a month now...I left off reviewing our "vacation" with our last full day in Northern VA. On Thursday afternoon, we packed the troops back into the van and headed down to Chesapeake to visit with my grandmother, her husband and my mom's youngest sister and husband. We had decided before we left Florida that we really couldn't be in the state of Virginia and not arrange to visit with Gramma. After losing my other Gramma last year, I am very aware of how precious each visit is and how I want to be able to record for my children how much they are loved by my Gramma.
Somehow we underestimated how long it would take to get down to Chesapeake, so we ended up arriving in the early evening. My Gramma can't drive after dark, so we only got to see her for about 30 minutes before she and Lyman had to head back to their house.


Chris, the boys and I spent the night at my Aunt Gail and Uncle Gary's house and the next morning headed over to my Gramma's house to spend some more time with her and Lyman before we headed over to Richmond for my 15 year reunion. Brian, Sean & Colin had a ball with Great Gramma and Lyman. Gramma fed us some breakfast (bagel for the boys) and then took all of us over to a little park in her neighborhood.

We played, ran around and had a great time. Lyman didn't hear us leave, and when he came out of the bedroom, we were all gone! He went searching the whole neighborhood for us - which for an almost 90 year old man is a pretty big feat if you ask me!

After we got back to their house, Gramma took Brian & Sean in to wash their hands. As you can see from this picture, the water play got a little crazy! They ended up "washing" their hair as well.

I'm so very glad we were able to spend some time with my grandmother. I know she enjoyed seeing the boys, and my boys loved spending time with her.

Pla like Spa

That was how our D.J. introduced Terri at our wedding reception - Chris' and mine, not Terri and I! When I met Chris and started falling in love, I knew I needed to introduce him to Terri and Tony. Terri is one of those friends who just won't let you do anything, wear anything, say anything that will be bad for you. She's that unique friend who isn't afraid to tell you the truth - but she does it in such a nice way. She's also the funniest person I know. Truly, she could be on Saturday Night Live or be a stand-up. She has a way of telling a story that just can have you rolling on the ground. But I digress.

Somehow we were able to get together with the Pla family on our whirlwind VA trip. Now of course our schedules were so busy when we lived 10 miles from each other that we could never get together. But, move 1000 miles away, and somehow we manage to work it out!

We met at California Tortilla for dinner on Wednesday. The kids managed to shovel their food down and then went outside to run around. I'm sure some people were amazed at the din that arose in the patio between California Tortilla and Moby Dick's, but our kids were having a ball. There was lots of laughing, running and just having fun. We stayed longer than we intended, but we were all having such a good time that we didn't want it to end. We're looking forward to the Plas coming to our house for a quick visit this summer on their annual Florida trip.

Special Times with Special Girls

One of the key visits we had during our time in VA was with the Foss family. Through the years that we have known the Fosses, our families have grown very close. I was very sad to be leaving my friend Elizabeth and all of her wonderful children (oh yeah, and Mike too!).

Due to illness beyond our control, I was only able to sit down with Elizabeth for about 15 minutes - which actually reminded me of when I lived only a couple of blocks from her as well! Most of the Foss kids were down for the count with varying degrees of the "yuck". However, Mary Beth, Katie, and Gracie, who by sheer amount of time spent at the Foss house is an honorary Foss, were healthy and we were able to play with them. Not a day went by while we were up there that these three wonderful little girls came over to play with my boys. It was a very special time for me to watch them playing together, and spend some time talking with Mary Beth - what a little mother she is! When we left, Katie told me she was going to come live with us in Florida - anytime little miss, anytime!

One is silver and the other gold

I just remember the song I used to sing when I was a Brownie...

Make new friends, but keep the old.
One is silver and the other gold.

Tuesday was what I'm dubbing "old friend" day. The morning began with another play date with the Foss girls and Gracie. And I got to spend some time catching up with my friend Jen. Jen is a dear friend whom I met at church and we have become very close over the years. I remember seeing her at church before we became friends and thinking how sweet and just plain nice she seemed and how I would love to be her friend. Well, God works in mysterious ways as we know, and now we share a bond that time and distance won't sever. We enjoyed our morning together immensely.

To digress: Trish, Kary, Daniella and I (or the Fabulous Four as I like to call us), used to host a Girls' Night dinner at our homes (rotating homes) each week. Not only did we do it every week, we actually made a meal - and we were all working at the time! Of course this practice of a weekly dinner turned into monthly, then quarterly, etc. as we all got married, and then started having children. But, we are all still close friends to this day.

Back before we left for Florida, my friends Kary, Trish and I along with all of our kids (and Chris as well!) got together at a petting farm for one last get together with our kids. It was a great time, and I have really missed my dear friends. The rest of my day on Tuesday was spent between Kary and Trish's homes. We went to Kary's house around lunchtime and spent the afternoon there. Campbell was at school for part of the time, but we had a great time with Audrey, and once Campbell got home, more fun ensued. Kary and I sat on the couch and just gabbed away - well, between being interrupted by our kids! We were sorry our time together had to end.

Next up, I got to hang out in rush hour traffic on I-495 and the Dulles Toll Road. Check those off the list! I "hustled" the boys over to Trish's new house for dinner - or as much as one can hustle in Maryland/Northern VA traffic! Trish made "Cindy's Dish" for dinner. She has named it for me since I made it for one of our Girls' Night Dinners many years ago. Basically it's a salmon, asparagus pasta dish - and REALLY yummy to boot! My boys had a great time playing with Alec and Caleb, Trish's boys. And Trish and I had a glass of wine, waxed on about life, love and God, and kept the boys up way too late. And as Trish told me, God always has a way of reminding us that he's in charge (wink, wink).

Home again, home again, lickety split!

Well, after 10 long days on the road, we are finally back home. We had a great trip, saw lots of friends, went to my college reunion, and wore the kids out. Big post coming later on the details. For now, here's some traveling pics for your viewing pleasure!