Memorial Day Weekend Recharge

If Friday and Saturday were all go, go, go then Sunday and Monday would have to be at a different speed for me to not completely fall apart. Memorial Day has that way of ushering in summertime and it makes you want to sit with friends around a table full of good food and sip a beer and just enjoy the moment. I mean a whole holiday devoted to honoring war dead isn't supposed to be joyous, but at least it can honor the living too, right? And so that's just what we did. I woke up Sunday to clean the house a bit and bake up a strawberry summer cake for a low-key last minute bbq we were invited to at Julie and Jesse's house. The girls were thrilled to get to see their sister twinsies, Maya and Kira, and I knew we'd have a good spread with everyone bringing something. Dawn's festive red, white and blue trifle didn't disappoint and the Costco salsa I bought was a stunning success. Yes, this was going to be an easy night except for Nacho going off to work. It's been the same the past two years with him flying over the long weekend and this year marked our second outing to see the Mets on Memorial Day itself. The tickets were 4 for $30 which was impossible to pass up so I rounded up the troops and away we went!

And honestly, moving all of our Sunnyside gang to another section so we could sit together was a brilliant plan. Then I took off to get some real food and the guys hung back to watch the kids who were mostly behaving. Elisa was acting a little giggly with Bix--a first--but she didn't appreciate me acknowledging it. Ha. She's in for a rude awakening come puberty! I'm here to make sure she doesn't act a fool, so yes, I will be subtly calling her on that stuff. And yesterday was just the tip of the ice berg, I'm sure. 

Making Memorial Day Fair

This year the Memorial Day Fair was more than a day at the park. It was my first time co-chairing one of the major fundraisers at Sunnyside Gardens Park and it was, to be honest, a little daunting. I've been around the park long enough to know the lay of the land events-wise. Back in 2012 I served as Asst VP and did a lot of the food shopping for events like this as well as general oversight with the co-chairs. Memorial Day is the first big event of the year and it always seems to set the mood for the summer. So getting it right is important and I didn't want to make a mess of it. Having friends that served as co-chairs for MDF for the last 4 years, I had a pretty good idea of what was involved. And last year as VP, I was able to see lots of the organizational detail that went into pulling it off. Which is partly why I knew how bad we were floundering just a month ago when a lot of the nitty gritty stuff wasn't nailed down. I'd arranged some of the entertainment, solicited raffle donations, locked down rides, and was still trying to figure out if we could outsource food vending with just a few weeks left. I wasn't in complete panic mode, but I knew we were going to have a very busy few weeks ahead. And boy, was I right. Of course, school events were also picking up, so there was a lot of running around day and night. Spring concerts, field days, field trips, project presentations...it all wrapped up on Friday morning and by that evening I was in the park and ready to get this party started with some prep work. Thank goodness for Jamie Sweetman, aka "Park Man," and his park staff team this year. I don't think we could have done it without them. They got me extra tables and chairs, helped set up late at night on Friday, were there again bright and early on Saturday and they finished by breaking it all down and stashing everything away. Seriously. It was a blur of activity, but also lots of fun. That's the best. We did it! 

And when the final numbers come in, I know we made a lot of people happy for the day and we also made a good amount of cash for the park. Nearly 1600 people walked into the park that day and there was food and plenty of beer. And the lines for the concessions never seemed to stop. That cotton candy line! My girls got their bracelets and tickets and took off, returning only when they ran out. It was another banner day in the park they love and I was happy to sneak some pics here and there as I raced about. My brain doesn't hold too many tasks at one time, so I was sometimes trying to figure out what I was just about to do before getting asked to take on some new diversion. And as a co-chair there is always someone asking you for something. But I hope I answered them all. I never felt too overwhelmed. It seemed like there was extra help whenever we desperately needed it. My favorite example of the day was when a nice gray-haired woman approached me around 3:45pm saying that I was the person she needed to ask about vending at the craft fair in October. I explained I was not in charge of that event, but I would be able to look into it for her. She mentioned it was for her friend who sold jewelry and face painted. Face painting? I repeated incredulously. Was her friend at the park today? She said yes. I asked if she wanted to make $50 and face paint for us for the next hour and a half. Well, sure! By the end, these two gracious ladies had jumped in to paint and they worked that line to make it much easier on the lone volunteer at the table. Things like that reinforced my belief that people are good and want to be needed. We all have our unique abilities and volunteering for these kinds of things makes me more aware of how nice it feels to give of your time. I had lots of friends saying thanks and that they were really enjoying the fair this year. And that was just an added bonus. We had the stage in the picnic area which meant you could be part of the crowd better while eating or just hanging out. Choi's rock bands were the breakaway stars of the entertainment line up and Dave Cremin did not disappoint with his magic and comedy routine. Jeff Fairbanks and his band delivered their brass band music with their usual flair and the day was a resounding success. Financially we made out pretty good and I was mostly glad that we sold out of the emergency food bought last minute for a pretty penny. It all worked out. And it was all over. WHEW! Now it's time to recover and consider how we can do better next year....because of course that's what you do. 

May Wrap Up

Oh May. Oh my. This month is swerving dangerously into the final curve and I don't know whether to brake or just throw up my hands and scream WEEEeeeeeeeeee! I have been on such a dead run with all the last minute errands for the upcoming Memorial Day Fair at the park that it was nice to take a day to myself recently and get a hair cut (for FREE!) at Arrojo in SoHo. My usual stylist Jessica needed someone to model a razor bob and I was more than happy to sit in her chair for a little longer if it meant I could save some cash. After that, I wandered through Washington Square Park and enjoyed a little bite at Daily Provisions near Union Square. Then it was back to the grind with more errands and laundry and birthdays! 

Kinda cracked me up that I didn't see Carolina's face at first

Dawn's birthday gave us a reason to come out for a little Friday night bbq fun

Jasper turned 6 and we celebrated with cake and a beautiful park afternoon

Lunch in Red Hook ended up being lobster, though we went for BBQ. Next time! 

And truly if I hadn't been in a tizzy trying to wrap things up for the park, I might have spent more time worrying about how fast life was moving ahead. In the midst of all this chaos, Nacho texted me the results of the AE that was just published at Delta. Basically, that's the advanced entitlement which means it offers new positions and aircraft slots to those who bid for it. We spent much of the spring discussing his options and whether or not he would put in for a captain slot and if so, where and what plane. In the end, the chance for promotion and the staggering raise that comes with it was too much to pass up, and he bid for it. The process closed and by then he could see how many others had done the same and what their seniority was. He was pretty sure there was no chance he'd make captain and so I started to move on from that scenario. And of course, that's just when I suppose you should know something is up. We had been chatting at Carolina's field day about when to expect the results and then not two hours later, he texted me that he made Captain on the Airbus 320 in NYC. It was an announcement full of potential and some serious excitement. What??! What does this mean for us and when would it all happen? I have to admit it was almost as stunning as the message I got from him about Delta calling him for the interview. I was standing at Costco trying to blink and reread the text. It felt like life was all about to change, and for the better. And that's a good feeling. I took him for a celebratory pint at the Lowery when I got back from my park shopping.  It was all starting to sink in and we couldn't help but see the possibilities of where we might end up in the next few years with that salary.  So yes, we're holding on for now, but we're pretty pumped. And I say we, because this job is a partnership. He couldn't do this alone and I think he knows that now more than ever. We are facing these changes and these opportunities together and the idea that he could upgrade in three years at this job is pretty amazing. No one deserves it more. And I think he's starting to believe that. So yeah, May has been a real humdinger. Now to survive the rest of it!

First Field Day

I almost didn't make it to Carolina's first Field Day this year. I was this close to sending Nacho and using the time to work on the Memorial Day Fair for the park. There is still a lot to be done and not a lot of time left, but somewhere in the back of my brain I figured I can't do this over again. I wanted to be there and so I decided to make it a priority. What's a few hours out of my busy week when I can see this girl smile and jump, spin and kick? I'm glad I went and even happier I took my camera to capture a few of the highlights. The kids are such hams and so eager to goof off on a day like this. What fun they had. And I have to say that after a few years of attending Field Days for Elisa, this was run with almost military precision. What a change from the first year when they still hadn't divvied up their groups and it was approaching 10am. Ha. Oh yes, every year we all learn a little more. I was actually surprised this one wrapped up by 10:30am and I was heading back home. 

I've written before about my own love of field days from my childhood. And this hasn't changed. It's almost as if just the idea of the free day outside takes me back to elementary school and that end-of-year feeling we all miss. It feels like summer is getting closer and freedom with it. And that's perhaps overstating how Carolina sees it now. But maybe in time she will associate all of those things with her own memories of this day. So yeah, glad I didn't miss it. Some things are worth taking the day off for.