Weekend up North

This weekend we were in CT for my niece Gianna's Sweet 16. It was such a great weekend. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Hotel where Alison, Michael and Avi were also staying (right down the hall). Poor Avi had so little sleep that Alison was trying to capture every moment she could for him. They didn't have a crib available so the baby slept on quilts on the floor (didn't bother him a bit). Saturday we went to lunch with them, and my son Adam came too. He and Alison had been estranged for about 7 years, but Adam has been reentering our lives since last July. He even secured the hotel rooms for us, and saw Alison Friday night to give her the key. At lunch, Adam met Avi for the first time. He was so taken with Avi that he would not give him up for me to hold. I loved every minute of the lunch, being with my two kids (Becca was at my brother's house helping out).
That night the party was amazing. It was the first time my three kids had been together in 7 years, plus I saw a nephew who I had not seen in years, and met my other nephew's little boy, Nicholas, who is 2 and a cutie. My niece looked like a princess in her gown. She did most of the organizing for this event, as my brother is a single parent and does not know much about sweet 16's. But he is a great father and wrote checks for a fabulous party. My niece composed a 12 minute DVD using pictures and videos of her growing up. It was shown on a big projection screen. We were delighted to relive moments in her/our past, and when the video of my dad and Gianna came on, there was not a dry eye among the family. The kids who attended - and there were about 60 of them - were so good and so much fun. My poor Avi, though, was so overwhelmed with the noise, people and his own exhaustion that he was not his usual cheerful self. The next day we all went to my brother Jon's for a buffet breakfast and last visit before everyone went in different directions.

Alison, Michael and Avi were flying out that evening. Mom went with Jon and Gianna to see the Broadway show Mary Poppins. Gerry, Becca and I drove to the Bronx where Adam was having some old friends meet in a bar to celebrate his 28th birthday, which was that day, April 1. When I got there, two women, mother's of his friends who I had not seen in several years, were there. They came because they knew I was coming. It was so nice to see them, as well and the "kids" who I had watch grow up with Adam. It was a good weekend all around.