Drained, yet recharged

I returned home tonight from a weekend trip to visit my parents at their new home in Wilmington. Emma's sixth birthday was Saturday, and she wanted to spend it with them. We got a bit of a late start on Friday, but we managed to get there shortly after 9pm. I was amused and surprised when Dad asked if I would ride with him to pick Grandma Frances up from a dance. In the past year and a half, she has gone from losing her husband and nearly dying herself, to going out, socializing and meeting new people. She told me she wasn't willing or interested in marrying again, but she was having a good time getting out of the house. I'm pleased beyond words that she is able to enjoy her life, which seemed to be holding on by a thread not so long ago. In fact, yesterday she got second piercings in her ears. She says she's in her second childhood.

After returning from Grandma's house on Friday night, Alicia and I headed out to Kure Beach for a late night stroll on Kure Pier. The pierhouse was still closed for the winter, but the pier was open for those that were daring enough to stroll or fish in the chill wind. I was in shorts and short sleeves since it had been fairly warm during the day, so we didn't stay too long, but it was the most refreshing walk I've had in a while. There's definitely something magical about that place. We got a milkshake at the 24-hour McDonalds drivethrough, and as I was checking my email on Mom's computer, I found a Jenny online! That was a pretty big surprise, since she wasn't home either and her computer access was extremely limited. We had a nice talk, then Alicia and I crawled onto our king-sized airbed in the as-yet unfurnished guest room. We even got to sleep in the next morning.

Emma had a great birthday. She got so many presents, it almost looked like Christmas! She wore a silver tiara with blue fuzzy stuffs on it all day, since she was the Birthday Princess. My Grandma and Grandpa Hinshaw came over, along with Grandma Frances, Aunt Linda, my parents and Alicia and I, of course. Emma had a yellow sheet cake with ribbons, white frosting, Barbie decorations, her name spelled out in M&Ms and six blue candles. With a little help from her Grandparents, she read her own birthday cards for the first time ever. She got two pairs of new shoes, two new pillows, a pair of pillowcases, a barbie doll, a ken doll, two sets of barbie clothes, some glow in the dark no-tie curly shoelaces, a blue (her favorite color) toy truck, a coloring book, some crayons, a little money, and a ton of books from Aunt Linda and Emma's cousins, Victoria and Matt. She had a great time, but we were pretty exhausted. Once the excitement was over, Alicia stretched out for a nap and I tried to relax, too.

My rest was cut a little short as I attempted to set up a wireless LAN for Mom and Dad, but Charter Cable broke something somewhere and their cable internet went out for the remainder of my visit, so I wasnt able to get that done. I did fulfill a promise to Grandma Frances, though. I visited her house and did a little computer maintanence for her, cleaned some windows and dusted some out of reach places. I'm almost two feet taller than her, and I could barely reach it on a stepstool, but she knew the dust was there and she really enjoys living in a spotless house. It's the least I can do for her, so I made sure I took a benedryl before I went, and survived the ordeal with little trouble. She also gave me a tour of her nearly completed new kitchen, and we had a glass of wine and talked candidly about all sorts of things for perhaps the first time ever.

Alicia and I went out for a late dinner after I returned, leaving Emma with Mom and Dad for the rest of the evening. We went to Elijah's on the Cape Fear river in Wilmington for dinner. They are a mostly seafood restaurant, but I felt safe with a bacon cheddar cheeseburger, and the benedryl I had taken earlier. Alicia ate surf and turf, and we had a couple of drinks there, including a vodka, bourbon, spiced rum, peach schnapps, and iced tea concoction that was rather good and quite potent. Alicia hoped to have another drink or two at a bar near Mom and Dad's, but between the five drinks in me, the zyrtec and the benedryl, I was falling asleep in the car. She took me home, and I practically passed out upon hitting the pillow.

Today we feasted on Krispy Kreme doughnuts for breakfast, washed our clothes and bedding from the trip, Alicia cleaned the guest room and bathroom, Mom and I cooked lunch, and we enjoyed a family meal before hitting the road. We took a detour to Kure Beach for another visit to the pier and some cleansing, energizing salt air, and then made the three hour trek back home. Alicia's Dad had tended the pets while we were out of town, so they were happy to see us when we got home, but not too disappointed by our lengthy absence.

Now... my bed calls. Good night!