Hello, Mama!
So I have been thinking, and I've saved up some money over a period of time to send you guys a little surprise. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow (my receipt pretty much assured that it would) – just in time for Ki's birthday – so be on the lookout for an ice-cold bucket of surprisey-goodness in the face! I did some research and invested some time (and moolah – but don't worry, I've saved up) into this little gift of mine, so make sure everyone enjoys it while they can because – be warned – it doesn't last long! Apparently it will only last the weekend or maybe a teeny-tiny bit longer, so, yes, enjoy the weekend! And meanwhile poor Bi will be sitting and reading and doing homework for a long time. :( But it is fine with me because just the thought of the surprise will be worth it! Haha, I can't wait until it arrives. Muhahahaha!!!
Love
So I have been thinking, and I've saved up some money over a period of time to send you guys a little surprise. It's supposed to arrive tomorrow (my receipt pretty much assured that it would) – just in time for Ki's birthday – so be on the lookout for an ice-cold bucket of surprisey-goodness in the face! I did some research and invested some time (and moolah – but don't worry, I've saved up) into this little gift of mine, so make sure everyone enjoys it while they can because – be warned – it doesn't last long! Apparently it will only last the weekend or maybe a teeny-tiny bit longer, so, yes, enjoy the weekend! And meanwhile poor Bi will be sitting and reading and doing homework for a long time. :( But it is fine with me because just the thought of the surprise will be worth it! Haha, I can't wait until it arrives. Muhahahaha!!!
Love
Andrea
I had expected a cooler of perishable treats (maybe cheesecake or Omaha steaks or something along that line) from Andrea to come by FedEx for her sister's birthday, as her email was apparently hinting. Audrey's already got plans to celebrate with her friends in L.A. the weekend prior to her birthday and with the family at her favorite steak house, Ruth's Chris, on the actual day (Monday). After a one-month vegan stint, she was more than ready to turn back into a full-fledged carnivore beginning with her birthday feast. Her kind-and-gentle partner, Lauren, was likewise anticipatory. "I can't wait to eat meat again!" she exclaimed while sniffing forbidden dishes on our stovetop. When my two at-home daughters announced they were committed to be aspiring vegetarians for a whole month, I said that was OK with me, but I wasn't going to pamper them by planning two different menus everyday, so they had better be prepared to forage for themselves mostly. Audrey stuck to her resolve through the entire period, but Lauren had broken down once or twice and sampled my cooking knowingly. She would ask me what's for dinner, and when I answered, "Why should it matter because you were going to eat vegeterian anyway?" she'd retort, "You could make rotini and I'd pick away the meat and just eat the pasta!" She'd also forbidden me to prepare my signature roast during her sabbatical from meat as she would feel way too tempted.
I had expected a cooler of perishable treats (maybe cheesecake or Omaha steaks or something along that line) from Andrea to come by FedEx for her sister's birthday, as her email was apparently hinting. Audrey's already got plans to celebrate with her friends in L.A. the weekend prior to her birthday and with the family at her favorite steak house, Ruth's Chris, on the actual day (Monday). After a one-month vegan stint, she was more than ready to turn back into a full-fledged carnivore beginning with her birthday feast. Her kind-and-gentle partner, Lauren, was likewise anticipatory. "I can't wait to eat meat again!" she exclaimed while sniffing forbidden dishes on our stovetop. When my two at-home daughters announced they were committed to be aspiring vegetarians for a whole month, I said that was OK with me, but I wasn't going to pamper them by planning two different menus everyday, so they had better be prepared to forage for themselves mostly. Audrey stuck to her resolve through the entire period, but Lauren had broken down once or twice and sampled my cooking knowingly. She would ask me what's for dinner, and when I answered, "Why should it matter because you were going to eat vegeterian anyway?" she'd retort, "You could make rotini and I'd pick away the meat and just eat the pasta!" She'd also forbidden me to prepare my signature roast during her sabbatical from meat as she would feel way too tempted.
On Saturday night the kids trotted off to their dad's and I fell asleep while waiting for our laundry to run through the wash. Audrey returned bright and early in the morning to wake me up to ferry her and her friends to the Irvine train station for their planned day trip to L.A. My two younger kids came through the door later around 11, and following behind them wordlessly with a smug smile was Andrea, back from Berkeley for the weekend without me realizing until that moment. I almost had a heart attack.
She had spent the night with her siblings at their dad's after managing to surprise everyone by showing up unannounced near midnight. She'd cooked up this elaborate ruse, tricking even her cousin by calling for a pick-up at the train station pretending it was Audrey who was stranded there with a rapidly out-of-charge cell phone and needed a ride home. When Vivian came for the rescue, she was flabbergasted to see Andrea stepping out on the train platform instead of her older sister.
They arrived home near midnight and it was full house at her dad's as Audrey's friends were also doing a sleepover there following their day trip. After the initial buzz quieted down, Andrea went upstairs to see Kiet and found him soundly sleeping in his bed. She poked him; he opened his eyes and said, "Whatever!" then fell right back to sleep.
I was aghast that Andrea had taken the train. We'd talked about her upcoming visits for the holidays several times and I was always insistent that she fly. Audrey later told me Andrea had set two personal challenges for herself to complete before her Nov. 7th birthday... one was taking the train home to visit and the other, guess this... was painting her nails for the first time! We were all snickering a little because the second challenge had seemed so trivial compared to the first, but then Andrea was always a tomboy never remotely interested in the conventional girl's beauty routines and milestones.
It had taken her an entire day of travel to get home, and she looked tired and disheveled, but after a quick shower Andrea had the natural glow of someone happy with her life and where she's going. There was no trace of the dreaded Freshman fifteen on her small frame. She told me she'd flubbed her itinerary quite a bit because of an unfortunate incident involving her roommate, who had offered to see her off. Andrea had originally discouraged the girl from coming along because she'd already mapped out her 1-hour early morning walk to the train station and didn't want her roommate to go through the trouble of walking back to the dorm by herself afterwards. But the latter suggested that they take the bus together as she was more familiar with bus routes near campus. Andrea, who had never taken public transportation before, reluctantly agreed. The morning of her trip, she woke up to a note by her roommate saying she's sorry she couldn't make it. By that time, it was too late to walk and Andrea had no choice but to figure out the bus schedule by herself. She managed to get to the right stop on time, but two buses heartlessly went past her one after the other. Feeling dejected, she walked back to the dorm to map out her travel routes and times over again before setting out on foot to the train station. This time she'd missed her train by a hair but was allowed to exchange tickets for a later train. Her subsequent travel involved several transfers... train to bus and vice versa.... with stops along cities she'd never been to, before she finally reached the Irvine train station in the dead of night.
Andrea had only one day with us before heading back to Berkeley Monday morning. We visited her grandparents, took Lauren to her lyrical dance class and watched her practice for a little while, went to an open house together (I was looking to be a slumlord), then it was almost dinnertime. Andrea hid out in her old bat cave, which has become Kiet's, for a couple hours before reuniting with Audrey, back from L.A. for dinner with their dad. It was like old times with all four kids in the house again, except it was over too soon.
Andrea had only one day with us before heading back to Berkeley Monday morning. We visited her grandparents, took Lauren to her lyrical dance class and watched her practice for a little while, went to an open house together (I was looking to be a slumlord), then it was almost dinnertime. Andrea hid out in her old bat cave, which has become Kiet's, for a couple hours before reuniting with Audrey, back from L.A. for dinner with their dad. It was like old times with all four kids in the house again, except it was over too soon.
Andrea with me and Grandpa the summer before she left for college
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