| Back to normal... | 2/1/2012 Thought Archive |
| On the morning of the first day of 2012, I crossed my threshold and gratefully stepped into the new year. The night before had marked our 34th and closing New Year’s Eve performance of our “Christmas Celebration Tour”, in Rockford, IL. If you have been following and/or if you were able to join us at one of our stops around the country, I think you will agree that this was truly a fantastic Jim Brickman tour… but all good things come to an end, and it felt so good to be home.
With only three hours of sleep to prop me up though, (our tour manager, Wendy, and I had packed up, said our goodbyes, and driven from Rockford to Chicago O’Hare to catch our very early flight home), I soon dissolved in my bed. A bit later, we had a wonderful New Year’s Day dinner, courtesy of my sister, Wendy, who had made her now traditional, but always incredible, chili, corn bread and coleslaw and brought it over for our families to enjoy. The following day, my eldest son flew back to LA, and his gal drove home to New Jersey. I was sad to see them go but was comforted by the thought that I would at least be seeing him in California, thanks to our shows in San Diego and Malibu, slotted late February. The rest of the week, I caught up with reality and the laundry at our house. It had been accumulating since THANKSGIVING…I’m not kidding! There were piles of sheets and towels from visiting guests at both Thanksgiving and Christmas, personal laundry from my husband and son (who had somehow forgotten where the washing machine was) and my own bag from my last leg of travel. We have a big washer and it took a total of nine loads and a whole week to catch up…glamorous, huh? But by the week of the 9th, I was ready to catch up with friends, enjoy my monthly Bunko evening and start prepping for our getaway to Puerto Rico. In the middle of winter here, I had to sort through my summer wardrobe and pack for 80 degree temps. I know, tough. But I also prepared food and menus for those staying behind: I made a double batch of lentil soup, made and froze a huge 9 x 13 eggplant parmesan dish and stocked the refrigerator and freezer for my college son-with-a-hearty-appetite and for my mother, who was going to stay the week, just to make sure he behaved. My husband and I left on the 14th and flew with our friends, Frank and Susan, on the non-stop flight from Cleveland to San Juan. Four and one-half hours later, the snow was just a memory and San Juan’s sunny skies and 80 degrees felt just right! Frank and Susan waited at the airport for their brother and sister-in-law, Jerry and Cheryl, to arrive from Dallas, while Ed and I rented our car, and drove the 40 minutes to our beautiful Hyatt resort condo at Dorado Beach. We were all reunited a couple of hours later and could officially declare our vacation had begun! The week was amazing. The days flew beneath consistently bright sunshine, and were often spent relaxing and reading on the secluded beach or at the pool. The guys ventured off into other areas of Puerto Rico where they searched for roadside pig roasts several times. But the highlight for me was our little group’s visit of Old San Juan. It’s a lovely historic area that showcases no less than 400 restored buildings from the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish colonial period. The romantic, old world charm was everywhere as we walked the narrow, brick-paved streets and visited the old fort and other historic landmarks. In the evening, we dined at excellent restaurants, enjoyed late night dips in the hot tub and each other’s company with a glass of red wine, outside on our back patios. It was a true vacation. Oh and it only rained at night:) We arrived home on the 21st. Speaking of 21, my youngest son came of age yesterday, on the last day of January! We celebrated with his favorite meal (yep, another eggplant parmesan), a homemade chocolate cake, presents and family. Otherwise, during those last days leading up to the end of January, I enjoyed a dinner out with Wendy Leonard and her sister, Debbie, at a wonderful restaurant called Moxi, celebrated another birthday dinner party with my friend, Joni, and took in the fantastic movie “The Artist.” The month ahead is filled with Valentine concerts in the east, northeast, and out west, too. I'm fully recharged and am looking forward to getting back on the road. But I’ll be telling you all about those adventures next month! Happy Valentines Day all! |
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