For the "old gang," we had not seen Deb together, and in some cases even each other, in four years or more. It was high time for a reunion. On the pretense of our annual October gathering, I planned drinks and dinner with Deb and Kate Varni (now Leake) . It was an almost Herculean effort to secure Deb at a time and place after work and before Roman's bedtime, and even then we had to reduce the plan from dinner to a promise it was "just for a quick drink to see each other and wish happy birthdays. Lance and Greg generously offered to host at their home, and Beth even more generously offered Sati as a playdate and herself as partygoer/resident mom to make the event kid-friendly.
The evening could not have been a grander success. Deb was thoroughly surprised, and everyone had a wonderful time. Deb brought both her son and her father (whom I had not seen, I believe, since the Christening), and out of the woodwork came Mike Grace, James Hass, Perpetua, Lace and Greg, Kate Varnie Leake and her husband Joe, Paul Day, and David Britt— who also brought his parents. With Beth, Upstairs Greg and Sati, it was a multi-generational surprise party and everyone had a ball.
The Old Gang
Wilson, Kate, Deb, and Mike
Sati had been preparing for the "surprise for Roman" all day, and ad nearly twice his age was his mature host and date for the night. Sati was prepared in a party dress, and Roman appear in his spooky ghost pajamas and fireman boots (at last request, he wants to be a fireman for Halloween). The kids were adorable and got along great together (which is always something I worry about--I didn't always take to the strange kids my parents were want to set me up with).
Without fear for bedtimes or parental responsibility (that is to say responsibility for and/or of Deb's dad), the agreement to stay just for a little while was easily relaxed into a long evening of catching up, cocktails, cooking, cake, and quality time.
ENORMOUS thanks to Beth and Upstairs Greg who spent the majority of the evening looking over Roman and Sati's playtime, enabling the grown-ups to have their own.
Oh dear God. I am a grown-up in this scenario.
Who wants cake?
James wants cake. (Sati has cake.)
Speaking of James, he is not so much a grown-up in this scenario. Lance and Roman were so freaking adorable together. (Roman is a crazy cute kid on his own and adds visual value to anyone nearby.) We tried to get some cute shots of Roman and Lance together, but the timing always seemed to be off to get them both smiling and looking at the camera at the same time. The best shots those, are those with James lurking in the background:
Still, that kid is adorable.
It meant a lot to me to be able to pull this off for Deb. She such a wonderful person and friend and we just never see her any more. The rest of the guests rounded out a quality group too and every moment was a pleasure.
Flickr set
Update:
I got the best thank-you note from Deb. I debated posting it here, but it warmed me so I thought I would share. I love that I could do this for her.
Thank you so very much for the wonderful birthday party last night. You literally had me speechless. I was completely not expecting to see all those wonderful familiar faces, and I couldn’t have thought of a better gift. You are so wonderful, so thoughtful, so amazing. I am so lucky to have you in my life. I hope that someday I am lucky enough to find a man like you – who happens to be straight – because I’d marry your cuteness in a heartbeat.
My dad paid you perhaps the biggest compliment this morning as we were recapping last night. As you know, my dad loves Roman beyond belief, and he said, “Wilson is such a great man, and he’s such a good role model for Roman. You really ought to have Wilson spend an afternoon with Roman at least once or twice a month so Roman can learn what a real man is like”. He doesn’t even say this about my brothers!
I think that pretty much sums up how the family loves you!
Thank you.
Xo xo Deb
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