lows and highs

This weekend was a weird mix. I found out that my Aunt Pearl [Mom's sister] died Friday afternoon. She'd been in bad shape, so it was one of those "it's a release and a relief" situations, but it still hits you in the heart. I wasn't as close to Pearl as I might be to some other relatives, and for a while I felt a bit guilty about not feeling more devastated...but as I talked with my mom a bit more, I accepted that it was very normal to have varying degrees of grief.

After that phone call, I met up with Susy, Susan, and Lucinda to see "Tainted Love" [80s cover band]...poor Susan was pretty sick and couldn't go, so we tried to have extra fun for her. It was a blast, but very warm and sweaty in the club...turned out to be a very good thing Susan didn't go since she wasn't feeling well. Took me a while to get into the spirit of it, but the timing was good, and I was able to lose myself in the goofy 80s music for a while.

Saturday was a really good day...Katie invited me to the Campbell Highland Games where her boyfriend's rugby team was playing. Hung with her and her friends, met some really cool people, wandered the festival, and ended up at a pub with both rugby teams and the groupies [of which I was one]. Had an excellent time with Alicia, Ben, Lunchbox, and the gang. One of the best parts was singing Monty Python's "Penis Song" with Lunchbox, alternating lines and harmonizing on the final verse. A good time was had by all... :^)

Sunday was Father's Day, and I had a very good phone call with Dad...it ended up being nearly *four* hours long, which surprised us both when we looked at the time. Wouldn't have traded it for the world...

So the weekend ended up being about friends, old and new, and family, here and gone...and appreciating them all.