I need you, darlin', so come go with me...

Hey kids,

It is quite early in the morning (it is 2:30am) and I leave for my retreat weekend in exactly 12 hours. I'm leaving my house at 2:30pm because my train leaves at 2:50, and I'm meeting my friend Liz at 3:10. We're making a quick stop to the grocery store, then picking up Maria and Michelle, and we will be meeting up with our other Treblettes and "retreating" to some town on Long Island, near water and beach area, and we will sing by some windmills. I am pretty damn excited, but I'm just getting some laundry together and packing up my bag. I could potentially do this in the morning, but I know I'm going to wake up later than I want to, and therefore run late if I have to pack on top of that.

I was watching tv and perusing the web before (about 1:45am) and my mom woke up and asked me to print out some pictures from her students' 8th grade trip and another picture from their 8th grade dance. She needs to use them for some display they're doing for their graduation (which is tomorrow.....or today?). Yeah mom, lucky I was up at 1:45 in the morning to unload your pictures from your camera and print them out for you. Because you can't do it yourself by now.

So that's put me back about a half hour. Now I'm just sitting here, gathering things together to pack, listening to some music (and the rain fall on my window at random times). I've got the window fans blowing in some cool air since it's pretty hot in the house right now. I just sucked down some Cran-Wild Berry juice, so maybe that will give me another 20 minutes of energy.

I feel a little bad about going away this weekend, because as it happens, today (the 12th) is my best friend Lisa's 25th birthday, and I am missing it. I originally hoped that she would maybe be willing to go out for birthday breakfast or lunch with me, but she told me that she usually does that with her mom and her grandpa. I don't want to mess with tradition.....believe me, I'm all for tradition, actually. This weekend also holds my cousin Erich's graduation from 8th grade. He's having a party on Saturday (the day I will be kayaking, singing by windmills and any other place available, playing games, pigging out, and getting drunk with my Major Treble girls) so I'm going to miss a family event and a momentous occasion for Erich.

I mean, I'm a little upset I'll be missing it because Erich and his family will be moving next month, so I only have a few more times to see them here in NY, before I go to seeing them only at holidays and major family events. I see them rarely enough as it is, so it's a little bit sad. :(

However, last summer when I was marching drum corps, I missed a lot of family events and momentous occasions, so I'm pretty sure I can deal.

I think the Cran-Wild Berry juice is wearing off on me. I may have to throw back another gulp or two to get through packing my bag, and then seriously, I'm hitting the pillow.

Let the weekend begin!