This was a month of reunions.
Two to be exact. But significant, nonetheless.
One was anticipated with great joy and the other, well, a surprise.
My friend Beth wrote about her great Iowa reunion tour. We shared two years of the Iowa chapter.
Beth and her husband tried to visit Minnesota earlier, but their plans got foiled by pandemic chaos.
Finally the stars aligned. Last month, their flights to MPS went smoothly, no one got sick. Suddenly we were heading to their hotel in Bloomington to meet.
I’ve said goodbye to a lot of homes.
With Jake’s job transfers, I was always the last one out the door. He was starting his new job in one state, while I tied up loose ends in the other.
I always felt introspective that last night while I sat in the empty home, alone.
The dog looked around befuddled, as he sat on his bed in the middle of an empty floor. Me, sitting crosslegged on the floor, eating takeout amidst the last bags and boxes. The TV packed up, so just my laptop playing some tunes and falling asleep to all of the echoes.
This move felt different.
The whole process of buying a house right now is wacky.
If you like a house, you have to put an offer on it. . .right away? No big deal just the biggest financial transaction of your life.
We’re moving to a nearby suburb. It’s closer to daycare, close to our parents, and the most affordable way to obtain some more space (unexpected baby coming this fall).
There are a lot of things that we’ll miss about living in the Mac Groveland neighborhood of St. Paul – most of all, our neighbors are really kind people.
We may not have spent time inside with family this holiday, but we did exchange food and gifts and Facetimed.
Of course it wasn’t perfect, but for being in the midst of a global pandemic, it was good enough.
It reminds me think of that Big Bang Theory episode where Leonard hauls around a virtual, mobile version of Sheldon on a screen to participate in life virtually from his room.
This year, our parents both prepared meals that tied in favorite family food traditions.
Pen15 is the 90’s show I wish I’d written.
(The first season of Pen15 is streaming on Hulu. It’s rated M).
First, the title is brilliant.
The only thing that might come close is an image of an upside down calculator with 58008.
Second, the 90’s references are right on. The toys, the fashion, technology, the food, the school supplies. . .
Third, the SOUNDTRACK is perfect.
There should be a warning that Pen15 may cause nightmares even if middle school is decades behind you; the type of nightmares where you find yourself back in grade school where you can’t remember your locker combination or carrying a lunch tray desperately searching for a place to sit in the cafeteria.
Even so, Pen15 captures the heartbreak, humor, awkwardness, and beauty of that best friendship I remember from growing-up in the 90’s. As an awkward Asian girl who grew up in the suburbs, I related to Maya.
Here are seven of my favorite references that brought me back:
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