Baby Jeremiah Turns a Year Old...

Are we really all grandparents? I thought as I stood in a circle in a lovely shaded area of Lake Elizabeth with my exhusband Steve, father of my three older kids, Jen's Mom Sue and her Dad Tom, whom I had just met in real life for the first time today. He surprised us all by showing up at Baby Jeremiah's birthday party -- traveling all the way from Nashville, Tennessee!! I mean, there we were singing Beatles songs while I played my ukulele, all four of us -- while the younger generation, all of my kids and their friends, and baby Jeremiah and all the other babies watched with wonder... We were definitely the lives of the party!  No way, how did it happen? Just yesterday I was chasing my own babies around the park.

Me, Tom, Steve & Sue (the GRANDPARENTS), and singing and dancing with baby Jenna...
she danced and sang along

The party preparation actually began last night and then at 5:00am this morning -- Jeremy had to drive to Lake Elizabeth to claim a spot. Then what ensued was similar to a sitcom on a TV show when everyone runs around like crazy people. The preparation involved in this party was incredible. My exhusband brought large tables and chairs -- Jen and Liezl chopped food items and prepared beans in the kitchen until late in the night...balloons needed to be picked up, the cake...and all of our cars were filled with "stuff." I watched Baby Jeremiah while everyone ran around and was quite thankful for that, actually, realizing that at one time in my life *I* was the mom with that crazed look on my face -- the one that Jen had when she finally returned from all of her chaotic errands...still forgetting the charcoal needed for the barbecue after all that. Something is always forgotten. That's just the way it is.

So while this was going on, I sat on the couch downstairs with the ceiling fan going watching Yellow Submarine on Jeremy and Jen's big screen TV. It was perfect timing because today, after all, is Ringo Starr's 70th birthday. We were so comfortable on the couch that we actually dozed off for a little while, and there's nothing better than awakening to a lovely Beatles song -- I believe it was Nowhere Man... Apparently Jen's Mom was already out at the picnic site -- there were so many people spending the night at our house last night that she rented a hotel room at Best Western. Not that I blame her, why not? I heard there was a heated pool there.

I showed up a little later because I couldn't get ready until Jen was finally ready to pick up the guest of honor himself, Baby Jeremiah. And, even after we were sure she had everything in the car, including the baby, she still called me frantically to remind me to bring the signs -- the ones that were supposed to be hung up so people could find us at the lake! So I managed to get out the door with my car loaded with the rest of the needed stuff...and drove down to the lake, about four miles away from our house in Union City. I had not forgotten my ukulele or some music, of course. The ukulele goes everywhere, and there's always a time and place...always. Today would prove to be no different. The ukulele is officially immersed into our daily lives, right alongside the Beatles. It's just one of those things.

I was happy to see that they had found a spot in the shade...as it was a warm, sunny day. I could see the lake stretched out not too far away, Canada geese and ducks...and there were a group of my kids' friends and my boys, Jeremy and Stevie. Stevie and his Dad Steve barbecued chicken, hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill, and there was loads of food...

And what a surprise to meet Jen's Dad, Tom! None of us had any idea he would show up at baby Jeremiah's first birthday party! He had visited right after Baby Jeremiah was born - he came all the way from Nashville, Tennessee! Jen cried because she was so happy to see him, and that was really cool. Then we found out that Tom was staying in the same hotel that Jen's Mom, Susie, was staying at! What a coincidence. Susie also had no idea he was going to be there.

Here we all are -- the Grandparents!!! EPIC! Uber! Baby Jeremiah wasn't sure what to make of all this!!!

Hanging out with the other grandparents, especially my ex, was truly EPIC. (By the way, I was informed my son Jeremy that I was not allowed to ever say the word "epic" again, nor am I allowed to say "uber" and there's one other word I'm not allowed to say as well, but I'll be darned if I can remember it! I was also teased mercilessly by the boys for the yellow shorts I wore. One of their long-time friends Nikki smiled and said, "Did you expect anything else? Of course the boys will do that. They always do!"

Some more of the kids friends showed up -- I was amazed (well not too surprised) that some of Jeremy's friends, Chandel and her boyfriend and Nikki and her boyfriend, now have a bunch of tattoos -- which I was actually relieved about because of my youngest daughter Megan and her tattoos...is this what people do nowadays? Oh yes, and Megan arrived with her sort of boyfriend (who knows???) and her dog, and then Auntie Melissa finally made it as well! I didn't even recognize her because she dyed her hair blonde. I was only sorry that I did NOT get three-generation pictures. No one was as excited about doing these pictures as I was, darn...

Baby Jeremiah got to do all the fun stuff a one-year-old gets to do on his birthday, eat the cake and make a mess and open gifts! And of course Baby Jeremiah did it all in the most adorable way imaginable. And I was thrilled that he LOVED what I got him -- I had fretted over whether to get it for him just yesterday -- a cool combination of guitar, piano and drum...all rolled into one instrument, with songs or the ability to create your own songs...the box said "Ages 3 to 6" and I wondered if it was still okay for baby J to have it, but he LOVED it!!!

Baby Jeremiah with Mommy & Daddy -- his "first" cake...PREDCIOUS! No UBER

It won't be long now before Baby Jeremiah and me will rock out together -- me on uke (and soon enough he will have a ukulele and so will baby Jenna!)...

See, he already wants to make music!!!

My friends Phoenix & Steve joined us for a while...Phoenix and I have been friends for many years. We met in Mike Sult's guitar class back in the 1990s. And, then I got my ukulele out and started to play and sing a Beatles song, "She Loves you." First, tom joined in and next thing I knew, Susie and Steve had joined too! So I played several Beatles songs, the ones I knew off the top of my head...Eight Days a Week, Can't Buy Me Love, Hard Day's Night, Things We Said Today. Some of my kids' friends actually came over and took pictures! Baby Jenna and Baby Jeremiah loved it and Jenna even hummed along...we were dancing and having a great time... 

Is that what Grandparents do?

As the sun slipped into the lake, we all reluctantly knew we had to leave, which involved a huge amount of packing of cars, cleaning up, etc...the hardest part of any party or gathering, the exhausting art where "the party's over." Sue and Tom went back to their respective hotel rooms and we never saw them again this evening. Megan left with her boyfriend and so did everyone out -- leaving me, Jeremy, Jen and my exhusband Steve to pack it all in (including the baby) and head back to the house...but somehow it was okay. It had been a good day after all. I just wish I'd gotten some group family pictures, but Alex, one of the "long time friends," said, "Oh just take the pictures and photoshop everyone together!"