No complaints, but possibly a hangover.

Aaah the feeling you get after spending time in good company.  Warm and fuzzy.  Or is that just my black poncho thingie I love wearing this time of year?

We attended three very different events this weekend.

Possibly there was slightly too much of this.

One was with a bunch of people who we didn't know very well at all, one with a group we've known since we've had kids and one with family who we (or I) have known, like, forever.

The first outing was an end of term get together for parents of Joshie's classmates.  Hosted very kindly by one of the families, we all brought a plate, a bottle and a good attitude.

The usual division along gender lines occurred, with the girls inside trying to keep warm. With a few of us having older siblings in year 3 and above we talked a bit about  how scared we were of the teenagers and how even nine year olds can be a bit teenagery sometimes and how badly behaved  we were as teenagers (thank God it's not just me) and how on earth can we keep our kids on the straight and narrow when we all have a bit of a past ourselves.  Deep breath.

The blokes (many of whom were English) sat around the table on the deck.  Some of them even had short sleeved shirts on.  Totally mad.  I swear it was less than 10 degrees.  My husband refuses to tell me what they talked about, but he sort of smirks when he refuses.  I hate to think.  There was much raucous laughter and frequent beer replenishment trips.  That's all I know.



Saturday night, we crossed the three bridges (Spit, Harbour, Anzac) for dinner for a lovely, cherished friend of ours, who was turning something with an 0 on the end.  It's a mother's group friendship that has only strengthened since we first met in those hazy days of July 2003.  I know everyone doesn't enjoy their mg experiences but we've been lucky with a tight group of 6 of us still in regular touch even with interstate migrations.  When you don't have a lot of family around, a good mother's group is GOLD. And when the husbands get along, even better.

And this.

We ate, we laughed, we drank.  (Except Mike who due to the night before - see above, felt it was time for a night on the soft drink).  We started out with nothing in common but babies born within two weeks of each other, now 9 years later we are firm friends with a history and many plans to catch up as families or couples or individuals, in the future.

Then today, a family gathering for a Christening. Gorgeous people we see maybe twice a year, always a pleasure.  A bit fleeting, not much time to get into the big issues, but lovely to see their smiling faces and hang out, even for a little while.

The divine subject of the Christening was impeccably behaved throughout, in his wee white suit and handsome white shoes, he brought the house down.

A highlight was seeing my darling cousin with that mad look of love you get when you still can't believe you can love someone as much as you love your little child.  It's so cool watching it happen to him.    Does that make sense?  I haven't even had a drink and I'm babbling.