just what we needed

So we went to the beach this weekend. Oh, the beach!

The sound of the pounding surf, the sand beneath your toes, the knowledge that you have nothing more pressing than reading your novel and napping for at least the next two days...what could be better?

How about the knowledge that you have a built-in babysitter for not just the Kid but the Old Lady? Priceless. Thank you, wonderful in-laws.

It's difficult for me to accept the help of my wonderful in-laws sometimes. I don't talk about them very much, and really, who does talk about their in-laws, unless they are crazy, or mean, or horrible in some way? But I should talk about them more, because my in-laws are terrific. They are relaxed and fluid about where we spend holidays (usually here, especially for kid holidays like Xmas, or in GSO, for family holidays that include my mom, like everything but Fathers' Day), they hardly ever complain about my crazy family (er, crazy mom), and they are always offering to help us with something. I am now realizing this is 'normal' family behavior. Maybe I don't talk about them so much because I am just now beginning to take them for granted. It sounds horrible, but it's a godsend to me. I have friends that take their normal and wonderful parents for granted all the time- I have never been able to do that with my...irregular...parents. The fact that I can take my wonderful in-laws for granted is unbelievably precious to me. Also, they insisted on ferrying around the Kid and the Old Lady in their car the whole time we were at the beach, and you know what that means? NO backseat fighting! Yay! ( I swear, sometimes, it's like having two children...)

So they insisted that we go out on Saturday night...well...twist our arms. We decided to go to the Jolly Roger, since it was within reasonable walking distance from our hotel, just in case things got exciting. We just thought we'd get a couple of drinks and drive home to the hotel, but as soon as we arrived- lo and behold, who should we see? Adam Lane and his lovely wife Megan!

The night was lubricated by beer and karaoke. And before you ask, yeah, I did karaoke, and I think I didn't massacre "Power of Two," but only because I have been singing along with the Indigo Girls for many years. Of course, my only feedback was from my husband, an old friend, and his wife, and they weren't exactly impartial, you know? Anyway, it was much more enjoyable to watch Adam Lane rock the house on such hits as "Hurts So Good" And "Wanted Dead or Alive" (Adam is the lead singer and songwriter for a rock/alt-country/whatever band, and he owns the stage.) Also very enjoyable was dancing with the aforementioned Adam, who dances as smoothly as he rocks hard.

The highlight of my night was seeing Jason tear up "Born to Be Wild." If you know Jason, you can imagine- his waist-length hair bouncing around, his theatre-trained voice booming, his handsome yet scary-biker face scrunched up... If you don't know him, just trust me- it was awesome. We ended up having so much fun we left the car and were committed to walking back- until Adam and Megan offered to share their cab. Thanks, y'all!

The next two days are a blur of steamed fish and beachiness. Go to the beach, eat fish, drink beer, rinse, lather, repeat. I was so blissed out on beach, fish, and beer that I thought I would die of happiness. I was so relaxed that even going back to work today and dealing with umpteen thousand phone calls from agents and case managers and assistants didn't interrupt my bliss. And that is saying a lot.

We also managed to make it out on Monday night for a lovely walk on the beach at sunset, which was punctuated by such romantic utterings as, "You're not THAT hard to live with, baby," and "If we're here next year this time, I might be packing more in my tummy than two fish tacos and a scoop of ice cream!"

It's not Shakespeare, people, but that is real life.