Category Archives: Family

Now that I’ve reached the age where most of my friends have been married off, there are fewer occasions at which we get a chance to dress up, so whenever the opportunity arises we take it. If it also coincides with a fundraising effort for a hometown cause, so much the better. Such was the happy confluence of events when we went to a benefit at the Amsterdam Castle. Filled with hometown heroes, it was a fun night out with my family, and I got to see several friends I haven’t seen in years.

Before the festivities, however, we took a few family photos, because that’s what you do when you’re all dolled up and have a beautiful afternoon for a backdrop.

Yes, I wore florals. For spring.

And yes, it was groundbreaking.

Elaine joined us and with all of the people we met at the castle, I was pleasantly reminded of all the goodness that happens when a community comes together for a cause. (If you’ve ever been curious about what the inside of the Amsterdam Castle looks like, give them a call and reserve a room.)

Most exciting for some of us was when Andy posed with my Mom in front of her new car that he helped her select. Car Pride. It’s real.

The wooden paneling of our family room surrounded us with warmth. The couch, in an old ratty plaid fabric, sat against the wall facing the television set. It was the room where some of my earliest childhood memories were made. The time my brother threw himself off the couch in a tantrum and cut open his head on the corner of the coffee table. The time we were playing in the toy cabinet and I moved a lock of his hair so it fell to the other side, saying I liked him better that way, and the way he smiled and chuckled at such meticulous behavior. And the time that my Dad, when I was too little to know how precious the act was, peeled grapes for me so I didn’t have to eat the sour skins. My legs, chubby and far too short to reach the floor, fit on the couch cushion beside a bowl filled with grapes.

Like so many things about my Dad when seen through the prism of childhood, this was another moment of pure magic. He’d pluck the grapes from their shriveled vine and, with the delicate and sure maneuvering of a doctor, in a few quick motions he’d have them peeled and ready for devouring. They were so much sweeter that way, softer and smoother too, and for a kid that was divine. We sat there together, probably only going through about six or seven of them – how many grapes could a little boy eat? – and I would call out for more. I couldn’t even form the word yet – all I managed was “geeps” and my parents would echo that attempt whenever I wanted a grape.

A man of few words, my Dad said more to me in peeling those grapes than I could ever muster in years of blabbering and writing. With each peeled grape, a little ‘I love you’ was given from a father to his son. The very same love that was in our after-dinner walks for ice cream in the summer, or when he’d let me ‘help’ with mowing the lawn. Mostly I just stood there, at a safe distance, but feeling like I was doing something. A good father knows how to do that – to make his child feel safe and important.

It remains one of my happiest memories, and on this Father’s Day I wanted to say thank you to my Dad for filling my childhood with such treasures.

Sometimes, particularly in cases of birthday-candle-blow-outs, the photographs say more than any collection of wordy descriptions could manage. See what these are saying without my blustery prose…

The Ilagan Twins celebrated their 8th birthday recently, and I’m just now getting around to posting the pictures from a gathering at my parents’ home. They were born at the tail-end of March, but we hadn’t been able to get together until a few weeks afterward, when the weather was only slightly better. That didn’t dampen the spirits, or the possibility of heading outside for some rambunctious fun before and after the dinner festivities.

I still remember the rainy day on which they were born. Andy and I got the call that afternoon and after work we drove to the hospital to meet our new niece and nephew. We were instantly smitten, and since that time we’ve watched and played a small part in their childhood evolution.

If we haven’t seen them in a few weeks, as was the case this time, I marvel at how much, and how quickly, they’ve changed.

They are eight now, and the days are flying by.

This is the time to catch them and make memories – just as they are starting to make ones that they will remember into adulthood. There’s something exciting in that. Dangerous too, if you’re not careful. Children will listen.

The sun stayed outside while we went in for dinner…

Family, fun and non-phones dominated this year’s Easter festivities, starting off with an Easter egg hunt through the Ilagan home, which found Emi and Noah bounding through rooms and snatching up eggs behind every pillow, book and vase. As with all things involving the twins, there was a bit of a competition, and even with the promise that they would even out their treasure at the end of it all the morning verged on upset – luckily it passed as quickly as it erupted. (Word of advice for next year: evenly dole out the eggs and put a name on each one. If they find one that doesn’t belong to them they leave it alone and move on. Why is a non-parent like me the one who has to think of these things?)

After that passed, we sat for a lovely early dinner, with ham and yams and all the typical fixings (green beans exotic of course). Emi sat between me and Uncle Andy, where she showed us her iPod (not a phone, seriously) which she had received for her birthday.

Andy and Emi have always had their own secret language. She noticed early on that he was the only person in the family with blue eyes.

She shares his mischievous sense of humor, and was happy to share in a few selfies.

A bit of sun crept into the day, with a glimpse of blue sky. We took the opportunity and stepped outside for a bit, a tradition usually reserved for nicer days, but this would have to do.

As the wind whipped around us, I got the twins to pause briefly and smile for the camera. We’ll do a more extensive posing session when it gets a bit warmer.

Three of my favorite people in the world populate this brief sneak peek of an Easter recap on the way for this weekend: my niece and nephew who just turned eight years old, and my husband who is a wee bit older. They all had fun on Easter Sunday, even if they’re growing up way too quickly. (All of them.) Come back here tomorrow for the rest of the pics…

As far from my August 24 birthdate as one could get on a calendar, my brother was born on this day 41 years ago. That means that, with the exception of my parents, I’m the person he has known longest in his life. As such, there is a bond between us that cannot be broken under any circumstances. We may fight or squabble, and it can get down and dirty sometimes, but brotherhood is more powerful than any of that nonsense, and the love between two brothers is something we have come to embrace after four decades of learning to be friends with each other.

We’ll head over to Amsterdam this afternoon for a family dinner in his honor – with the kids and all the trimmings. Hang onto your birthday hats.

Happy birthday, baby bro!

The promise of a dinner party fills some with dread, and others with exhilaration. I’m in the latter camp, so when I suggested (read: mandated) that my brother have one to christen his new house, I was very excited that he agreed. His girlfriend Landrie helped him pull off a lovely evening in the midst of an oncoming winter snowfall, and it was as cozy and comfy as one could have wished. 

The menu was all comfort food, and the cocktail was the Blushing Betty. The company was relaxed and fun. The music was Ella. It was a wonderful way to pass a winter night.