Going away party

T-Minus one week and counting: By this time next week RG will be on a plane headed to NYC then on to Moscow. So we are down to it. This sucks because as usual I am out of town this week and we have too many plans for the weekend. But that is life and I do get to see her next Friday already since I will be vacationing in Russia. Anyway the good byes are now in full swing. So Sunday night we hosted a picnic at a park a few miles from the house for many of RG’s friends. Most people that RSVPed showed up so we had at least 30 or more people there. I was glad to see everyone come out and show their support for her. I think she was glad too.

It was kinda funny… but the park that we had the party in was very close to my house and I did not even know it existed. It is just north of and part of the same land that makes up the Columbia Golf Course that is adjacent to St. Anthony Parkway. But the address to the park is really for the Columbia Golf Course, so without knowing that you need to drive north on Central and take Columbia Parkway to get there you would never know the park exists. It is a great park too. Large play areas for kids with a ton of slides, zip lines, bridges, monkey bars, digging machines, and other sandbox equipment. There are also a ton of activities for older people as well. There are tennis courts, basketball hoops, and a large field that could be used for soccer, football, bocce, cricket, or any number of games. What really sold the park however was presence of a large shelter, charcoal grills, and lots of picnic tables. Originally though we would have liked to have used a more recognized park but all of the permits were spoken for at Boom Island, Nicollet Island, Lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun, and Lake Nokomis.

I think the event went off really, really well. I also know that RG was very grateful and touched to see so many people show up for the event. One less I do have to admit to though is that we probably should have started it a little later. The original start time was 4:30 but with a few exceptions no one really started showing up until 5:30. I wonder though if people wouldn’t have showed up until 6:30 if we had started it at 5:30. Every group was well represented. RGs host family came, as did many of the families that she had nannied for, her work friends showed (though they were the latest), my friends, and a few others. It was nice. There was more than enough food and drink for everyone, though everyone seemed to be waiting for the meat to finish cooking; burgers, brats, chicken, or whatever. Our house is now full of chips and left over soda. A few people also got together and brought a cake. That was very thoughtful I thought.

All in all I thought it was a great Sunday evening, though it left me tired for the rest of the week. I just hope the homecoming party can be planned sooner rather than later!