Thank God for Moms

Sometimes life knocks you off your feet. Your world comes crashing down and you don’t know which way is up or down, right or left. You call in the troops to help clear out the rubble. But there is smoke all around and you can’t see anything in front of you. So you call in the big guns. You call in your mom. And she comes.

My mom came to visit me this weekend to help guide me while the smoke settled. And we did everything!

First Stop: Fisherman’s Warf

            It was a perfect day, so clear you could see straight across to Alcatraz and convince yourself you could see tiny prisoners rattling the bars of their prison windows, seeing freedom just across the bay. We walked for miles along the bay, counting down the piers, from one to 39. We went to Boudin, watched loaf after loaf of sourdough bread run through the steps of becoming that perfect, tangy sphere, and then we ate our own loaf, filled with creamy clam chowder.

Second Stop: The Orpheum Theater

            Les Miserables. Astounding. Not once did I drift off to sleep (come on, you know that happens at least once during a long musical). The plot was fast-paced (thank goodness my mom made us read the summary on Wikipedia beforehand), the music emotionally charged, and the night spectacular. And Happy (29^th?) Birthday to my MOM!.

Sunday: The Day of Rest

            Naturally, you can’t have a vacation with my mother and NOT go shopping. So off to Haight Street we went… straight to the best Goodwill ever! This place had style! I made off with a funky belt before my hatred of shopping kicked into high gear and I dragged my mother out of the store and towards Golden Gate Park. I finally let her rest at the Flower Conservatory for a little book time before starting the trek back towards lunch. French food anyone? Um, yes please. Scallop risotto? Pasta carbonara?  Uh huh. [Food coma sets in.]

Sunday Night: Brave

            What do two old ladies do on Sunday night? Go see a cartoon movie, of course! Now, the title and the posters conjure up images of a warrior princess, out to save the kingdom (or prince or whatever). No idea that this was a mother-daughter movie! Yuppers. All about a mom and daughter figuring out how to listen and learn from each other, and that is what saves the kingdom. Well, shucks, that was an appropriate ending to the weekend.

Thanks for coming out, Mom. I know I put you through a kind of bootcamp with all that traipsing around the city, but I’m glad you were here (and took charge of the camera!)