We’re getting ready to start a Progressive Dinner with lifeSOURCE. We’ll visit 4 homes for different meals – appetizers, salad, main course and desserts. I am blessed by the hospitality and generosity of the parents of those who call lifeSOURCE their own. We call them up, ask them if we can invite ourselves over for a part of a meal, and they, in their love for their children, say “sure!” I really enjoy these moments when we spend time with our friends’ parents. Tonight should be great fun!
Now what does Xanadu have to with it? well, we decided to have a theme night with our Progressive Dinner, unknown to our hosts though. We are dressing like kids. yep, kids. Our outfits should be hilarious. I feel like a complete freak. I so badly just want to go throw on jeans and wash my face, and say I’m too chicken to see this through. But it’s too late. People should be here any moment as begin our journey.

Again, what does Xanadu have to do with it? well, I was a kid in the 80’s. the glorious big hair 80’s. so my outfit reflects some of those influences, as does my makeup choice. and I will confess here and now that I have a strong love and devotion to the movie “Xanadu.” Most of you have never heard of it, let alone seen it. But I have watched it costless times, and still find myself singing along to all of it. I even have moments where I will dance some of the choreographed moves. My favorite song from Xanadu is “Don’t Walk Away”. I even bought it for my mp3 player. I didn’t get it to hear it today. But to get me in the mood for our party, I selected xmradios’s 80’s on 8. I don’t have control of the songs, but I at least got the right era. and so, I heard “Xanadu” just before I started getting ready, and that really put me in the mood to be silly.

and then, I heard it while I was in another room – “Spring Love” by Stevie B. Here’s part of the chorus:
Spring Love come back to me
I need you and I want you baby
Spring love come back to me
I really need you
I gotta have you baby
Springtime love is on my mind and I won’t forget
The way we shared the way we cared
And I don’t regret it

Yes, I know it’s super-cheesy. Jon thinks the song is stupid. He really wanted it to be over. I relished every moment of it! (Oh Danette, I thought of you. Can you hear the song?) It’s one of those songs that I used to listen to over and over and over.

Well, our friends are about to arrive. Gotta go and be a small kid! and enjoy checking out my hubby’s legs in his cutoff jeans…

After our brief stopover in P’cola, Kaitlyn and I headed down to Ocala to spend time with my parents. They live SO FAR AWAY!
We had a restful time, just hanging out with my mom, laughing, eating, trying to get some semblance of a tan. I even got to catch-up with one of my oldest and dearest friends from college – Gwenda. Whenever we talk or get together, we pick up right where we left off and have a blast together just being us. Poor Kaitlyn saw and heard a side of me she wasn’t prepared to meet. The fact that I am able to sing & dance to most of the songs & moves from Grease 1 & 2 probably scarred her for life.

The highlight of our vacation in Ocala had to be our fun with a waverunner. My parents’ friends, the Parrises have a waverunner that they use throughout the extended summer when their grandkids visit. Seeing how it was only the end of March, they hadn’t pulled it out of storage yet, but their generous hearts gladly let us come over to play for the afternoon. It was a perfect, non-humid day for us. Kaitlyn & I would have loved hotter temperatures, but we weren’t complaining since we were about to own the lake on the waverunner.

My dad had to show me & Kaitlyn how to be crazy on it, while my mom threatened him if he hurt us. I think he was trying to throw me off while he was ripping around in circles over and over. But it wasn’t until we were at the shoreline getting off that we both toppled into the lake. It was quite amusing!

Mr. Parris also took us both out to show us how it’s really done. He’s CRAZY! FUN, but crazy. During our turn, I thought I was safe, but in one moment I felt myself slipping as my body went one way and Mr. Parris & the waverunner went the other…sure enough, into the water I went and I pulled Mr. Parris with me! He laughed so hard, since no one has ever dethroned him from a waverunner. I told him he never gave me instructions what to do in the event I was tossed, so I held on, just like my daddy told me. While in the water ever so briefly, I thought how nice the water temp was, but then I remembered that gators live in that lake, and I did not want them to taste me. So I swam as fast as I could back to the waverunner, while still laughing about our incident.

All in all, Kaitlyn & I had a great time. That Saturday was wonderful for us, but just being able to get away for a few days, despite our accident, was indeed the best part. I love visiting my mom & dad. I only wish they were a couple states closer!