The One in Which I Describe My Amazing August...LIFE

In the last month, I've had four very special events - I was able to squeeze all that in because I had to have a root canal, and that pushed my chemo cycle back 2 weeks. So, let's all give a cheer for Root Canals! Hip-hip- ....haha! <silver lining, people!>

SKWinery BBQ -  Although, I just started working at the SK Winery last spring, they welcomed with me with open arms. They've been family to Steven for 18 years, and we have the good fortune to feel the love and support this year of this family. I hope someday, when I'm done with this chemo crap and my speech gets a little bit better, to rejoin the weekend crew in the tasting room. I'm sure they miss my singing in the tasting station between pours. <sarcastic tone> (You can blame my Mom & Dad for that one. Fremer Rule: Anytime something reminds you of a song, you must belt it out - or sing it under your breath when more appropriate. Catie has the same rule. Kindred Spirits! She even makes up her songs! I'm sorry you've had to go solo for the time being, but thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. <smooches!>)

Catie, my "singing partner", and loving part of our SK Winery Family in Patti's adorable BBQ Barn

Anyway, (that was some serious digression. #cancercard and TWO #freepasses) every year they have the staff summer BBQ. Last weekend, I was able to attend and be surrounded by our family winery. How lucky we are!

Hiking Trip - I wrote about this already (click here if you missed it), so I won't go into great detail about this. I'll just say that it's chock full of family and nostalgia and laughing and LOVE. (And that little bit about me falling on my tailbone. (Kiddos - Helpful tip: those little squishy neck pillows for flying? Work perfectly as tailbone donuts! See! even WITH brain cancer, I thought of that by myself! Imagine how clever I was before that bugger showed up*! j/k! <snortle!> )

Dad & his kiddos pretending we are just starting our hike. Psssst. Secret: We had already finished our hike.

Manresa State Beach - We have had a family tradition of camping at Manresa State Beach for about 4 days every summer. Yes, walk-in tent camping with a Coleman stove, campfires & s'mores, and sleeping bags, and card games by lantern light. The one "luxury" we allow ourselves are inflatable mattresses. I think there was a year when the girls didn't change clothes the whole time they were there - except for into bathing suits, of course. (A Girly-Girl just wouldn't understand the fun in that - We are not Girly-Girls.) Not everyone could come this time, and we missed you, April, Coffey, Autumn, and Katherine!!! The dogs, however, had a blast.

June, Aidan, and Sara on Manresa State Beach, August 2015 (A Girly-Girl would never wear that hat in public.)

This transition that our family is going through... It's natural when you have adult children, but it's really hitting me now because we've always had at least one child in the home with us. Our move to Livermore will mean that we have no children living with us anymore - the classic Empty Nest Syndrome. It's getting harder and harder to get all of us together at one time.  Steven and I took a page from my parents' book and decided that we'll continue to schedule Family Gatherings and cross our fingers that most of us can show up. If we wait until everyone's free, these gatherings become farther and farther apart. And our unofficial new designated Family Organizer, April, is doing a great job getting us together as much as possible. <Thank you, and I love you!>

Daou Winery- 
So, it was very special on Sunday to have all the children together, plus our granddaughter. Since Sara turned 21 in July, it's the first time that the whole family was able to taste wine together <eh hem> ... legally....in public. Katherine is still in Santa Barbara, so we were looking for a place to meet halfway. The ALMOST-GENIUS-IF-IT-WEREN'T-FOR-HER-BRAIN-CANCER (*see above) came up with the idea of meeting at Daou. It's almost exactly midway between San Jose and Santa Barbara, and it's an amazing view of the hills of Paso Robles. They serve real food paired with wines, and our tasting room associate was lovely and patient. Warning: if you ever find yourself surrounded by the six Mirassous, plus son-in-love, Coffey and little Autumn...it can be ....shall we say: overwhelming - in a good way.... in the most amazing, loving, witty, and raucous way you can imagine. Sara's boyfriend, Matt, has already acclimated himself to the chaos, and Katherine's boyfriend survived, so he passed the first test. (hee hee) Sometimes, I just sit back and watch my children interact, yelling and laughing across the table, and I get actual goosebumps. And I look at Schmoopy, and I think "We made this." And now Autumn has added a whole 'nother layer. (Which April & Coffey made...just to clarify...) Magical.

The Whole Family! Look at that view!

Autumn loves Grandpa Steven! He makes her laugh! 

Grandma June tried to get baby Autumn to take a nap, but there was too much going on! The snuggles were good, though!

As we were driving home from Daou, I was playing it all through my mind as I looked out the window - and I got to thinking about all the wonderful memories from just ONE MONTH of my life. I thought, I hope no one is feeling sorry for me right now. Not every month is like this one was, but this is my LIFE. I feel sorry for people that have never experienced the flood of love and laughter that fills my life. It may be cut short, and that will be sad if it happens, but please don't feel sorry for me. I am having the most magical, amazing, lucky life one can imagine. And I SEE IT. I FEEL IT. I GET IT. I'm not missing anything right now. As I've said before, some times we have to adapt - Life is constantly changing for everyone. But that doesn't take the MAGIC away.

I SEE IT. I FEEL IT. I GET IT.