Pretending to be a Grown-Up

My husband and I went to a grown-up party last night.

That I even say "grown-up party" makes me feel like I'm pretending -- as if I'm playing at being a grown-up. I hardly go anywhere without my Monkeys, but with my husband and without them? That's pretty rare.

The occasion was a good-bye party for one of my husband's college friends, whose job was relocating him to Paris, France. He had sold everything, everything -- cars, house, furniture, electronics -- packed a few wardrobe boxes, and had been living at his mother's house for the last month before heading across the ocean. Not only was the party grown-ups only, it was grown-ups who knew me as "so-and-so's wife" and not as "Monkey1 and Monkey2's Mom".

My husband told me that the house was on a golf course. I immediately imagined the golf course communities of Long Island: gated, manicured, and enormous houses that nearly touched each other. But no, this was a house on a golf course; fourteen holes and thirteen houses. Well, grands maisons. It was an excellent place for a grown-up party. We sat out on the basement patio, overlooking a lovely hilly section of the golf course that stretched off to distance hills, eating and drinking and talking about television shows and airport travel and iPads. As the evening chill crept around us, some people moved off to try some golf, while others moved inside to enjoy the pool table, giant screen tv with video games, and sit at the bar and talk. Someone wanted to do shots, and the man of the party not finding any shot glasses, and his mother not looking, he substituted with some votive holders.

Moving to France.

I know my husband regards this with some wistfulness. Not long after Monkey1 had been born, he had had to look for a job. He had had an invitation to interview for a science position in England, and he had applied for jobs with the U.S. State Department. He had hoped to travel and live abroad. That might have been a big pill for me to swallow, and I'm thankful for living Stateside, if not near my family, at least in the same time zone. However, now not only does he have a cousin in France, one of his closest friends will be there, and wants everyone to come visit, including children.

Fortunately my husband and I both renewed our passports recently. We just need ones for the Monkeys.