Birthdays and Blossoms…

It’s not every day that your best friend’s daughter- a little ball of energy and sassiness that you’ve played with, snuggled with, read stories to and watched grow- turns five years old. So when Andrew recently invited me to come down to Maryland for Haven’s fifth birthday party- I booked a same-day, round-trip flight immediately, wrapped up a unicorn-themed present (her favorite!) and drank a lot of coffee to keep me awake and alert so I could surprise her and still make it to my office the next day.

Having landed at DCA nice and early the morning of- I took the opportunity to do a little tourism/sightseeing around the National Mall while Andrew was finishing picking things up/getting the party set up and while Haven and her brother were finishing up at school/daycare. Although D.C. is plastered with advertisements for the upcoming cherry blossom season- they had only just started to bloom while I was there- slightly hindered by torrential downpours and some strong winds.

I still got some decent pictures, I think- before the rain sent me into the nearby Smithsonian Museum of American History, anyway. There I walked around for a bit, dried off and warmed up before grabbing a quick bite at Ollie’s Trolley down the road (and it was seriously one of the most amazing burgers I’ve ever had.) By the time I was finishing up, Andrew had let me know he was back home and things were ready to go- and I headed over to celebrate.

It goes without saying that it’s SO good to see Andrew and the kids again- especially since it’s been a couple of months since I was last in Maryland- but his parents and mutual friends came, too- so it was like a little reunion with cake and a bouncy castle nearby!

A ton of kids from the neighborhood showed up to bring gifts and play, and Haven had an absolute blast. It’s so wonderful and touching to see her and her little brother thriving and making friends. I know Kelsey would be so unbelievably proud of them.

And much like the kids did at the end of the day when the sugar started to wear off- I crashed pretty hard when I got back into Boston shortly after the party ended (and following a brief delay at my JetBlue gate.) Thankfully, I’ve got a pretty laid-back weekend ahead of me to rest and recharge- just in time to head to Vegas at the end of next week!