I think I have been anxious to meet Jeff's mother, who he affectionately calls "Mama Bear," since Thanksgiving weekend of last year. That was the first time that Jeff shared one of his mom's e-mails with me. From almost the first paragraph of that first e-mail, I was hooked...and couldn't wait to meet her. Karen is an amazing writer....one that captivates you with her brilliant use of language and a gift for detail that makes her characters literally come to life for us. She is currently living out of state and meeting so many unique and interesting people, all of whom have become the "characters" in the stories she shares with us via e-mail. Jeff started reading her e-mails to me that weekend in Thanksgiving...and we haven't missed an e-mail yet. I am not exaggerating when I say that I wait with bated breath for each new e-mail, wondering what adventures "Mama Bear" has had, how the plot has thickened with old characters and whether or not there are any new ones. In the beginning, she wrote about once or twice a week. However, since Christmas, she has started writing quite a bit more often. Jeff and I love reading together...and sometimes I wonder whether he ever gets tired of me asking, "Has your mom written yet?" :-) Since I had not ever met Karen, each e-mail truly felt like a story by some amazingly talented and unknown author, instead of "a life update from Jeff's mom." Does that make sense?! It does in my head. LOL! And so, as you can imagine, I have been so thoroughly excited to meet Karen, on more levels than one. Just the fact that she is Jeff's mom makes it an honor enough to get to know her. And yet, as funny as this might sound, there was this giddy excitement to meet the AUTHOR whose stories we have been reading the past few months and over the possibility that during our meeting she JUST might leak out a few more details, or *gasp* maybe even a few PICTURES, of some of the characters in her stories. :-) Needless to say, I have been VERY excited to meet her.
What a blessing that this past week was the week that "Mama Bear" came home to visit and we were finally able to meet. What I failed to mention was that Karen had actually surprised me on Christmas Day with a phone call. And yet, as fun as it was to chat with her for 45 minutes or so at that time, it was nothing compared to how wonderful it was to meet her in person. I have so much respect for mothers....even more since BECOMING a mother myself. Just knowing that she is the mother of the man I love, made me love her from the start. What an awesome moment to greet "Mama Bear" at Jeff's house with an enormous hug and be completely enveloped in the fur from her beloved racoon coat - a coat that is often mentioned in her writings and is even more impressive in person. Karen is such good energy and so gracious.
I was so touched, that within moments of arriving, she presenting me with a beautiful gift - a copy of "Emma & Lucy," signed by the author, just for me. But admittedly, nothing filled my heart more (and Jeff's I believe, as well) than listening to "Mama Bear's" squeals and gasps and shouts of joy as she walked through Jeff's beautiful home commenting on every single detail. (Click on "Jeff's beautiful home" for a tour, in case you missed it. I blogged about it last night, but filed it chronologically here on my blog)...If ever there was a moment that made every moment of our hard work worth it...it was that one.
Lindsay and Lyndon arrived soon after and we had such a wonderful time together, chatting for hours over a delicious meal I had prepared for us. It was such a beautiful feeling to feel so at home with such new friends. At one point, Lyndon, Lindsay and Jeff headed into Jeff's room to share notes on hand guns. Karen and I sat out at the dining table and had such a wonderful visit. It seemed like they were in his room for quite a while, because we were able to cover a lot in our discussion. :-) She is such a beautiful woman...in so many ways. I love so much about her...down to how she so lovingly refers to Jeff as "Son." :-)I was so grateful for a few moments alone with her. There wasn't a single moment in the time that we spent with Jeff's family that I felt out of place or "new." Such an awesome day.How grateful I am for the time that I was able to spend with Karen, Lindsay and Lyndon and even more so, to be able to spend additional time with Karen when Jeff and I took her out to sushi this week. So fun to introduce her to "our place" - Blue Fish - and especially to introduce her to the "Ecstasy Roll" and other favorites. By the way, if you love sushi and have never tried the "Ecstasy Roll" at Blue Fish, pardon my bluntness, but....YOU...HAVE...NOT...LIVED! :-) It is DIVINE! We ate and ate and ate until we couldn't eat any more.
Karen fell in love with "our place" and was also so grateful for the small gift I had made for her - two canvas-finished photo blocks (8x10 and 5x7) with pictures from Lindsay's wedding (pictures that, apparently, she hadn't even seen yet). I also made a set of canvas-finished photo blocks for Lindsay and Lyndon (8x10 and 5x7), "just because."
I haven't actually given the blocks to them yet, so if you guys are reading this blog before Jeff and I make it over to your house this weekend..............SURPRISE!!! :-)
All in all, meeting "Mama Bear" for the first time was as wonderful as I expected it would be. Yet, as much as I loved having her here and am so looking forward to seeing her again in a few months, I have to admit that I was slightly excited for her to leave again....because as I am sure you can guess, the stories don't continue and the plot doesn't thicken until she's away from home, writing again.
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