Remembering March

March was probably one of the most documented months on this blog. It started right after our wonderful trip to Sonoma and carried on throughout our week in San Francisco.
When we got back, we happily reunited with Ashton. Tom’s parents are so sweet to keep him for us while we’re gone, and he really seems to enjoy staying with them. Tom’s dad was traveling but we had dinner with his mom the night we got back and it was nice to catch up.
The rest of the weekend we spent recuperating and working out, visiting the giant luminescent bunnies at Yards Park and hanging out with the dog. After a week away from his toys, he decided he needed to play with all of them at once.
The laid back weekend helped us to start the work week off right. It was a crazy week with a huge deadline in which everything seemed to go as wrong as possible, but we always seem to get everything done just in time. I work with a great group of people, so even when I have to stay up past midnight working, it doesn’t bother me too much. I’m lucky to have them.
We watched House of Cards in a matter of days. After a lukewarm couple of seasons, I thought this one was excellent… until the last ten minutes or so of the finale. Tom and I had a long argument/discussion about our differing opinions on the speech at the end, but we both agreed it was a clunky way to end a great stretch of TV. Important marriage conversations.
Right in the midst of my deadline, I had jury duty, which turned out to be very anticlimactic. I was kind of excited to serve my civic duty, but the most exciting part of the day was a fire alarm that went off just as we were starting an enthralling film about the judicial process. It took an hour to file everyone out of and then back into the courthouse, and after that we were released for lunch only to come back and find out our services were no longer needed.
That weekend we had a shift at the winery, a good one with lots of good conversation. We have a few “regulars” now and always look forward to them coming in. After we finished up, we rushed back to DC for my friend Unmani’s birthday party. Such a fun time getting to see old friends and meet new ones. We’d forgotten about Daylight Savings Time, and the lost hour made for a very slow Sunday. The weather was crap, so we nixed plans of a cookout and I went to Barracks Row with my friend Lauren for some good time. Not an overly productive weekend, but it’s good to mix it up every now and then.
The next day was pretty rough. A cyst that Tom has had on his stomach for some time, scar tissue from having his appendix removed when he was young, became swollen and he was in a lot of pain. We managed to get him into the doctor, but it took weeks for it to heal.
The rest of the week was pretty dull as we tried to get him better. Days were filled with work for us both, the gym for me, dinner and then to bed. The metro shut down on Wednesday, which set the city into turmoil, but I worked from home and didn’t have to worry about it.
By the time the weekend rolled around, I had cabin fever and was happy for the chance to go hang out with friends. Unmani, her husband Shreyans and her sister Shambavi made us a delicious home cooked Indian dinner: palaak paneer, daal and fresh naan. So good!
We played games for hours and told embarrassing stories about ourselves and significant others. It was, simply, a perfect night.

Because we canceled our cable last month, we’ve been watching more movies than usual. Sunday, we watched The End of the Tour, the biopic of David Foster Wallace. I’ve never had more fun watching two people talk. Great movie. It makes me want to reread Infinite Jest, but for as long as it took me to read it the first time, I’m not sure I’ve got the stamina.
The following week was hectic as we prepared for our trip to Oklahoma to see my family. Tuesday was our monthly girls’ dinner, which we wrapped up in record timing as we all had busy weeks ahead.
My allergies were terrible and I had a hard time sleeping, but we still managed to make it to see the Cherry Blossoms before leaving town. It made an already hectic night even more so, but they were so beautiful and worth it.
We were up early the next morning to head to Oklahoma. I say this every time, but it was an amazing trip! I’ve been more homesick than usual lately, but we got to spend so much good time with everyone and it filled my heart with joy. We may have had a little too much fun one night, resulting in my being less than fun the next day as I recovered, but what can you do. I love those people so much.
I failed to take many photos, but I did get this cute one of my doggie niece and nephews. They’re very well-behaved, when treats are involved.
We got back very late, and the end of March flew by in a haze of allergy fog and sleep deprivation. It was certainly a month of ups and downs, exhilaration and exhaustion, but the highs were far higher than the lows and I have a handful of new memories to cherish.
I look forward to a calm and restful April, if all goes according to plan.