There aren’t too many things that I’m afraid of. Drowning, definitely. Public embarrassment, sure. But I’m not afraid of the dark, I don’t get nervous when I fly, and I’m even starting to overcome my aversion to creepy crawlies. However, there is one thing that really unnerves me – more than spiders, snakes, worms, even cockroaches. It’s crabs.

I think that it started in the fall, six years ago. Eric and I had driven to Sandbridge for the day. We had been there for hours before I realized that there were hundreds of nearly invisible sand-colored crabs skittering all over the ground. How many had I stepped on without realizing it? How many had grazed my feet?

I insisted that Eric carry me off the beach. I was eighteen.

I don’t mind eating crabs, I just don’t want to touch them. I’m afraid that they will pinch me, even if they are dead. Eric is aware of my crab-pinching phobia, and he does not hesitate to exploit it. He uses the inordinately wide gap between his big toe and his second toe to pinch my ankles when we’re in bed.

The gap between his toes is a trait that – to my horror – Dash inherited. I am doomed.

When we were invited to Jason’s house a few months ago for shrimp and crab legs, I should have known that they would try to pull some shenanigans. Not only did they give the baby a sharp crab claw to play with…

…they teased me by pulling the tendon in a crab claw to simulate pinching Dash’s head.

Ugh.

Otherwise, the party was a blast. Jason and his girlfriend, Laura, cooked delicious food, and their fridge is always full of beer.

Eric and I are the first couple in our small group of friends to have a baby, but Dash fits right in. Jason never hesitates to pick up Dash. He’s so comfortable with babies, even though he doesn’t have one.

Jeremiah and Jessicka were there, too. I’ve known Jessicka for even longer than I’ve known Eric. She and Jeremiah had just gotten engaged five days before these photos were taken.

As evidenced by the disaster on the kitchen table, we ate nearly all of the food. Jason and Laura ingeniously thought to cover the table with paper bags before we ate, so it was quick and easy to clean up.

After dinner, we played a few games of Apples To Apples. Due to an unlucky draw of cards, there may have been some inappropriate anti-Semitic jokes. Dashiell disapproves.

Dinner, beer, and board games – that’s pretty much a typical night out with our friends!

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I’ve never been much into exercise. We trained for and ran in a 10K race a few years ago, and it was brutal. We’ve never had a gym membership, and we make excuses to not go for a run in our neighborhood – it’s too hot, it’s too cold, the roads are too busy. Even in school, I would feign illness to sit out during gym class or during marching band practice. When I played on a basketball team, I couldn’t even run the length of the basketball court without getting winded. Once or twice, my parents even locked me out of their house to force me to play outside. Needless to say, I was a total slacker.

But for the past five months, we’ve been kicking ass (specifically, our own asses) at a local climbing gym.

Back in December, a few of our friends invited Eric to the climbing gym for a few hours. They ended up taking a class to get belay certified which granted them a free pass to the facility for two weeks. On one of Eric’s subsequent visits with his free pass, Dash and I accompanied him to the gym to watch him and his friends climb.

As was usually the case when Dash was a newborn, he slept the entire time.

I had never been to the climbing gym before, nor had I climbed anywhere else. Honestly, I thought that it sounded dangerous! But seeing the gym in person and witnessing all of the safety procedures and the training that is required before you can belay, I not only became convinced that climbing was a safe activity, I eagerly wanted to try it.

I signed up for the belay certification class the next day.

And this was only one month after giving birth.

But I felt fantastic, and the aches that permeated through my entire body after that first day of climbing hurt in the best way.

I think that what appeals to me about climbing is the mental aspect. Reaching the top of a difficult climbing route is a definitive measure of success, and it feels rewarding in the same way that winning a chess game or completing a crossword puzzle is rewarding. It’s this intense pride that I feel when I conquer a climb that motivates me and encourages me. Running certainly never made me feel so satisfied. I always felt like I ought to be running farther or running faster. There wasn’t an easy way for me to track my progress.

When our free two-week passes expired, we invested in our own climbing gear (harnesses, shoes, carabiners, and belay devices), and we signed up for a one-year membership. We’ve been trying to climb at least twice a week, and with the exception of the one week that we went to Boston and another week when Eric’s mom (Dash’s babysitter) was out of town, we’ve been keeping up with it! Not only have I been eating and sleeping better since I started exercising, I feel incredibly stronger – both physically and mentally. Obviously, my scrawny muscles are getting a work-out, but I also have more confidence and self-worth because I know that if I can climb to top of a fifty-foot wall, I can do ANYTHING.

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Every week (well, almost every week), we try to get together with our friends for a LAN. A LAN, or a LAN party, is when your friends bring their computers to your house and hook them up on the local area network (the LAN) so you can play video games together.

This was popular before there were online video games and before everybody had a decent internet connection. Nowadays, you don’t need to be in the same room as your friends to play games with them, but part of the fun is being together to talk, collaborate on the game, and just hang out.

We host LANs at our house most of the time, but these photos are from a LAN at Jason’s house this past February. Since it was the first LAN that we took Dash to outside of our own house, we’re counting this as Dash’s First LAN.

We usually eat pizza, drink beer, and play World of Warcraft. I have a level 80 tauren warrior, and I’m working on a blood elf priest. Eric and his friends have a level 80 of just about everything. Level 80 is currently the cap, but there is plenty of end-game content to keep us busy until the next expansion.

We tried to teach Dash how to play, but his hands aren’t quite big enough for the keyboard. Plus, he wasn’t quite able to sit up without assistance yet. Oh well… maybe next time, Dash! There are surely many more LANs in your future.

For The Horde!

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A few months ago, we celebrated my grandparents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary. Here’s a photo of them when they were my age. How amazing is my grandmother’s blue dress?! She has always had flawless style.

They arrived at my parents’ house for what they thought would be an intimate lunch with their two daughters and their families. And that is how the day began…

My mom made a spectacular caesar salad and a veggie lasagna. Of course, we had red wine and champagne like we always do when we get together with my grandparents. Dash slept in a sunbeam on the floor while we ate.

After lunch – right on time – one of their closest friends rang the doorbell. As they were distracted in the foyer, my mom and my cousins quickly cleared our lunch dishes from the table and set up appetizers and decorations for a surprise party.

As more guests arrived, my grandparents realized what was happening. Instead of my grandparents arriving at a surprise party, the surprise party came to them!

As usual, Dash got passed around to all of the ladies. I barely saw him all afternoon.

After the requisite greetings, all of the kids (do I still count as a kid?) slipped outside to play. My dad pushed the girls on our swing.

My sister, Elaine, and her friend, Emily, and I took some silly pictures. I love these girls.

It’s not hard for me to imagine my fiftieth wedding anniversary with Eric. We’ve only been married for four years, but we’ve known each other for over ten years. On our fiftieth anniversary, Dash will be 46. We will probably have grandchildren, and maybe even great grandchildren. This makes me happy.

Anyway, back to the party…

We made punch with orange sherbet and fresh lemons. This is one of my favorite drinks.

My mouth is watering just looking at these pictures.

My grandparents cut the cake and fed a bite to each other just like the wedding tradition.

Then we gathered in the brown room for a family photo. However, everybody was so busy talking with the other guests that we couldn’t get the whole family to stand still for a photo at the same time! We even forgot to include Dash in any of the photos. He must have been napping.

The calm after a party – right after the last guest has left, but before you start cleaning up – is always satisfying. We sat in the brown room, and Eric introduced Dash to my sister’s old drum set.

This was about a month before we went to Boston and Dash played the pots and pans at John’s apartment. Is it too soon to predict his predilection for percussion?

Here’s a short video that I recorded of Dash doing a drum roll!

I think everybody would agree that the party was a huge success. For me, the best part was seeing four generations of our family together (Dash is the first great grandchild!) and dreaming about the day that we’ll be celebrating our fiftieth wedding anniversary.

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