Saturday, Michelle, Jen, Steve and I drove up to Philly to meet his family for the first time (well, first time for Michelle and I). First stop was at the jeweler where they picked up her engagement ring. He went down on his knees to put the ring on Jen's finger right in the front window of the store. The owners of the shop said that's the first time anyone has proposed in the store, and we didn't have the heart to tell them that no one still has -- that this was a rerun.
After a short walk around the Constitution Hall area waiting for lunchtime, we headed over to Maggiano's Little Italy near Reading Station to meet the Frederick family. Steve's mother Rose and Joseph and Peggy and daugher Joanne with baby Olivia on board, brother Tom and Cathy. There are a welcoming and friendly family and lunch went off without a hitch.
Almost.
Did I mention that we were at Maggiano's Italian restaurant? And that the family was largely Italian and German ancestry. The lunch time conversation, over plates of ravioli, lasagna and chicken francese, included the wedding plans, and Jen was describing where the wedding was going to be, and their reception planning activities. She said that they had just found out that their favorite restaurant in Warrenton caters, and "they have the best tapas and mojitos". There were some quizzical looks around the table and Jen continued, " you know, Cuban food". That's when we heard the proverbial crickets. It seems the whole restaurant went silent. "Hey, how about those Giants", or somthing like that broke the spell and got the conversation restarted.
Later, in the car back to Washington we laughted about it, and said, well, we dodged a bullet there, better to find out now rather than at the wedding. But it was a fun day and took our minds off the coming surgeries in 11 days. Monday, Jen goes in for a day of tests, Tuesday is the appointment with my nephrologist and Wednesday is our final preoperative meetings with surgeons and transplant staff. It will be a busy week.
gc
Good Morning Glenn, I am Stephen's sister, Linda. I'm sorry my husband and I were not able to be there on Saturday to meet you and Michelle:( We had already registered to be in a 5K run that day in Ocean City, MD, long before the engagement. We are looking forward to meeting both of you at the wedding. We want you to know that you and Jen will be in our thoughts and prayers during this time. We have a friend who has had two kidney transplants so we know what you are going through. Steve and Jen will keep us posted. Good luck and best wishes, Linda Parkhill
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