Susan Senator

My birthday is not until next Saturday but my family could not be here on the 18th. Since they all had a three-day weekend, they came up on Friday. Nat was also home for the long weekend, so it was a really satisfying and complete gathering.

Ned asked me on Thursday what we had planned, and then he answered for me: “Oh yeah, when your family is here, all you guys do is exercise, eat, drink coffee, and talk!” Sounds good to me. That is my idea of a perfect weekend.

And exercise, eat, drink coffee, and talk we did. I went for a three-mile run with my (71-year-old) Dad, who actually ran four miles, feeling especially energetic. That’s Dad for you. Mom, Laura, and Nat went on a long walk, ending up at Starbucks for — you guessed it — more coffee. Turns out Nat loves the way Laura drinks her lattes: nonfat milk, no sugar. Benj and Kimmie stayed home in their own little cousins cocoon, and Ned played with them when he could, but his (unnamed) laptop allowed him more access.

For dinner the adults (so to speak) went to my favorite restaurant, and ate until we were bursting out of our clothes (well, I will just speak for myself. I was trying to wear my beautiful red silk shirt from Anthropologie that I got for my Brookline book party at Emily’s, and suffice it to say, I ain’t no 17 inches no more.) Just lovely (the meal, that is).

The next day, after exercise, we walked into Coolidge Corner to my favorite cake store, Party Favors, and I picked out 9 fabulous cupcakes, with the famous inch-thick frosting. We all loved them except for Laura, who doesn’t like chocolate! She got a pecan tart, and shared it with Nat, who had also had fudge and a cupcake and probably gained not an ounce.

So good, and gorgeously decorated. See for yourself.